I.
Although now strongly associated in the popular imagination with Nazi Germany, the yellow badge that Jews were obliged to wear for purposes of public identification (i.e., to clearly mark them as religious and ethnic outsiders), has a depressingly long history, albeit not one that I wish to examine in detail here.
It's interesting to note, however, that the idea of making the patch in the shape of the six point Star of David first arose in Portugal, even though the hexagram has never been a uniquely Jewish symbol (in fact, Jewish Kabbalists probably borrowed it from the Arabs for use in the design of talismanic amulets known as segulot).
It's also interesting to note that this Portuguese star was red, not yellow, even though within the medieval and early modern world the latter was the colour most often associated with Judas, religious heretics, and other persons thought cowardly and not to be trusted.
The Nazis were therefore drawing upon an extensive (anti-Semitic) history when they revived the practice of forcing Jews to wear a distinctive sign upon their clothing, including, most famously, the yellow Star of David with the word Jude inscribed in letters meant to resemble Hebrew script.
Intended to further division and hatred, the Judenstern ironically increased sympathy for the Jews amongst the wider population of the Reich. In the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, for example, a ban had to be introduced on the polite doffing of hats towards Jews, after it became a popular form of protest against German occupation and Nazi brutality.
Although now strongly associated in the popular imagination with Nazi Germany, the yellow badge that Jews were obliged to wear for purposes of public identification (i.e., to clearly mark them as religious and ethnic outsiders), has a depressingly long history, albeit not one that I wish to examine in detail here.
It's interesting to note, however, that the idea of making the patch in the shape of the six point Star of David first arose in Portugal, even though the hexagram has never been a uniquely Jewish symbol (in fact, Jewish Kabbalists probably borrowed it from the Arabs for use in the design of talismanic amulets known as segulot).
It's also interesting to note that this Portuguese star was red, not yellow, even though within the medieval and early modern world the latter was the colour most often associated with Judas, religious heretics, and other persons thought cowardly and not to be trusted.
The Nazis were therefore drawing upon an extensive (anti-Semitic) history when they revived the practice of forcing Jews to wear a distinctive sign upon their clothing, including, most famously, the yellow Star of David with the word Jude inscribed in letters meant to resemble Hebrew script.
Intended to further division and hatred, the Judenstern ironically increased sympathy for the Jews amongst the wider population of the Reich. In the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, for example, a ban had to be introduced on the polite doffing of hats towards Jews, after it became a popular form of protest against German occupation and Nazi brutality.
II.
Born in 1929, to Russian-Jewish parents who had fled to France following the 1917 Revolution, Serge Gainsbourg's childhood was profoundly affected by the Nazi occupation during the Second World War.
Fortunately, however, he was able to draw darkly comic inspiration from this tragic period in later years; such as in his controversial album Rock Around the Bunker (1975), which included the track 'Yellow Star'.
In this short song, Gainsbourg recalls how he'd felt as a young boy required to wear such in wartime Paris; an experience only made bearable by pretending that it was a sherrif's badge, or a prize that he'd been awarded.
Fans of the singer-songwriter - of which I'm one - might also recall that several years prior to this, Gainsbourg celebrated the huge international success of Je t'aime ... moi non plus by commissioning Cartier to design him a platinum Star of David medallion.
As one commentator notes, he had never forgotten the humiliation of his early years and this was an attempt to overcome feelings of shame and anger with humour.
For as they say in French: Rira bien qui rira le dernier ...
Born in 1929, to Russian-Jewish parents who had fled to France following the 1917 Revolution, Serge Gainsbourg's childhood was profoundly affected by the Nazi occupation during the Second World War.
Fortunately, however, he was able to draw darkly comic inspiration from this tragic period in later years; such as in his controversial album Rock Around the Bunker (1975), which included the track 'Yellow Star'.
In this short song, Gainsbourg recalls how he'd felt as a young boy required to wear such in wartime Paris; an experience only made bearable by pretending that it was a sherrif's badge, or a prize that he'd been awarded.
Fans of the singer-songwriter - of which I'm one - might also recall that several years prior to this, Gainsbourg celebrated the huge international success of Je t'aime ... moi non plus by commissioning Cartier to design him a platinum Star of David medallion.
As one commentator notes, he had never forgotten the humiliation of his early years and this was an attempt to overcome feelings of shame and anger with humour.
For as they say in French: Rira bien qui rira le dernier ...
Notes
Play: Serge Gainsbourg, 'Yellow Star', from the album Rock Around the Bunker (Polygram International, 1975): click here.
Note: Rock Around the Bunker is not merely an upbeat concept album about National Socialism and Gainsbourg's own experiences as a Jewish youth growing up in German-occupied Paris; it's also a subtle dig at those who bought into the Nazi chic of the 1970s - including performers such as David Bowie who should've known better.
Note: Rock Around the Bunker is not merely an upbeat concept album about National Socialism and Gainsbourg's own experiences as a Jewish youth growing up in German-occupied Paris; it's also a subtle dig at those who bought into the Nazi chic of the 1970s - including performers such as David Bowie who should've known better.
