Topic > The persecution of the Jews during World War II

The persecution of the Jews during World War II was a horrific moment in history. Jews were humiliated, harassed and segregated during the Nazi period just because they were Jews. When Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933, the rise of the Nazi Party occurred. After Germany's defeat in World War I, Hitler blamed Jews for all of Germany's social and political problems. He used the belief of anti-Semitism, the belief that Jews were evil and had already existed for many centuries in German society. Hitler wanted to exterminate all the Jewish people in Europe, so the Nazi Party devised a master plan that would change history forever. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The Star of David is a universally recognized symbol of Jewish identity (Greene). Being a six-pointed star, the Star of David was thought to be a symbol of pride to wear, but the Germans allegedly used the star for the wrong reasons. The use of the yellow Star of David was first suggested by Josef Goebbels, a Nazi propaganda minister, as a "general distinguishing sign" for German Jews in May 1938 (ushm.com). The practice of wearing the Star of David by Jews was reiterated several times, but it was not until after the invasion of Poland that in the town of Wloclawek on 29 October 1939 it was first decreed that the Jewish badge should be worn. Then, on November 23, 1939, Governor Hans Frank ordered all Jews over the age of 10 to wear the Star of David. Initially it was a white bracelet with a blue 6-sided star attached to it worn over the upper right sleeve (ushm.com). Immediately after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, on 22 June 1941, the Yellow Star of David, the best-known badge today, was launched. On September 1, 1941, Reinhard Heydrich decreed that all Jews in the Reich aged six years or older must wear a badge consisting of a yellow Star of David on a black field to be worn on the chest, with the word "Jew" written inside the star in German or the local language (ushm.com). This applied to all Jewish people in Germany and spread to the territories annexed by Germany. Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Croatia, the Slovak Republic, Bulgaria and Romania had all introduced the Yellow Star of David, but the type varied from country to country. Even secularized Jews, those who did not practice the Jewish religion, could not avoid being Jewish because it was in their blood. There were exceptions for foreign Jews, especially from neutral countries, and for Jews of mixed marriages. The Yellow Star of David was thereafter used as a “labeling” device as a prelude to the deportation of Jews to killing centers and ghettos from 1939 to 1945. This was effective for the Nazis to persecute, control their movements and destroy the entire Jewish population in Europe (ushm.com). There were heavy penalties for not wearing the badge, such as imprisonment or even death. In a Nazi propaganda poster, an image of the Yellow Star of David was depicted and said, “He who wears this symbol is an enemy of our people” (Darman, 6). When the Jewish people were deported to concentration camps, a complex system was created for the Jews. It consisted of 2 inverted triangles whose color determined the prisoner's category and was sewn onto camp clothing. A red star represented a political prisoner, a green star represented a criminal, and a black star represented the.