Hey there history fans, we're taking the day off, but don't worry, we've got plenty of classic

shows to tide you over.

Please enjoy these flashback episodes from the TDI-H-C vault. See Vault. Hello and welcome to this day in history class, a show that uncovers a little bit more about history every day.

I'm Gabe Luzier, and today we're reflecting on one of the many despicable practices utilized by Nazi Germany during World War II.

The day was September 1st, 1941. The Nazi regime ordered all Jews in Germany over the age of six to publicly identify

themselves by wearing a yellow star.

The decree was made in accordance with Nazi racial laws, which falsely claimed that Jewish

identity was a matter of biological inheritance.

Anyone caught without this so-called Jewish badge was liable to be punished,

either with fines, imprisonment, or even execution.

Of course, wearing the badge was no guarantee of safety either, since it effectively put

a target on the wearer's back.

The decree was intended to make it easier for officers of the Third Reich to identify,

track, and control German Jews. Its secondary purpose was to inflict a sense of isolation on Jewish families,

to make them feel embarrassed and alone, outcasts within their own country. On both counts the dehumanizing badges

proved all too effective. This specific form of persecution is closely

associated with the Nazis, but they actually weren't the first to employ it.

In Baghdad, Jewish residents were forced to wear identifying badges in the ninth and tenth centuries.

And in Europe, the first record of the practice dates back to the 13th century,

when Jews were legally compelled to wear pointed hats to distinguish themselves from the rest of the population.

Similar laws were enforced throughout Europe for the next 300 years, but by the 17th and

18th centuries the practice had mostly fallen out of favor.

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