Jewish Holocaust Star

[BOB COLEMAN]

I would have thought the same except that the one I seen in the Toronto Holocaust Museum looked the same. BTW, I've had a black light test done on this as well as a thread burn test and them were OK.

The black light test is no longer a fool proof tool for authenticity. The fakers have learned how to treat modern cloth to remove the brighteners.

[Wagriff]

I suppose I'll get hate postings for saying this, but, at the risk of upsetting legitimate dealers there, Israel is infamous for selling fake artifacts and antiquities...The Jewish Stars come in many many different variations. Not only different wording for different countries but variations Within countries as well. The most well known is, of course, the German "Jude" stars, but not all the stars even Had writing on them. I once had a star from a survivor's estate straight from the man's son that had no writing on it at all, but raised black outlining stitching and a coarse backing material. Sometimes, the edge stitching was in different colors. Many different kinds. Many different Sizes also-from Huge to 3 or 4 inches in diameter. Seeing the back side of your piece might help.

[Adrian Stevenson]

I can't comment on it's authenticity. I know a huge amount of these are faked. I think Ade or Carl are your guys on this one.

Hi Andy, while I am very flattered for the vote of confidence, this material is not something I collect and so have little experience with. I cannot offer any valid opinion on this one sorry.

Hi Cruithin, welcome to the forum!

Cheers, Ade.

[Cruithin]

Sorry for the delay. Been way too busy. Here is a scan of the back of the star.

[operaman]

Looks like a modern reproduction.

[youthcollector1]

I honestly don't know on this one. It doesnt match any of the fakes I've seen but nor does it match any original I've seen.

[StefanM]

As well as the "P"and "OST" patches for Polish and Eastern forced labourers the Berliner Fahnenfabrik Geitel & Co later produced the "Jewish star" for which Jews had to pay 10 pfennig each to buy them. Jews, six years and older, had to wear them on their clothing. The contract for the manufacture of the "Jewish star" was awarded the Berlin Fahnenfabrik Geitel & Co on the basis that it was to be fulfilled within a few days. Nearly a million stars - printed on long rolls of fabric and packed in bales - were delivered on time and the order brought the company 30,000 Reichsmark, which following the normal business practice of the time "if paid within five days of delivery of order" a two percent discount was granted.

Given that nearly a million stars were printed by one manufacturer then one would expect to find only one version for German Jews who were required to wear a "Jude" star...which was 18 months after Poles were required to wear the racially discriminatory "P" patch to identify them from the local German population.

For info, there was no font to typeset the word "Jude", the word was hand-drawn to visually suggest Hebrew calligraphy - a common graphic device seen in German anti-Semitic propaganda.

As regards the value of the star in question? How much was it purchased for?


update: I see now its an old thread

[Wagriff]

I'm inclined to think that this star is genuine but very likely unissued or worn. It exhibits little to no indication of handling and the odd "number" on the back makes little sense or purpose. That, and there is absolutely no sign of any stitching to attach it to a garment.

These stars have been So profusely copied for Decades now-and continue to be right on up to this day-and even dead-on authentic pieces will almost always be squabbled over endlessly, with the most minute differences being pointed out and discussed. They are, obviously, an Extremely difficult and problematic thing to deal with and most people avoid them for that reason alone-much less their controversial histories not helping much. Value? Holocaust stars are all over the charts. I've seen genuine pieces at anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars on up to close to a thousand. Ones with bulletproof known histories generally are easier to sell than anonymous unknowns, of course. Their values are basically whatever the market will bear. Keep in mind, though, that a person can Ask whatever they choose, but what they can Get is often something altogether different. I think a fair price for a piece like this is probably closer to $3-400.

[StefanM]

What puzzles me is if Berliner Fahnenfabrik Geitel & Co printed a million "Jewish" stars in a single production run why would there be any variation of stars worn by Germany's Jews?

Especially if one totals up those classified as from Altreich, Ostmark and Ostgebiete in the Wannsee list of European Jews (attached) it only amounts to 595,500?



I guess if each person had to buy more than one patch then I suppose the "almost a million patches" produced by Geitel & Co might have been used up. But that still would mean only one printed type for this entire population group!! Which is another reason I am extremely skeptical about such differing styles of "Jude" marked yellow stars being authentic?

Are there any other confirmed manufacturers of the yellow star for German Jews?