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Distinctive Jewish badges that the Jews of Serbia were forced to wear on their clothing in accordance with the directives of the German occupation.
Willy Weiss managed to escape with his parents to Gratz, Austria. The family survived, living under an assumed identity until the end of the war.
Yad Vashem Artifacts Collection
Donated by Willy Weiss, Haifa, Israel
Yugoslavia, created after World War I from Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia and Kosovo, was taken over by the Germans and their allies in April 1941 and divided up between Germany, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria.
With the German occupation of Belgrade on 12 April 1941, a military government was put in place and the looting of Jewish property began instantly. On 19 April the Jews were forced to register, at which time they received a yellow armband printed with a Star of David imprinted with the word "Jew" in Serbo-Croat and German that they were required to wear on their left sleeve. Later, on 30 May 1941, Serb Jews were required to wear yellow badges 10 cm in diameter with a black hexagon, one on the left side of the chest and another on the upper back.
