The Yellow Star in Berlin's Streets

A Berlin schoolteacher has known the contents of the decree signed on 1 September 1941 for several weeks: from 19 September, every Jew over the age of 6 must sew onto their outer clothing a six-pointed yellow star bearing the inscription Jude, visible at all times in public. The penalty for non-compliance is arrest.

Since a 1935 law barred her from teaching in state schools, she has worked in a Jewish school in the Prenzlauer Berg neighbourhood. Many former colleagues have emigrated; some pupils too. Her immediate family is still there. Her apartment, her errands, her rare trips out — all conducted under the gaze of neighbours, some of whom still greet her, others who look away. Daily life is already a series of invisible boundaries.

This morning of 19 September she holds the star in her hand. She can reduce her outings to the bare minimum to limit exposure in public spaces; try to find a trusted German who might help her move around without the badge when circumstances require it; or pin on the star and keep up as normal a life as possible, facing whatever that implies on the street.