Yellow patch of the Jew Abraham Ludwig from Antwerp, marked with the letter J (Jew - Juif). Belgium, early 1940s. Ludwig was murdered in Auschwitz at the end of 1943.
Abraham Ludwig was born to Jetta nee Elefant, he was single. Before World War II he lived in Antwerp, Belgium. During the war he worked in the Dannes Camiers camp for the Micka company in France. Ludwig was sent from Belgium to Auschwitz at the end of 1943, where he perished. (His name appears in the "List of Persecuted Jews" from Antwerp from the Camiers Dannes camp who worked for the Micka company in northern France in 1942, which was distributed at the end of the war, see the database of names in the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum). Ludwig's clothes with the patch were saved by a co-worker in Antwerp and given to his uncle after the war.
In October 1940, some five months after the German invasion of Belgium and the occupation of Belgium by Nazi Germany, the German military government enacted a series of anti-Jewish decrees. The Belgian General Secretariat Commission initially refused to cooperate in anti-Jewish actions, but later complied with German directives. The German government began seizing Jewish businesses and removed Jews from public sector positions. Starting on May 27, 1942, Jews were compelled to wear the yellow badge in public to identify them. In the Belgian version there was a black letter "J" (abbreviation of "Juif" in French and "Jood" in Dutch) in the center of a yellow Star of David. Jews were required to display it prominently on their outer clothing when in public, and heavy penalties were imposed for non-compliance. The decree sparked public outrage in Belgium, and some civil servants in Brussels and Liège personally risked refusing to distribute the badge, allowing many Jews to gain time to find hiding places. It is known that as early as 1940 the German authorities in Antwerp tried to enforce the wearing of the badge, but the policy was not implemented due to the fact that non-Jewish citizens protested it, with some even wearing armbands in protest.
11x13 cm. Stains. Good condition.
