The History of the Shield of David: The Birth of a Symbol

In 1941 the National-Socialist dictators, inspired by the medieval Church legislation, forced every Jewish person in Europe to wear a distinctive mark (the yellow badge or «Judenstern»). In 1948 the newly founded Jewish State chose the same six-pointed star, but now in the colour blue, as its national symbol, because the Shield of David had already been a Jewish symbol for several centuries. The present book offers - to commemorate these fateful events 50 years later - a comprehensive study on the history of the Shield of David and follows the development of the hexagram, which was used in many cultures in antiquity as an ornamental and magic sign, from the early Middle Ages up to the first half of the twentieth century. We not only witness the adventurous history of the sign before it became a Jewish symbol, but also the 1900 year-long journey of the Jewish people until they could settle in the promised land.