For this project I chose a necklace that I received from my Grandma, it is one of the most valuable and meaningful items that I own. My grandma decided to give me this piece of jewelry the day before my bat mitzvah so I could wear it the day of. And the day of my bat mitzvah she told me the history about this piece of jewelry. She cannot remember when she first got it but she does know that it was her first piece of jewelry. She says she remembers starting to wear it more regularly and never taking it off once she was in first grade. My Grandma told me that the Nazis required all Jews under their control to wear yellow patches shaped like the Star of David and with the word “Jude” (pronounced Yude) embroidered on the patch.  This was supposed to identify the wearer as a Jew and to feel embarrassed or ashamed.  Jude is German for Jew. After the war, Jews, both men and women, boys and girls, would wear Star of David jewelry as a sort of prideful declaration of their religion.  Now in the present day I wear my necklace without fear of any sort of attack that would be instigated against me just because of my religion. When my grandma wore the necklace in 1945, It made her appreciate how fortunate she was to be American.  Anti Semitism exists. It’s a real and serious problem, but living in Brooklyn with its large Jewish population and its wonderful diversity has shielded us from its worst forms of prejudice, wearing that little star was a symbol that a Jewish person could live comfortably and safely here.  

– Piper Tierney

Relationship:  unknown unknown