Auction 107 Winner's Unlimited - Eretz Israel and Zionism, Postcards and Photographs, Numismatics, Posters, Maps, Judaica, Holy books, Letters from Rabbis and Rebbes
By Winner'S
May 8, 2018
3 Shatner Center 1st Floor Givat Shaul Jerusalem, Israel
The auction has ended

LOT 49:

Large Photograph of Jews with Yellow Badges on their Clothes. Libya, 1940s

Sold for: $200
Start price:
$ 150
Estimated price :
$300 - $400
Buyer's Premium: 22%
VAT: 17% On commission only
Auction took place on May 8, 2018 at Winner'S

Large Photograph of Jews with Yellow Badges on their Clothes. Libya, 1940s

Large photograph of a couple [apparently husband and wife] with yellow patches at the front of the photograph.

In April 1941 the German army, under Rommel's command, entered Benghazi, Libya in order to engage the British army in battle, who stood in their way of conquering Egypt. From this date, the tribulation of Libyan Jews started, reaching its climax in April 1942, when three thousand of Benghazi's Jews were sent to to internment camps, mainly Jadu, which is located in the desert level southwest of Tripoli. This was just before their transfer to the extermination camps in Europe. Additionally, over 800 Libyan Jews were transferred to Italy and some were caught by the Germans and sent to concentration camps in Europe, including Bergen-Belsen. In a letter from Mussolini to the governor of Libya, Italo Balbo from 23/1/1939, he writes: 'I permit you to begin the racial laws on the Jews of Libya, and I will remind you that the Jews look dead but never die forever.'

Photographs of Jews from North Africa with yellow patches are very rare, as their numbers were very small compared to European Jewry's. We do not know the identity of the subjects.

Size: 18x24 cm.

Fine condition.