Identification Card, 1938
In Germany, the flight and expulsion of the German Jews begins with the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor on January 30, 1933. From that point on, the National Socialists implement a policy aimed at the rapid exclusion of Jews from all areas of society and life in the German Reich – a policy that nationalizes anti-Semitism and ultimately is carried out with genocidal consequences. Moses Kirchheimer also experiences the anti-Jewish policies firsthand, which force him to close his business, tear his family apart, and require him to carry an identification card marked with a ‘J’ for ‘Jew.’ These identification cards become mandatory for the Jewish population starting in 1938. The identification card issued by the city of Bremerhaven on December 27, 1938, for Moses Kirchheimer contains a photo and his fingerprints.
