Yellow Star of David badge with a letter J. found by an American soldier

Kalman (later Carl) Ebert was born on February 14, 1907 in Bolszowce, Austria-Hungary, (now Bilshivtsi, Ukraine) to a Jewish couple, Samuel and Reizie (later Jennie) Teichberg Ebert. His father was born in 1884 and his mother in 1885, in Austria Hungary. He had three brothers, David (1909-1982), Lieb (later Louis b. 1910) and Saul Siegel (b. 1916) and one sister, Beulah (b. 1926). In 1907 Reizie immigrated to the United States and Samuel followed in 1911. On October 27, 1920, Kalman, David and Lieb sailed out of Antwerp, Belgium, and arrived in New York on November 7. They reunited with their parents and Kalman and Lieb Americanized their names to Carl and Louis. Carl lived with his family in Brooklyn and worked as a Jeweler. On April 13, 1927 Carl petitioned to become a naturalized citizen of the United States. During this time he married and divorced. On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. The following day the United States declared war on Japan, and on December 11, Germany declared war on the US. On July 29, 1942, Carl enlisted in the US Army and joined the Signal Corps as a private. The Signal Corps were responsible for establishing, coordinating, and supporting rapid communication across air, land and sea for the allied forces, as well as repairing communication infrastructure for the military and civilians and documenting the war effort and Nazi atrocities. Carl was assigned to Company B, 3111th Signal Battalion out of Fort Monmouth New Jersey as a teletype maintenance technician. After boot camp and specialized training, the unit was activated for duty on January 20, 1944. In March 1944, the 3111th shipped to England where they continued training throughout the spring. They arrived in Normandy several days after the initial June 6 invasion, landing on Omaha and Utah beaches. From the Normandy beachhead they followed the army to Cherbourg on July 10 where they established a permanent telegraph installation. With the forces of US Army Company B, the 3111th pushed forward to Reims, through Belgium and into Fulda and Frankfort in Germany taking part in the campaigns of Normandy, Ardennes, Northern France and Rhineland. On May 7, 1945, the Germans surrendered to the allies. The 3111th was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany, for several months to help repair and stabilize the civilian communication infrastructure. Carl was released from the military on October 14. He returned to New York and resumed his occupation as a jeweler. On May 23, 1947, Carl married Anna Stekin (1909-2004), they had two sons. Carl, age 90, died on December 6, 1997, in Palm Beach, Florida.

The badge was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2014 by David Ebert, the son of Carl Ebert.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of David Ebert

Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.