Extract from Michael Mitchell's translation

Maurice Rajsfus' Operation Yellow Star

Around 4 p.m. the precinct captain of the 2nd district reports to his superiors that he has done his duty: “The French Jew Georges Svartz, b. 8/8/1925, single, living with his parents, had a piece of paper with ‘on nez comme on est’ attached next to the yellow star [literally ‘one nose what one is’, a pun on the nose, supposedly the most characteristic feature of the Jews; ‘on nez’ and ‘on est’ sound the same, so that read aloud it would sound like ‘one is what one is’]. He lent a Jewish star to the French Aryan Rebora. Svartz was handed over to me today.”


“At 5.15 p.m., Boulevard des Italians, 16, at the request of M. Robert Amiraux, deputy head of the Department of Jewish Affairs, Mlle Marie Lang, b. 11/24/1914 in Paris, newspaper vendor, non-Jewish, was questioned as she was attaching a sheet of paper with the Jewish star to the collar of her dog. She swallowed the piece of paper when questioned. This is a page from a brochure the distribution of which is permitted. Held awaiting instructions.”