SEPTEMBER 2016
Artifact of the month for September 2016
Order of King David
Order of King David
(1924 – 2006)
The order of King David was instituted in 1924 by the Jewish Youth Association (JUF) which was founded in 1909. According to the statutes the order should be awarded to those who had particularly excelled through working for the association. The Order was awarded in three grades: Big Star, Commander and Knight. The first recipient of the Big Star was Aaron Grusd (1891-1979) who in 1919 had taken the initiative to form Scandinavian Jewish Youth Association (SJUF). The final declaration of the Order took place in 1993. The order was closed down in 2006, when JUF no longer existed as an association.
The "Ben-Chaim" medal from the late 1950s was only awarded at SJUFs summer camp in Denmark a few times. It was initially intended as a "fun Medal" to participants who had excelled in various activities such as lectures, dance and sport. The medal was very popular in its short-lived span of time.
The order of the Knight and the Ben-Chaim medal is a gift to the museum from Ronny K. Roed
Photo: SJUF-camp at Dragsholm castle in Denmark, 1957