Yellow stars – purchase or no?

(My timing was bad – I’m re-posting my original question in hopes of getting more replies. Sorry if I’m doing it wrong, I mostly read and reply on Reddit, rather than post.)

I am a gentile. I am very interested in 20th century history, and have read many memoirs from those in Germany and occupied countries regarding the Shoah, and have been deeply touched by them.

Two years ago, when I was in Belgium and the Netherlands, I was at a flea market and found some WWII memorabilia, including a few yellow stars that appear to have been used. My first inclination was to buy one as a “never again” reminder. But then I thought about who might have worn the star, what may have happened to them, how the star happened to end up here… and the conflicting ethics and emotions made me hesitate, so I did not make the purchase. And I went away saying a prayer for any Jewish people whom those stars may have touched.

I would be interested to hear opinions – is buying something like this horrible? Honorable? Insensitive? Somewhere in between? I don’t know how to think about this, and I would rather defer to people with more at stake in the matter.

Thank you for taking the time to read (and reply, if you are so inclined).