Auction 89 - Rare and Important Items
November 22, 2022
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5
Auction 89 - Rare and Important Items
November 22, 2022
Opening: $3,000
Estimate: $5,000 - $8,000
Sold for: $13,750
Including buyer's premium
Record book of the Chevra Kadisha (Jewish Burial Society) of Samarkand, dating from the time of the Holocaust, containing burial listings documenting approx. 1,500 deceased refugees from Eastern Europe. Samarkand (Uzbekistan), 1942-46. Hebrew and Yiddish.
An important source of information from the period of the Holocaust – apparently the only one of its kind – regarding the fate of thousands of refugees from Jewish communities in Eastern Europe: men, women, and children who fled to Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
This record book consists of tables, with spaces for detailed entries which include: given name of the deceased; his/her father's name; surname; birthplace; age; date(s) of death and burial; burial plot number and location of gravesite. From these detailed listings, as well as from later addenda and corrections, it is apparent that the members of the burial society were doing their utmost to obtain and record as much information as possible regarding the deceased. Most of the entries in the book include details regarding the site of the grave (the section and/or plot number and row, with occasional reference to nearby gravestones). In those cases where gravestones were actually put in place over gravesites, this fact is indicated. This detailed listing enables the identification of hundreds of unmarked graves.
It is clear from the record book that many of the deceased were interred with no one in charge having any knowledge of their age or place of origin. Many were anonymous, and are listed in the book with designations such as "boy, " "girl, " "woman, " and so forth. In many cases, the Hebrew letters "mem mem" ("met mitzvah") are added to the name to indicate that the deceased had no known relatives. Some of the entries also give information regarding circumstances of death (for instance, "Woman 'mem mem' from Respublikanski Hospital, brought there by people who found her on the street. Name and place [of origin] unknown"; "Man 'mem mem' from 'hachnasat orchim'"; or "Joseph 'mem mem, ' had a small wart on his left shoulder").
The entries include the following individuals: • Hirsh Meilech Teitelbaum of Reisha (interred on 18th Nissan [April 5] 1942) – R. Tzvi Elimelech Teitelbaum of Reisha (Rzeszów), son of R. Chaim Yosef of Dinov, scion of the rebbes of Blazhov. See: "Rzeszów Jews, Memorial Book" (Hebrew), p. 117; "Meorei Galicia" (Hebrew), Vol. 6, p. 744. • R. Ya'akov son of R. Yitzchak Weidenfeld of Bielsko [Bielsko-Biała] (interred in Tammuz [June-July] 1942) – R. Ya'akov Weidenfeld, second son of R. Yitzchak Weidenfeld, Rabbi of Hrymailiv (brother of the Tchebiner Rav); the following biographical note was written about him in the (Hebrew) book "Eleh Ezkerah" (Part 7, p. 72): "A great, G-d-fearing Torah scholar, who was exiled to Russia and passed away there." • Chanah daughter of Meir Simcha Chein of Nevel (interred on 19th Elul [August 28] 1945) – presumably Chanah Steingart, daughter of R. Meir Simcha Chein of Nevel, a prominent Chabad Chassid in the time of the Rebbe Rashab. See: "Avnei Chein" (History of the Chein Family, Hebrew), p. 196. • The boy Yisrael son of R. Avraham Kamai of Vilna, passed away at the age of nine, 1943, and his father, R. Avraham son of R. Yehoshua Kamai of Vilna, passed away at the age of 39, 1945. • Moshe son of Avraham Ehrlich (interred in Kislev [November] 1942), father of the composer and singer, R. Yom-Tov Ehrlich, who composed many songs relating to Samarkand; he and his father were deported from Poland to Samarkand following the Soviet conquest of eastern Poland.
The deceased had arrived from many different cities across Eastern Europe, including Warsaw, Krakow, Lublin, Sanz, Kiev (Kyiv), Kishinev (Chisinau), Rostov, Kharkov (Kharkiv), Kherson, Stanislav (Ivano-Frankivsk), Odessa, Moscow, Kovno (Kaunas), Vilna (Vilnius), Lida, Minsk, and many other cities in Galicia, Poland, and elsewhere.
With the advance of the German army into the Soviet Union during the Second World War, thousands of refugees fled to Samarkand, and this brought about a massive and exceptionally abrupt expansion in the size of the city’s Jewish community. As a consequence of the war, Samarkand was suffering shortages in basic commodities even prior to the influx and was utterly incapable of meeting the basic needs of the additional, incoming population. The authorities were therefore forced to institute a very strict, frugal policy of quotas. In 1942, the residents suffered the multiple blows of mass starvation, shortages, and an outbreak of typhus. All these factors combined to cause a precipitous rise in mortality over a very brief period. A local Chevra Kadisha was already functioning in the city, but the crisis necessitated the establishment of an additional Chevra Kadisha to deal with the huge numbers of deceased individuals among the incoming refugees. In the book "Yahadut HaDemama" (editor: N. Gottlieb; Jerusalem 1983/84), R. Yehuda Leib Levin, one of the most prominent representatives of Chabad-Lubavitch in Samarkand, speaks of how he founded the city’s new Chevra Kadisha for refugees: " I assembled a group of 13-15 people to assist me, and divided them up into different groups with different functions. One group, for instance, consisting of two individuals, would pay daily visits to the city’s hospitals… inquiring whether there were any Jews in their midst who had passed away. Whenever such a case would arise, the people would immediately get to work; first and foremost, they would remove the deceased from the confines of the hospital, to ensure that s/he would not be dumped like a rock along with the bodies of Gentiles and non-Jews…"
A partial index appears at the end of the record book, with entries listed according to burial plot.
Some 155 written pages (mostly on both sides). Numerous blank pages. 21 cm. Good condition. Stains. Few creases and blemishes. Minor tears to edges of several leaves. Lengthy tear to one leaf. Several leaves with strips of paper glued onto lengths of edges. Neatly bound in a new binding, with two notebook pages added, one at the beginning and one at the end (inked stamps and notations in pencil on notebook pages). Two printed notes pasted at the beginning of record book (not affecting listings relating to the deceased).
An important source of information from the period of the Holocaust – apparently the only one of its kind – regarding the fate of thousands of refugees from Jewish communities in Eastern Europe: men, women, and children who fled to Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
This record book consists of tables, with spaces for detailed entries which include: given name of the deceased; his/her father's name; surname; birthplace; age; date(s) of death and burial; burial plot number and location of gravesite. From these detailed listings, as well as from later addenda and corrections, it is apparent that the members of the burial society were doing their utmost to obtain and record as much information as possible regarding the deceased. Most of the entries in the book include details regarding the site of the grave (the section and/or plot number and row, with occasional reference to nearby gravestones). In those cases where gravestones were actually put in place over gravesites, this fact is indicated. This detailed listing enables the identification of hundreds of unmarked graves.
It is clear from the record book that many of the deceased were interred with no one in charge having any knowledge of their age or place of origin. Many were anonymous, and are listed in the book with designations such as "boy, " "girl, " "woman, " and so forth. In many cases, the Hebrew letters "mem mem" ("met mitzvah") are added to the name to indicate that the deceased had no known relatives. Some of the entries also give information regarding circumstances of death (for instance, "Woman 'mem mem' from Respublikanski Hospital, brought there by people who found her on the street. Name and place [of origin] unknown"; "Man 'mem mem' from 'hachnasat orchim'"; or "Joseph 'mem mem, ' had a small wart on his left shoulder").
The entries include the following individuals: • Hirsh Meilech Teitelbaum of Reisha (interred on 18th Nissan [April 5] 1942) – R. Tzvi Elimelech Teitelbaum of Reisha (Rzeszów), son of R. Chaim Yosef of Dinov, scion of the rebbes of Blazhov. See: "Rzeszów Jews, Memorial Book" (Hebrew), p. 117; "Meorei Galicia" (Hebrew), Vol. 6, p. 744. • R. Ya'akov son of R. Yitzchak Weidenfeld of Bielsko [Bielsko-Biała] (interred in Tammuz [June-July] 1942) – R. Ya'akov Weidenfeld, second son of R. Yitzchak Weidenfeld, Rabbi of Hrymailiv (brother of the Tchebiner Rav); the following biographical note was written about him in the (Hebrew) book "Eleh Ezkerah" (Part 7, p. 72): "A great, G-d-fearing Torah scholar, who was exiled to Russia and passed away there." • Chanah daughter of Meir Simcha Chein of Nevel (interred on 19th Elul [August 28] 1945) – presumably Chanah Steingart, daughter of R. Meir Simcha Chein of Nevel, a prominent Chabad Chassid in the time of the Rebbe Rashab. See: "Avnei Chein" (History of the Chein Family, Hebrew), p. 196. • The boy Yisrael son of R. Avraham Kamai of Vilna, passed away at the age of nine, 1943, and his father, R. Avraham son of R. Yehoshua Kamai of Vilna, passed away at the age of 39, 1945. • Moshe son of Avraham Ehrlich (interred in Kislev [November] 1942), father of the composer and singer, R. Yom-Tov Ehrlich, who composed many songs relating to Samarkand; he and his father were deported from Poland to Samarkand following the Soviet conquest of eastern Poland.
The deceased had arrived from many different cities across Eastern Europe, including Warsaw, Krakow, Lublin, Sanz, Kiev (Kyiv), Kishinev (Chisinau), Rostov, Kharkov (Kharkiv), Kherson, Stanislav (Ivano-Frankivsk), Odessa, Moscow, Kovno (Kaunas), Vilna (Vilnius), Lida, Minsk, and many other cities in Galicia, Poland, and elsewhere.
With the advance of the German army into the Soviet Union during the Second World War, thousands of refugees fled to Samarkand, and this brought about a massive and exceptionally abrupt expansion in the size of the city’s Jewish community. As a consequence of the war, Samarkand was suffering shortages in basic commodities even prior to the influx and was utterly incapable of meeting the basic needs of the additional, incoming population. The authorities were therefore forced to institute a very strict, frugal policy of quotas. In 1942, the residents suffered the multiple blows of mass starvation, shortages, and an outbreak of typhus. All these factors combined to cause a precipitous rise in mortality over a very brief period. A local Chevra Kadisha was already functioning in the city, but the crisis necessitated the establishment of an additional Chevra Kadisha to deal with the huge numbers of deceased individuals among the incoming refugees. In the book "Yahadut HaDemama" (editor: N. Gottlieb; Jerusalem 1983/84), R. Yehuda Leib Levin, one of the most prominent representatives of Chabad-Lubavitch in Samarkand, speaks of how he founded the city’s new Chevra Kadisha for refugees: " I assembled a group of 13-15 people to assist me, and divided them up into different groups with different functions. One group, for instance, consisting of two individuals, would pay daily visits to the city’s hospitals… inquiring whether there were any Jews in their midst who had passed away. Whenever such a case would arise, the people would immediately get to work; first and foremost, they would remove the deceased from the confines of the hospital, to ensure that s/he would not be dumped like a rock along with the bodies of Gentiles and non-Jews…"
A partial index appears at the end of the record book, with entries listed according to burial plot.
Some 155 written pages (mostly on both sides). Numerous blank pages. 21 cm. Good condition. Stains. Few creases and blemishes. Minor tears to edges of several leaves. Lengthy tear to one leaf. Several leaves with strips of paper glued onto lengths of edges. Neatly bound in a new binding, with two notebook pages added, one at the beginning and one at the end (inked stamps and notations in pencil on notebook pages). Two printed notes pasted at the beginning of record book (not affecting listings relating to the deceased).
Category
The Holocaust and and She'erit Hapletah
Catalogue
Auction 89 - Rare and Important Items
November 22, 2022
Opening: $3,000
Estimate: $6,000 - $10,000
Sold for: $6,875
Including buyer's premium
Five documents issued during the Holocaust for R. Eliezer Sorotzkin, a student at the Telz (Telshe) Yeshiva and son of R. Zalman Sorotzkin, Rabbi of Lutsk; including life-saving transit visas signed by two figures recognized as Righteous Among the Nations, Chiune Sugihara and Jan Zwartendijk. Kovno (Kaunas), Kobe (Japan), and Shanghai, 1940-45. English, Polish, Japanese, and additional languages.
R. Eliezer Sorotzkin (1915-2007), son of R. Zalman Sorotzkin, Rabbi of Lutsk and chairman of Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah. At the time of the Holocaust, he managed to escape to the Far East thanks to the efforts of two individuals recognized as Righteous Among the Nations, Chiune Sugihara and Jan Zwartendijk. In Shanghai he married Hasia, daughter of R. Eliyahu Meir Bloch, dean of the Telz (Telshe) Yeshiva. In the aftermath of WWII, he immigrated to Palestine, where he established the Haredi town and community of Kiryat Ye'arim (Telz-Stone).
The present collection comprises the following documents issued for R. Eliezer Sorotzkin during the Holocaust:
1. "Sugihara Visa": A transit visa dated July 31, 1940 authorizing transit via Japan, issued (and apparently handwritten and hand-signed) by Chiune Sugihara, and an entry permit to Dutch territories in South America, dated July 24, 1940, issued and hand-signed by Jan Zwartendijk. Both the transit visa and entry permit are stamped onto a travel document issued by the Polish Government in Exile in Kaunas. This document bears Sorotzkin's photo and details on the first page.
A number of inked stamps documenting Sorotzkin's route of travel during the war appear on the Polish document next to the abovementioned visa and permit: an entry stamp to Japan; a transit visa via India issued by the British Consulate in Cuba; a travel pass to Palestine from the British Consulate in Kobe; a travel pass issued by the Egyptian Consulate in Tokyo; and additional inked stamps.
Chiune Sugihara (1900-1986) was a Japanese diplomat who served as Japan's Consul in the city of Kaunas during the Holocaust. From July to September, 1940, he issued more than two thousand visas authorizing transit via Japan, and these are known to have saved the lives of both the bearers and their family members. According to some estimates, roughly 10,000 lives were saved as a result. Sugihara issued the transit visas over a three-month period. By doing so, he was deliberately ignoring instructions passed down by his superiors and acting in violation of the terms of eligibility, persevering in this mission in a flurry of activity up until the closure of the embassy. Roughly half of the transit passes issued by Sugihara were accompanied by another life-saving permit – this one issued by the Dutch Consul in Kaunas, Jan Zwartendijk (1896-1976). These permits were issued on behalf of Jews whose passports lacked an entry permit into a third country. Zwartendijk's entry permits – certifying that the holder was entitled to enter Dutch territories in South America – were required to fully ensure safe passage for the individuals in question insofar as the Japanese passes only enabled transit via Japan. For all their noble efforts and achievements in rescuing Jews during the Holocaust, Israel's Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center bestowed upon both Sugihara and Zwartendijk the title of "Righteous Among the Nations."
Polish travel document: [2] ff. (three pages bearing handwriting and inked stamps), 27.5 cm. Fair-poor condition. Stains. Creases. Fold lines. Tears, especially to edges and to lengths of fold lines, most of them reinforced with acidic adhesive tape (strips of adhesive tape applied to full length and width of leaves). Several open tears to edges.
2-5. Four personal documents belonging to R. Eliezer Sorotzkin: • Birth certificate of his son, Joseph Judah Leib (who would one day become dean of the Me'or Eliyahu Yeshiva in Telz-Stone and author of the book "Megged Yosef"), issued by the Health Department in Shanghai and dated December 11, 1945. English. • Letter from the Eastjewcom aid organization to the delegation of the Polish Government in Exile in Shanghai: request to issue a passport on behalf of Rabbi Sorotzkin, dated 1941. Polish. • Identity paper bearing passport photo, issued by the Polish Residents Association in China, dated 1943. • "Special Pass for Rabbi Student" in Shanghai, authorizing exit from the residential area from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM, dated 1945. Japanese and English.
Size and condition vary.
R. Eliezer Sorotzkin (1915-2007), son of R. Zalman Sorotzkin, Rabbi of Lutsk and chairman of Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah. At the time of the Holocaust, he managed to escape to the Far East thanks to the efforts of two individuals recognized as Righteous Among the Nations, Chiune Sugihara and Jan Zwartendijk. In Shanghai he married Hasia, daughter of R. Eliyahu Meir Bloch, dean of the Telz (Telshe) Yeshiva. In the aftermath of WWII, he immigrated to Palestine, where he established the Haredi town and community of Kiryat Ye'arim (Telz-Stone).
The present collection comprises the following documents issued for R. Eliezer Sorotzkin during the Holocaust:
1. "Sugihara Visa": A transit visa dated July 31, 1940 authorizing transit via Japan, issued (and apparently handwritten and hand-signed) by Chiune Sugihara, and an entry permit to Dutch territories in South America, dated July 24, 1940, issued and hand-signed by Jan Zwartendijk. Both the transit visa and entry permit are stamped onto a travel document issued by the Polish Government in Exile in Kaunas. This document bears Sorotzkin's photo and details on the first page.
A number of inked stamps documenting Sorotzkin's route of travel during the war appear on the Polish document next to the abovementioned visa and permit: an entry stamp to Japan; a transit visa via India issued by the British Consulate in Cuba; a travel pass to Palestine from the British Consulate in Kobe; a travel pass issued by the Egyptian Consulate in Tokyo; and additional inked stamps.
Chiune Sugihara (1900-1986) was a Japanese diplomat who served as Japan's Consul in the city of Kaunas during the Holocaust. From July to September, 1940, he issued more than two thousand visas authorizing transit via Japan, and these are known to have saved the lives of both the bearers and their family members. According to some estimates, roughly 10,000 lives were saved as a result. Sugihara issued the transit visas over a three-month period. By doing so, he was deliberately ignoring instructions passed down by his superiors and acting in violation of the terms of eligibility, persevering in this mission in a flurry of activity up until the closure of the embassy. Roughly half of the transit passes issued by Sugihara were accompanied by another life-saving permit – this one issued by the Dutch Consul in Kaunas, Jan Zwartendijk (1896-1976). These permits were issued on behalf of Jews whose passports lacked an entry permit into a third country. Zwartendijk's entry permits – certifying that the holder was entitled to enter Dutch territories in South America – were required to fully ensure safe passage for the individuals in question insofar as the Japanese passes only enabled transit via Japan. For all their noble efforts and achievements in rescuing Jews during the Holocaust, Israel's Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center bestowed upon both Sugihara and Zwartendijk the title of "Righteous Among the Nations."
Polish travel document: [2] ff. (three pages bearing handwriting and inked stamps), 27.5 cm. Fair-poor condition. Stains. Creases. Fold lines. Tears, especially to edges and to lengths of fold lines, most of them reinforced with acidic adhesive tape (strips of adhesive tape applied to full length and width of leaves). Several open tears to edges.
2-5. Four personal documents belonging to R. Eliezer Sorotzkin: • Birth certificate of his son, Joseph Judah Leib (who would one day become dean of the Me'or Eliyahu Yeshiva in Telz-Stone and author of the book "Megged Yosef"), issued by the Health Department in Shanghai and dated December 11, 1945. English. • Letter from the Eastjewcom aid organization to the delegation of the Polish Government in Exile in Shanghai: request to issue a passport on behalf of Rabbi Sorotzkin, dated 1941. Polish. • Identity paper bearing passport photo, issued by the Polish Residents Association in China, dated 1943. • "Special Pass for Rabbi Student" in Shanghai, authorizing exit from the residential area from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM, dated 1945. Japanese and English.
Size and condition vary.
Category
The Holocaust and and She'erit Hapletah
Catalogue
Auction 89 - Rare and Important Items
November 22, 2022
Opening: $4,500
Estimate: $6,000 - $8,000
Unsold
"Schutz-Pass" ["Protective Passport"] issued to the Jewish woman Lili Gartner-Pataki and her daughter Katalin by the Swedish Embassy in Budapest. Personally signed by Raoul Wallenberg. August 24, 1944. German and Hungarian.
A document attesting that the bearer and her daughter both enjoy the protection of the Kingdom of Sweden. Hand signed by the Swedish ambassador Carl Ivan Danielsson and bearing the inked stamps of the Swedish Embassy in Budapest as well as the signature of the bearer, Lili Gartner-Pataki. In the lower left corner, there is an additional hand signature – a quick scribble, partially obscured by an ink stain – that of Raoul Wallenberg.
The actions of the Swedish Embassy in Budapest on behalf of the Jews of Hungary began shortly after the Nazi German conquest of Hungary in 1944. Carl Danielsson, the Swedish ambassador, issued temporary Swedish passports specifically to Hungarian Jews with family or commercial ties to Swedish subjects.
In July 1944, after large numbers of Hungarian Jews had already been deported to Auschwitz, Raoul Wallenberg was dispatched on behalf of the Swedish Foreign Office to Budapest to assist in the rescue of the city's remaining Jews. For the most part, the Hungarian and German authorities honored the diplomatic standing of the Swedish Embassy, and Wallenberg managed to issue thousands of "Schutz-Passes" that offered reliable protection to their Jewish holders and prevented them from being deported eastward, despite the fact that they lacked any legal status.
Wallenberg did not make do with the issuing of these passes, and resorted to additional measures in his attempts to save Hungarian Jews; among other things, he opened shelters to house Jewish refugees, and applied various forms of pressure upon senior officials in the Nazi regime to halt the deportation of Jews to Auschwitz. According to a number of eyewitness accounts, he would arrive in time at the train stations where Jews were being concentrated for deportation to Auschwitz, and demand that all those ostensibly carrying the "Schutz-Passes" be allowed to get off the train. In 1966, the honorific of "Righteous among the Nations" was bestowed upon Raoul Wallenberg by Israel's Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center.
The name "Lili Gartner (Pataki)" appears among the "Schutz-Pass" holders included in the Wallenberg Passport List, kept in the Jewish Museum and Archives of Hungary, Budapest.
[1] f., 34 cm. Good condition. Fold lines to length and width. Minor tears to fold lines, and small open tear in middle of sheet at intersection of fold lines (reinforced with strips of adhesive tape on verso). Minor creases and stains. "Schutz-Pass" without passport photo. Abrasions to paper in space allotted for passport photo.
A document attesting that the bearer and her daughter both enjoy the protection of the Kingdom of Sweden. Hand signed by the Swedish ambassador Carl Ivan Danielsson and bearing the inked stamps of the Swedish Embassy in Budapest as well as the signature of the bearer, Lili Gartner-Pataki. In the lower left corner, there is an additional hand signature – a quick scribble, partially obscured by an ink stain – that of Raoul Wallenberg.
The actions of the Swedish Embassy in Budapest on behalf of the Jews of Hungary began shortly after the Nazi German conquest of Hungary in 1944. Carl Danielsson, the Swedish ambassador, issued temporary Swedish passports specifically to Hungarian Jews with family or commercial ties to Swedish subjects.
In July 1944, after large numbers of Hungarian Jews had already been deported to Auschwitz, Raoul Wallenberg was dispatched on behalf of the Swedish Foreign Office to Budapest to assist in the rescue of the city's remaining Jews. For the most part, the Hungarian and German authorities honored the diplomatic standing of the Swedish Embassy, and Wallenberg managed to issue thousands of "Schutz-Passes" that offered reliable protection to their Jewish holders and prevented them from being deported eastward, despite the fact that they lacked any legal status.
Wallenberg did not make do with the issuing of these passes, and resorted to additional measures in his attempts to save Hungarian Jews; among other things, he opened shelters to house Jewish refugees, and applied various forms of pressure upon senior officials in the Nazi regime to halt the deportation of Jews to Auschwitz. According to a number of eyewitness accounts, he would arrive in time at the train stations where Jews were being concentrated for deportation to Auschwitz, and demand that all those ostensibly carrying the "Schutz-Passes" be allowed to get off the train. In 1966, the honorific of "Righteous among the Nations" was bestowed upon Raoul Wallenberg by Israel's Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center.
The name "Lili Gartner (Pataki)" appears among the "Schutz-Pass" holders included in the Wallenberg Passport List, kept in the Jewish Museum and Archives of Hungary, Budapest.
[1] f., 34 cm. Good condition. Fold lines to length and width. Minor tears to fold lines, and small open tear in middle of sheet at intersection of fold lines (reinforced with strips of adhesive tape on verso). Minor creases and stains. "Schutz-Pass" without passport photo. Abrasions to paper in space allotted for passport photo.
Category
The Holocaust and and She'erit Hapletah
Catalogue
Auction 89 - Rare and Important Items
November 22, 2022
Opening: $5,000
Estimate: $7,000 - $10,000
Sold for: $6,250
Including buyer's premium
Two "Schutzbrief" ("Protective Letters") issued by the Swiss Embassy in Budapest, Hungary, to a Jewish couple, Oskar and Jolan Szamekiu / Szamek. Budapest, December 9, 1944. German and Hungarian.
These letters were typewritten in German and Hungarian on the official stationery of the Department of Foreign Interests at the Swiss embassy ("Schweizerische Gesandtschaft, Abteilung für fremde Interessen"), managed by the diplomat Carl Lutz. With passport photos. The letters certify that Dr. Oskar Szamek, former physician of the Romanian diplomatic mission, and his wife Jolan, are both under the protection of the Swiss Embassy, representing Romanian interests.
Each of the two letters is hand signed twice by Carl Lutz and additionally bears the inked stamps of the Swiss Embassy in Budapest (in German and French), as well as the hand signature of the Secretary of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Budapest (Oskar Szamek's letter also bears the inked stamp of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.) Still another certification, handwritten in Russian, appears on both letters at the bottom, placed and dated Budapest, February 6, 1945.
The name of Jolan Szamek, a housewife from Budapest, appears on a list of passengers who arrived in New York on August 14, 1947. According to the list, her husband was in Békéscsaba, Hungary at the time.
Through the first half of the 20th century, there were growing tensions between Romania and Hungary, with the main bone of contention being the issue of control over the region of Transylvania, which had been granted to Romania under the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, notwithstanding the fact that half the region's population was ethnically Hungarian. In the early stages of WWII, the two countries – both ruled by fascist regimes – jointly aligned themselves with the Axis Powers and began fighting against the Soviet Union soon after Germany invaded the USSR in June 1941. But after the dictatorship led by Romanian General Ion Antonescu was toppled in a coup on August 23, 1944, Romania switched sides and joined the Allied Forces, mostly in order to solidify its claim to the territories it regarded as historically Romanian. Diplomatic relations between Romania and Hungary were then severed, and the operation of the Romanian Embassy in Budapest was suspended. The present documents, the "Protective Letters" issued to Oskar and Jolan Szamek, were meant to safeguard the Jewish couple after they had been abruptly stripped of any diplomatic protection and exposed to persecution at the hands of a hostile regime.
Carl Lutz (1895-1975), Swiss diplomat. Appointed in 1942 to serve as vice consul in charge of the "Department of Foreign Interests" in the Swiss Embassy in Hungary. Worked to expedite the emigration of Jews from Hungary, whose borders were still open at the time.
Just before the occupation of Hungary by the Germans, Lutz began exercising his authority to issue "Protective Letters" thus adopting an idea originally conceived by Moshe (Miklos) Krausz, director of the Palestine Office in Budapest. The letters granted diplomatic protection to Jews with emigration permits. Eventually, this idea of "protective letters" was adopted by other ambassadors, and enabled the rescue of large numbers of Jews. Lutz displayed extraordinary dedication in his efforts to save Jews, and refused to leave Budapest even after the siege encircling the city was tightened. He remained there, steadfast in his mission, until the conquest of Budapest by the Soviet Red Army in 1945; only then did he return to Switzerland. For all his noble efforts and achievements in rescuing Jews during the Holocaust, Israel's Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center bestowed upon him the title of "Righteous Among the Nations" in 1965.
Two letters, [1] f. each, 29.5 cm. Fair to fair-poor condition. Fold lines to length and width. Tears, some lengthy, mostly to edges and to fold lines (causing minor damage to text); letter issued to Jolan Szamek mended by gluing sheet of paper (stationery of the Department of Foreign Interests, Swiss Legation) onto verso. Stains. Creases.
These letters were typewritten in German and Hungarian on the official stationery of the Department of Foreign Interests at the Swiss embassy ("Schweizerische Gesandtschaft, Abteilung für fremde Interessen"), managed by the diplomat Carl Lutz. With passport photos. The letters certify that Dr. Oskar Szamek, former physician of the Romanian diplomatic mission, and his wife Jolan, are both under the protection of the Swiss Embassy, representing Romanian interests.
Each of the two letters is hand signed twice by Carl Lutz and additionally bears the inked stamps of the Swiss Embassy in Budapest (in German and French), as well as the hand signature of the Secretary of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Budapest (Oskar Szamek's letter also bears the inked stamp of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.) Still another certification, handwritten in Russian, appears on both letters at the bottom, placed and dated Budapest, February 6, 1945.
The name of Jolan Szamek, a housewife from Budapest, appears on a list of passengers who arrived in New York on August 14, 1947. According to the list, her husband was in Békéscsaba, Hungary at the time.
Through the first half of the 20th century, there were growing tensions between Romania and Hungary, with the main bone of contention being the issue of control over the region of Transylvania, which had been granted to Romania under the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, notwithstanding the fact that half the region's population was ethnically Hungarian. In the early stages of WWII, the two countries – both ruled by fascist regimes – jointly aligned themselves with the Axis Powers and began fighting against the Soviet Union soon after Germany invaded the USSR in June 1941. But after the dictatorship led by Romanian General Ion Antonescu was toppled in a coup on August 23, 1944, Romania switched sides and joined the Allied Forces, mostly in order to solidify its claim to the territories it regarded as historically Romanian. Diplomatic relations between Romania and Hungary were then severed, and the operation of the Romanian Embassy in Budapest was suspended. The present documents, the "Protective Letters" issued to Oskar and Jolan Szamek, were meant to safeguard the Jewish couple after they had been abruptly stripped of any diplomatic protection and exposed to persecution at the hands of a hostile regime.
Carl Lutz (1895-1975), Swiss diplomat. Appointed in 1942 to serve as vice consul in charge of the "Department of Foreign Interests" in the Swiss Embassy in Hungary. Worked to expedite the emigration of Jews from Hungary, whose borders were still open at the time.
Just before the occupation of Hungary by the Germans, Lutz began exercising his authority to issue "Protective Letters" thus adopting an idea originally conceived by Moshe (Miklos) Krausz, director of the Palestine Office in Budapest. The letters granted diplomatic protection to Jews with emigration permits. Eventually, this idea of "protective letters" was adopted by other ambassadors, and enabled the rescue of large numbers of Jews. Lutz displayed extraordinary dedication in his efforts to save Jews, and refused to leave Budapest even after the siege encircling the city was tightened. He remained there, steadfast in his mission, until the conquest of Budapest by the Soviet Red Army in 1945; only then did he return to Switzerland. For all his noble efforts and achievements in rescuing Jews during the Holocaust, Israel's Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center bestowed upon him the title of "Righteous Among the Nations" in 1965.
Two letters, [1] f. each, 29.5 cm. Fair to fair-poor condition. Fold lines to length and width. Tears, some lengthy, mostly to edges and to fold lines (causing minor damage to text); letter issued to Jolan Szamek mended by gluing sheet of paper (stationery of the Department of Foreign Interests, Swiss Legation) onto verso. Stains. Creases.
Category
The Holocaust and and She'erit Hapletah
Catalogue
Auction 89 - Rare and Important Items
November 22, 2022
Opening: $2,000
Estimate: $3,000 - $4,000
Sold for: $4,500
Including buyer's premium
Babylonian Talmud – complete set. Munich-Heidelberg, 1948. "Published by the Union of Rabbis in the American Occupation Zone in Germany".
After WWII, the demand for Talmud and holy books by surviving Jews congregated in the DP camps exceeded the few copies that were available for the refugees. From 1946, the Union of Rabbis in Germany, with the assistance of the American army and the JDC, began to print volumes of Talmud for survivors. At first, only a few tractates were printed in various formats. In 1948, the present edition – a complete edition of the Talmud – was printed for the first time. Each volume contains two title pages. The first title page was especially designed to commemorate the printing of the Talmud on the scorched soil of Germany; on its upper part is an illustration of a Jewish town with the caption "From slavery to redemption and from darkness to great light"; on its lower part is an illustration of barbed wire fences and a labor camp, with the captions: "Labor camp in Germany during Nazi era", "They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts" (Psalms 119).
19 volumes. Approx. 39 cm. Brittle paper in some volumes. Overall good condition. Stains. Dark ink stains to several leaves. Minor marginal tears. Tear to title page of Tractate Yevamot, without loss, repaired. Creases to some title pages. Stamps in several places. New (uniform) leather bindings.
After WWII, the demand for Talmud and holy books by surviving Jews congregated in the DP camps exceeded the few copies that were available for the refugees. From 1946, the Union of Rabbis in Germany, with the assistance of the American army and the JDC, began to print volumes of Talmud for survivors. At first, only a few tractates were printed in various formats. In 1948, the present edition – a complete edition of the Talmud – was printed for the first time. Each volume contains two title pages. The first title page was especially designed to commemorate the printing of the Talmud on the scorched soil of Germany; on its upper part is an illustration of a Jewish town with the caption "From slavery to redemption and from darkness to great light"; on its lower part is an illustration of barbed wire fences and a labor camp, with the captions: "Labor camp in Germany during Nazi era", "They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts" (Psalms 119).
19 volumes. Approx. 39 cm. Brittle paper in some volumes. Overall good condition. Stains. Dark ink stains to several leaves. Minor marginal tears. Tear to title page of Tractate Yevamot, without loss, repaired. Creases to some title pages. Stamps in several places. New (uniform) leather bindings.
Category
The Holocaust and and She'erit Hapletah
Catalogue