Protective letter [Schutzbrief] issued by the Swiss Embassy in Budapest for a Jewish Woman named Szidónia Feldmann on 23.10.1944. German and Hungarian.
The letter is typewritten in German and Hungarian on the official stationery of the Department of Foreign Interests of the Swiss Embassy (Schweizerische Gesandtschaft, Abteilung für fremde Interessen), which was directed by the diplomat Carl Lutz, confirming that the name of its bearer was included in a collective Swiss passport.
Swiss diplomat Carl Lutz (1895-1975) was appointed Swiss vice-consul in Budapest, in charge of foreign interests, in 1942. He worked to hasten Jews' departure of Hungary, whose borders were still open; shortly before the Nazi occupation of Hungary he started issuing protective letters (Schutzpass) – an idea conceived by Miklos Moshe Krausz, director of the Palestine Office in Budapest – providing diplomatic protection to Jews who were candidates for immigration (the idea of protective letters was later adopted by other diplomats, saving the lives of many Jews). Lutz worked relentlessly to protect Hungarian Jews and remained in Budapest during the siege of the city. He returned to Switzerland only in 1945, after Budapest was occupied by the Red Army. He was honored as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1965.
Szidónia Feldmann, to whom the protective letter was given, worked as a clerk at the food warehouse of the Hungarian Red Cross (See previous item).
[1] leaf, 29 cm. Good condition. Stains. Fold lines. Tears and small creases.