Auction 89 - Rare and Important Items
Two Protective Letters Issued by the Swiss Embassy in Budapest, Operating under the Directorship of Carl Lutz, Righteous Among the Nations – Budapest, 1944
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.
The Holocaust and and She'erit Hapletah
The Holocaust and and She'erit Hapletah