Beschreibung:

Protection letter (Schutzbrief) issued by the Swiss Embassy in Budapest for a Jew name Kalman Gonda, his wife and their daughter, Alice on Oct. 23, 1944. German and Hungarian. The letter is typewritten in German and in Hungarian on the official stationery of the Swiss Embassy Department for Foreign Interests [Schweizerische Gesandtschaft, Abteilung für fremde Interessen], directed by the diplomat Carl Lutz. The ink-stamp of the Budapest Swiss Embassy [Légation de Suisse, Budapest] appears on the bottom. A number and date are handwritten at the top. Carl Lutz (1895-1975), a Swiss diplomat, was appointed Manager of the Swiss Embassy Department for Foreign Interests in Hungary in 1942 and worked to expedite the emigration of Jews from Hungary while the borders were still open. On the eve of the German occupation of Hungary, Lutz created "protection letters" which granted diplomatic protection to Jews who were not Swiss citizens but possessed affidavits to immigrate to a third country (later, the idea of protection letters was "copied" by other embassies, and saved altogether tens of thousands of Jews). Lutz displayed exceptional dedication to rescuing Jews and even after the noose surrounding Budapest tightened, he refused to leave. For three months, he and his wife lived with Jewish refugees in the basement of the abandoned consulate and only in 1945, after the city was conquered by the Red Army, did Lutz leave for Switzerland. In 1965, Carl Lutz was honored with the title "Righteous among the Nations" for his activities in rescuing Jew during the Holocaust. 20.5X29.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Folding marks. Creases and minor stains. Tears, some open, to margins and along the folding marks (most minor, not affecting text). Pinholes.