Protective letter given to the Jew Jozsef Vamos by the Swiss Consulate’s Representation of the Department of Foreign Affairs, under the administration of Carl Lutz, during the extermination of Hungarian Jewry.
Carl Lutz (1895-1975) was among the most prominent Righteous Gentiles, a Swiss diplomat who saved tens of thousands of Jews during the extermination of Hungarian Jewry and their deportation to Auschwitz. Lutz worked to rescue the Jews of Budapest by giving Swiss “protective letters” for Jews with certificates, and he negotiated with high-level Nazi officials including Adolf Eichmann. He issued approximately 8,000 letters of protection. This way, about 30,000 Jews were included under the protection of these letters. Lutz worked together with other diplomats such as Angelo Rota to establish the “international ghetto” which protected Jews with letters of sponsorship from extermination. Lutz was honored to be one of the first recognized as Righteous among the Nations, and a government medal and postage stamp were issued in his memory.
[1] leaf, 28.5×21 cm.
Fine condition, fold marks, small tears in the fold mark.