Letter of Protection

A typewritten message in German and Hungarian that has creases as if folded in half 3 times. The Swiss coat of arms appears at the top and there is a red stamp that reads “Schweizerische gesandtschaft, Budapest” in the middle and bottom right corner of the page.

Swiss schutzbrief issued to Vilmosné Lindenbaum.

The Swiss Vice-Consul Carl Lutz issued thousands of these letters of protection to Hungarian Jews while he was posted in Budapest in 1944. The letters guaranteed that the holder would have the protection of the Swiss government. This prevented them from being arrested and deported to death camps. This letter of protection was issued to Vilmosné Lindenbaum (Mrs. Vilmos Lindenbaum) in Budapest. Vice-Consul Lutz was later honoured as Righteous Among the Nations for rescuing 62,000 Jews.

Donated to the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre by Leslie Spiro. 1993.054.001

Transcript

[Translated from the original German and Hungarian.]

The Swiss legation, Department of Foreign Interests, hereby certifies that Mrs. Vilmos Lindenbaum is registered in the Swiss collective passport for emigration, therefore the concerned person is to be considered as the holder of a valid passport.

Budapest, October 23, 1944

Letter of Protection

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Transcript