Eric Chaim Kline, Bookseller

2 Signs for Safe Houses in Budapest 1944: Schutzbrief Geschäft und Haus der Konfektio Ipari [WITH] A Sign for a Swedish Red Cross Safe House in Budapest

n/a

Budapest: Schweizerische Gesandtschaft/Swedish Red Cross, 1944. Loose leaf. Large Quarto (11 3/4 x 8 1/4"). Stiff broadside. Printed in red and black with Swiss emblem at top and framed in red. Printed on front in German and on verso in Hungarian. This broadside is a protective sign for the clothing trading company Ipari in Budapest, to be placed into the display window of the company. It is a protective measure informing the Hungarian authorities that the owner of the company is a Swiss citizen and that his property, business and residence, plus capital falls under the protection of the Swiss embassy in Hungary. The printed form is altered in handwriting to designate "Business and Residence" instead of the printed "room, apartment and tavern." The designated name of the company and the date is rendered in handwriting. Stamped with the official stamp of the embassy, numbered 424, and signed by a proxy of the Swiss vice-consul Carl Lutz who served in Budapest from 1942 to the end of the war. Due to the actions of the ambassador many of the lives of the Jewish population of Budapest were saved from being sent to the Nazi extermination camps. Extremely rare signage. Text in German and Hungarian. Two punch holes at to of broadside, some smudging, minor on German side, a bit more pronounced on the side with Hungarian text. Overall in very good condition.

[WITH]

A sign for a Swedish Red Cross Safe House in Budapest. 13 x 9". Printed broadside with blue lettering. This is a sign demarcating the building in question as a safe house under the control and authority of the Swedish Red Cross. Stated: "This apartment is under the protection of the Swedish Red Cross and Royal Swedish Embassy", written in Russian, Hungarian and German. These declarations were issued in Budapest in 1944 by Valdemar Langlet, the appointed Chairman of Swedish Red Cross in Hungary, as one part of an organized effort to protect Jews from persecution and deportation to Auschwitz. Near the top left corner of the sign is the ink stamp of the Hungarian authorities, marking it as an official Swedish Red Cross document (in Hungarian and Swedish). These efforts along with the work done by fellow Swedish humanitarian and diplomat Raoul Wallenburg later in the year, were ultimately successful in saving the lives of ten of thousands of Hungarian Jews. Extremely scarce.

Some rubbing and light chipping to the corners, with some small closed tears along the edges and some light stains. Some handwriting in Hungarian in blue ink. In good+ condition overall. vg. Item #42377

Price: $37,500.00