Vintage Passports For Sale vintage passports for sale
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Swedish Red Cross Holocaust
Protective Pass (Védlevél)
Swedish Red Cross, Budapest
November 4, 1944
Object Overview
This original protective pass was issued in Budapest at the height of World War II persecution. It certifies that Gábor Vadas was under the protection of the Swedish Red Cross and the Royal Swedish Legation. In late 1944, documents like this were not symbolic. They were lifesaving instruments.
Description
Printed on official Swedish Red Cross letterhead, the document formally declares that Swedish interests were attached to the named individual. It calls upon Hungarian authorities to respect this protection. Such passes were recognized, often reluctantly, even during the most violent phase of Arrow Cross rule. Possession of one could mean the difference between survival and deportation.
English Translation
Protective Document
The Swedish Red Cross, operating alongside the Royal Swedish Legation, officially certifies that Gábor Vadas is a person to whom Swedish interests are attached. We call the attention of the authorities to the fact that the above-mentioned person is therefore under our protection.
Personal Details
Place of birth: Budapest, 1924
Height: 175 cm
Hair: Blondish
Eyes: Green
Mother’s name: Magda Soltész
Signed by the Main Commissioner
Stamped: The Swedish Red Cross
Original Language
The original text is in Hungarian, with Swedish institutional markings and stamps. The title “Védlevél” translates directly as Protective Pass. The designation “Főmegbízott” identifies the senior Swedish Red Cross official responsible for issuing protection documents in Budapest.
Historical Context
By November 1944, Hungary was under the control of the Arrow Cross, the Hungarian Nazi party. Deportations, forced marches, and mass killings were ongoing. The Swedish Red Cross rescue operation in Budapest was led by Valdemar Langlet, together with his wife Nina Langlet. They began issuing protective documents months before the arrival of Raoul Wallenberg, laying the groundwork for later large-scale rescue efforts. In 1965, Valdemar and Nina Langlet were recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.
Significance
This document represents a rare convergence of bureaucracy and humanity. It shows how official language, stamps, and signatures were repurposed as tools of rescue. Quiet. Administrative. Powerful. For the person named on it, this piece of paper meant protection, time, and the possibility of survival.
Object Details
Origin: Budapest, Hungary
Date: November 4, 1944
Material: Paper, printed and stamped
Dimensions: 29 × 21 cm
Condition: Original wartime document
Details on request!
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Passport-collector.com, founded in 2010 by passport historian Tom Topol, is a leading resource on passport history. The site features over 1,000 researched articles on the origins, evolution, and cultural significance of passports. It serves collectors, historians, and anyone interested in how travel documents reflect national identity and global events. Passport history, passport collector, collecting passports, passport fees, vintage passport collector, collectible documents, passport collection, diplomatic passport, passport office, celebrity passports, travel document, vintage passports for sale, old passports for sale, Reisepass, passport fees, most expensive passport in the world, passport colors, passport prices around the world, passport cost by country, cost of passports around the world, passport fees by country, Third Reich passport