Lot 196
"Letter of Protection" Issued by the Righteous Among The Nations Ángel Sanz Briz - Hungary, 1944
A "letter of protection" [Védlevél], issued for the Jew Miklós Hreblay on behalf of the Spanish Embassy in Budapest on 1.11.1944. Hungarian.
A "protection letter" indicating that the bearer of the letter is under the protection of Spain. The letter is typewritten on official letterhead of the Spanish Embassy in Hungary, affixed with a photograph of the protection-holder and stamped with an ink stamp of the Spanish Embassy and an ink stamp of the ambassador Ángel Sanz Briz.
Ángel Sanz Briz (1910-1980), a Spanish diplomat, born in Saragosa. Between the years 1943-1944 he served as chargé d'affaires in the Spanish Embassy in Budapest, and during this short period he succeeded in issuing passports and letters of protection for thousands of Hungarian Jews, assisting them to escape to Spain. The original license that Briz got from the Hungarians allowed him to issue 200 passports only, but Briz changed the license from "individuals" to "families" (and sometimes he registered fifteen people on one passport). When an issue of a passport was not possible Briz issued letters of protection, the number of which was also restricted. To overcome this restriction Briz added letters to the serial numbers on the protection letters. By doing so he succeeded in issuing, eventually, an unlimited number of passes for those who applied.
For his endeavors to save Jews during the holocaust Ángel Sanz Briz was awarded the title Righteous among the Nations in 1965.
Approx. 17X20.5 cm. Good condition. Folding marks, slight creases and stains (mainly to the back). A small hole in the center (slightly affecting text). Strips of thick paper are pasted along the letter's margins and folding marks on the reverse, with stains and slight defects at spots of pasting. Ownership ink stamp on the reverse.
