A letter of protection, issued by the Spanish embassy in Budapest to a Jewish woman. Budapest, November 29, 1944. Hungarian.
Typescript letter, with details filled-in by hand and inked stamps of the Spanish embassy. The letter reads: "The Spanish Embassy hereby certifies that it has issued a protection letter no. 298/b to Mrs. Jénőné Unger [b. 1905] and she is therefore under the protection of the Embassy" (a spanyol követség ezennel igazolja, hogy Unger Jénőné részére a 298/b sz védlevelet kiadta, és igy ö a követség védelme alatt áll).
The letter was issued one day before the Spanish Ambassador in Budapest, Righteous among the Nations Ángel Sanz Briz, left the embassy by order of the government and moved to Switzerland. After his departure, the embassy was run by his assistant Giorgio Perlasca, who, although he had no official appointment, pretended to have been appointed Sanz Briz's deputy and issued thousands of forged protection documents for the Jews of Budapest.
This letter differs from the official protection letters issued by Sanz Briz before his departure: it is not printed on official letterhead, does not bear a passport picture of the owner, is not signed by Sanz Briz, and its phrasing is short and vague. Based on the date of issue and the improvised appearance of the letter, one may assume this is a forged letter of protection issued by Giorgio Perlasca after the closing of the embassy.
The database of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum lists a survivor from Budapest named Jénőné Unger who was born in 1905.
Giorgio Perlasca was recognized in 1989 as Righteous among the Nations for his efforts to save Jews.
Approx. 17X20 cm. Good condition. Fold lines, stains and minor blemishes. Small hole to intersection of fold lines. A long handwritten text (Hungarian) to margins and verso.