Auction 73 - Jewish and Israeli History, Culture and Art
Two German Passports Issued at the Consulate of Nazi Germany in Jaffa, 1938 – With an IDF stamp
Opening: $400
Sold for: $938
Including buyer's premium
Two German passports (Deutsches Reich Reisepass), issued at the consulate of Nazi Germany in Jaffa to German citizens in Palestine. Jaffa, 1938.
The passports were issued to the advocate Dr. Kurt Landsberg and his wife Charlotte. Their pictures, personal details and signatures appear on the first pages. Both passports are stamped with official stamps of the German consulate in Jaffa (Deutsches Konsulat in Jaffa) and hand-signed by the German consul.
One passport is also stamped with a Hebrew stamp of the IDF – "Israel Defense Forces – Operation Betzer" (Operation Betzer for tracking down deserters took place in Tel-Aviv in August 1948, during the second truce in Israel's War of Independence).
Presumably, the couple continued using these passports even after the fall of the Third Reich and the establishment of the State of Israel; thus the rare and extraordinary combination of a Third Reich passport bearing an IDF stamp.
The German consulate in Jaffa operated during the years 1870-1917 and 1926-1939. It was administratively subject to the general consulate in Jerusalem, but had certain authorities. Nazi Party member Timotheus Wurs (1874-1961) served as German consul in Jaffa between 1932 and 1939. At the same time, he served as director of the German Temple Society Bank (Bank der Tempelgesellschaft) in Jaffa.
16.5 cm. Good condition. Some stains. Minor blemishes (mainly to margins and covers).
The passports were issued to the advocate Dr. Kurt Landsberg and his wife Charlotte. Their pictures, personal details and signatures appear on the first pages. Both passports are stamped with official stamps of the German consulate in Jaffa (Deutsches Konsulat in Jaffa) and hand-signed by the German consul.
One passport is also stamped with a Hebrew stamp of the IDF – "Israel Defense Forces – Operation Betzer" (Operation Betzer for tracking down deserters took place in Tel-Aviv in August 1948, during the second truce in Israel's War of Independence).
Presumably, the couple continued using these passports even after the fall of the Third Reich and the establishment of the State of Israel; thus the rare and extraordinary combination of a Third Reich passport bearing an IDF stamp.
The German consulate in Jaffa operated during the years 1870-1917 and 1926-1939. It was administratively subject to the general consulate in Jerusalem, but had certain authorities. Nazi Party member Timotheus Wurs (1874-1961) served as German consul in Jaffa between 1932 and 1939. At the same time, he served as director of the German Temple Society Bank (Bank der Tempelgesellschaft) in Jaffa.
16.5 cm. Good condition. Some stains. Minor blemishes (mainly to margins and covers).
The Dreyfus Affair, Antisemitism, The Holocaust and She'erit HaPletah
The Dreyfus Affair, Antisemitism, The Holocaust and She'erit HaPletah