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(PASSPORTS FOR JEWISH HOLOCAUST REFUGEES): A pair of Nazi German passports belonging to Solomon a...

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:400.00 - 600.00 USD
(PASSPORTS FOR JEWISH HOLOCAUST REFUGEES): A pair of Nazi German passports belonging to Solomon a...
(PASSPORTS FOR JEWISH HOLOCAUST REFUGEES): A pair of Nazi German passports belonging to Solomon and Blime Laufer, two Austrians of Jewish descent, issued to them by the German government a few months after Hitler had annexed Austria. Each passport bears a bright red "J" on the first page, identifying to the authorities the fact that the couple were Jewish. At this time, the official policy of the German government towards the Jews was for their expulsion rather than their extermination. The passports indicate that the pair wisely left Austria for Belgium in February of 1939. At this time Belgium was one of the few countries in Europe that accepted Jewish refugees, and the passports bear stamps on the front page from the Belgian government, as well as the lack of stamps indicating reentry into Germany, leading one to suspect that the couple were given refugee status by the Belgians. One can only speculate upon the fate of the couple once Belgium itself was taken by the Germans in the summer of 1940, but it is hoped that they escaped elsewhere. Both passports, which show photographs of the couple, are in very good to fine condition. $400-600