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135 - Judaica Certificat de Calatorie.
See original version (German)

Estimate €800 - €1,200
Sale commission
Description
Judaica Certificat de Calatorie. (Romanian travel document for travel to Israel.) Bucharest: Issued by the Romanian Ministry of the Interior, 1960. Official, printed single sheet, completed in ink, with a black-and-white portrait photograph of the holder affixed. On the reverse, transit visa stamps from the Israeli (mission) have been completed and signed. After the Holocaust, Romania was home to the largest surviving Jewish population in Eastern Europe, numbering around 300,000. With the rise of communism and the establishment of the State of Israel, the desire for aliyah – emigration to Israel – grew amongst the country’s Jewish population. However, the communist leadership did not wish to let them leave freely. It regarded the minorities as valuable hostages, and so negotiations began with Israel regarding a ransom. Shortly after the fall of the Iron Curtain following the Second World War, Henry Jacober, a British businessman of Jewish origin, began helping Romanian Jews to flee their country. In the early 1950s, the smuggling operation shifted to the official level: the Romanian secret service recruited Jacober, and he conducted secret negotiations with Israel to persuade the Jewish state to pay for the emigrating Jews. Initially, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, then the communist leader of Romania, agreed to allow 500 Jewish families to leave in exchange for the construction of a poultry farm. By the mid-1960s, Israel had financed numerous agricultural projects in Romania via Jacober: chicken, turkey and pig farms, automated abattoirs, warehouses and packaging plants, and even a factory for Kellogg’s Corn Flakes – in each case in exchange for Jewish families. Between 1958 and 1966, an average of 14,000 Jews left Romania each year. When Ceaușescu took power in 1965, he restricted Jewish emigration and suspended all previous agreements for around two years. It was only when Israel agreed to pay a cash sum per person – an average of 4,000 US dollars – that he resumed the scheme. The ransom payments continued until the fall of the Iron Curtain. Romanian, Israeli and American intelligence sources agree that the total sum amounted to more than US$1 billion. Those permitted to leave the country were issued with an official travel document such as this one, a ‘Certificat de Calatorie’. Those affected were automatically expelled from schools, universities and workplaces and branded as ‘enemies of the people’. The holder of the document is Emilia Nathan, born in 1906 in Constanța, a Romanian port city on the Black Sea with a small Jewish community of around 1,500 people. At the time of applying, she was already living in Bucharest. The stamps from the diplomatic missions on the document confirm that she left the country in 1965, travelling first to Hungary, then via Austria to Italy. She presumably reached Israel by ferry across the Mediterranean. - Folded twice, damaged at the folds. Scuffed at the edges. Overall in fair condition. - A rare and significant historical document. (Romanian Travel Document to Israel.) Bucharest: Issued by the Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs, 1960. Official printed single sheet, completed in ink, with a mounted black-and-white portrait photograph of the holder. On the reverse, transit visa stamps from the Israeli legation, completed and signed. Folded twice, damaged along the folds. Chipped at the edges. Overall in fair condition. After the Holocaust, Romania had the largest surviving Jewish population in Eastern Europe, numbering around 300,000. As Communism grew stronger and the State of Israel was founded, the desire for aliyah, emigration to Israel, grew amongst the country’s Jews. The Communist leadership, however, was unwilling to let them leave freely. It regarded the minorities as valuable hostages, and so negotiations with Israel over a ransom began. Shortly after the Iron Curtain came down following the Second World War, Henry Jacober, a British businessman of Jewish origin, began helping Romanian Jews to escape from their country. In the early 1950s, the smuggling operation became official: the Romanian secret service recruited Jacober, and he conducted secret negotiations with Israel to persuade the Jewish State to pay for the emigrating Jews. In the initial phase, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, then the Communist leader of Romania, agreed to allow 500 Jewish families to leave in exchange for the construction of a chicken farm. By the mid-1960s, Israel, working through Jacober, had financed numerous agricultural projects in Romania: chicken, turkey and pig farms, automated abattoirs, warehouses and packing plants, and even a factory for Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, each in exchange for Jewish families. Between 1958 and 1966, an average of 14,000 Jews left Romania each year. When Ceaușescu came to power in 1965, he restricted Jewish emigration and cancelled all previous agreements for about two years. He resumed them only when Israel agreed to pay a cash sum per person, averaging US$4,000. The ransom continued to be paid until the fall of the Iron Curtain. Romanian, Israeli and American intelligence sources agree that the total exceeded US$1 billion. Those permitted to leave the country received an official travel document such as this one, a ‘Certificat de Calatorie’. They were automatically expelled from schools, universities and workplaces and branded ‘enemies of the people’. The holder of the document was Emilia Nathan, born in 1906 in Constanța, a Romanian port city on the Black Sea with a small Jewish community of around 1,500 people. At the time of her application, she was already living in Bucharest. The legation stamps in the document show that she left the country in 1965, first for Hungary, then via Austria to Italy. She presumably reached Israel by ferry across the Mediterranean. This lot is subject to standard tax. A 24.95% buyer’s premium is payable on the hammer price, and 7% (Books and Art) or 19% VAT (Manuscripts, Screenprints, Offset Prints, Photographs) is payable on the final invoice amount within the European Union. This lot is subject to the standard tax regime. A 24.95% buyer’s premium applies to the hammer price, and 7% (books and art) or 19% VAT (manuscripts, screen prints, offset prints and photographs) applies to the final invoice amount within the European Union.
See original version (German)
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About the sale Valuable books, prints, historical photographs
Auction location
Auction time 10/24/2026 at 10:00 AM
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