Identity Card of a Jewish Man Named Ferenc Sous, Born in 1896 in Hungary, Marked with the Letter “Z” (Žid – Jew) from World War II. Hungarian. Extremely Rare.
The identity card contains the personal details of the cardholder, handwritten. At the end of the card, there is a detailed list of regulations mainly concerning the permitted areas of movement for the cardholder, along with official ink stamps from the Hungarian authorities. The back of the card features “The Ten Commandments” for a resident of Hungary: “Love the Hungarian soldier, speak the Hungarian language, love your Hungarian homeland, ” and more.
The regulation to mark Jewish identity cards in Hungary with the letter “Z” began in 1941 as part of the antisemitic policies of the Hungarian government during World War II. The letter “Z” stood for “Zsidó” (Jew) and was intended to visibly identify Jews within the official registration system. At that time, Hungary was under a pro-Nazi regime that implemented anti-Jewish laws inspired by the Nuremberg Laws. Starting in 1938, Hungary enacted a series of laws restricting Jewish rights in various areas, including employment, education, and property ownership. By 1941, as Hungary increased its cooperation with Nazi Germany, measures against Jews became harsher, and the decision was made to mark their identity cards with the letter “Z” to facilitate their differentiation from the rest of the population. The purpose of this marking was to legally and socially separate Jews, making it easier for authorities to detain and deport them to labor and extermination camps in later years, especially after the German occupation of Hungary in March 1944. The “Z” marking exposed Jews to discrimination, surveillance, and arrests and was a preliminary step leading to the deportation of over 400,000 Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz in the summer of 1944.
4 pages. 18 cm. Good condition.
