Paszporty złudzeń. Sprawa paszportów południowoamerykańskich widziana z Będzina
Illusory passports. The case of South American passports as seen from Będzin

Summary/Abstract: This article was written in response to the publication of the book Lista Ładosia [Ładoś’s List] that contains a list of 3262 names of Jews who had Latin American passports issued during the war by the Polish Legation in Switzerland. Based largely on materials from the Będzin ghetto, the author polemicizes with the main thesis of the book that “carrying a Ładoś passport offered a person in danger of death in the Holocaust a greater chance to survive.” He claims that a large group of Jews, in particular members of Jewish organizations, did not attach a special importance to the fact of holding such a passport, and in many cases they were even unaware of it. Regardless of this, the issue of the so-called South American passports and the involvement of the Polish Legation in Switzerland had been known for many years to historians, Polish historians included.

• Details
• Contents