1922 Polish NANSEN certificate
Used 3 years later for British Palestine.
We are all familiar with the post-war refugee passports & travel documents that began to appear following the international conference headed by Fridtjof Nansen (Who headed the international department for refugees at the League of Nations) in Geneva on July 3rd 1922. This conference was one of the first attempts that were made to tackle the issue of refugees pouring into the west, refugees that were fleeing the Bolshevik Revolution and the civil war that followed. Large portions of the refugees were also from Jewish decent, fleeing the White Russian attacks. The above mentioned conference, International Conference on Identity Certificates for Russian Refugees, brought about of an international agreement on need to issue special travel documents, later known as the Nansen Passport.
The Great War caused borders to shift between the warring sides and as in all cases of hostilities, scores found themselves without a home or shelter. Many refugees fled the hostilities and ended up on both sides. The example here is a superb sample of such a document being issued to refugees in the Second Polish Republic (1918-39).
Document No. 63 was issued on July 7th 1925, at Równe, which part of Poland from 1921 up until it was occupied by the Soviet Union 18 years later, becoming part of Ukraine after World War II.
The travel certificate/document here was issued to young Jewish couple Nuchim & Jachya Balaban originally from Skvyra, Kyiv Oblast.
Nuchim and Jachya obtained transit visa through Austria & Czechoslovakia and the necessary British visa for entering the Mandate as well.
I have added images of this early refugee passport.
Thank you for reading “Our Passports”.
