Official Certificate of Good Character
Object numberM2007/068:019
TitleOfficial Certificate of Good Character
DescriptionCharacter reference, in Hungarian with the certified English translation attached,from the Station of Debrecen of the Hungarian Constabulary Force for Imre Kaldor. The certificate issued on 31 January 1951 states that Imre's political and moral conduct were irreproachable and that he was of good character. Dr Hajnal Henrik was the translator and the document bears his signature, stamp and seal. This reference was required for Imre to migrate to Australia.
Imre Kaldor was born in Debrecen, Hungary in 1899 to Jeno Moses Kohn (later Kaldor) and Karolina (nee Lustig). Before the Second World War, Imre was employed as a timber merchant and married to Rose (nee Czeizler). Imre and Rose had one daughter, Kathy. After the Germans’ entry into Hungary in 1944, Imre, Rose and Kathy were expelled from their home and confined to a ghetto. They were eventually placed on cattle cars and sent to a forced labour camp in Florisdorf. In February 1945 in the wake of the Allied advance, they were sent along with 200 others on a death march from the camp. They managed to escape and hide out in a nearby village until the end of the war. They discovered later that the Florisdorf prisoners who continued on the march were executed in the forest.
The family returned to Budapest only to find that their house had been destroyed. Kathy married George Polgar and migrated to Australia in 1949. Rose and Imre followed accordingly in 1951. The family was very happy in Sydney, but Imre was ill and died in 1952. In the following years, Rose married Paul Visontay, who had migrated from Hungary to Australia with his son, Ivan. It was a great coincidence that Rose and Paul crossed paths in Sydney as the two had briefly dated in Hungary in the 1920s when Rose was 16 and Paul was 20.
This certificate is part of a collection of objects and documents donated by Holocaust survivor Ivan Visontay relating to the Visontay, Kaldor and Czeizler families.
Imre Kaldor was born in Debrecen, Hungary in 1899 to Jeno Moses Kohn (later Kaldor) and Karolina (nee Lustig). Before the Second World War, Imre was employed as a timber merchant and married to Rose (nee Czeizler). Imre and Rose had one daughter, Kathy. After the Germans’ entry into Hungary in 1944, Imre, Rose and Kathy were expelled from their home and confined to a ghetto. They were eventually placed on cattle cars and sent to a forced labour camp in Florisdorf. In February 1945 in the wake of the Allied advance, they were sent along with 200 others on a death march from the camp. They managed to escape and hide out in a nearby village until the end of the war. They discovered later that the Florisdorf prisoners who continued on the march were executed in the forest.
The family returned to Budapest only to find that their house had been destroyed. Kathy married George Polgar and migrated to Australia in 1949. Rose and Imre followed accordingly in 1951. The family was very happy in Sydney, but Imre was ill and died in 1952. In the following years, Rose married Paul Visontay, who had migrated from Hungary to Australia with his son, Ivan. It was a great coincidence that Rose and Paul crossed paths in Sydney as the two had briefly dated in Hungary in the 1920s when Rose was 16 and Paul was 20.
This certificate is part of a collection of objects and documents donated by Holocaust survivor Ivan Visontay relating to the Visontay, Kaldor and Czeizler families.
Production placeBudapest, Hungary, Debrecen, Hungary
Production date 1951
Subjectmigration, survivors, post World War II
Object namereferences
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- a) translation width: 210.00 mm
height: 302.00 mm
b) original width: 147.00 mm
height: 210.00 mm
Language
- Hungarian
English
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Mr Ivan R Visontay
Documentation
Boutique300001629
Boutique300001629