Temporary identity card printed for a Jew on the reverse side of a geographic map, issued by the American administration in Germany immediately after its conquest by the Allied forces: 27/3/1946
Document from the military government of Germany - the office of the United States Military Government, the United States' highest administrative governing body in the American occupation zone in Germany, immediately after the Second World War.  A Jew named Jozef Sztaraka's personal details are noted on the card, along with his fingerprint and signature. This Jew was Hungarian native, then 38 years old and living in Ilz Lager [a Nazi camp in the Passau region - in Bavaria]. According the regulations appearing on the document [in two languages: German and English], the Jew must carry the identity document with him everywhere, and if he is found without the document, he may be arrested. Due to a shortage of paper, the Allies had no choice but to issue documents of this sort on various types of paper in their possession. The document before us was printed on the back side of a geographic map that was cut into pieces corresponding to the size of the temporary certificate, and is stamped by the governor Robert B. Wallace.
The United States' military government was established by the American army a short time after the end of the fighting in Occupied Germany after the German surrender, and was run under the leadership of General Lucius D. Clay. Based in Berlin, the office effectively ran the entire American zone. This body included divisions from the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union and France. It began on January 1, 1946 and functioned in the zone in Germany for four years, until 1949, when rule was returned to Germany. The organization dealt with survivors' needs and returned property looted by the Nazis, destruction of whatever was left of the Nazi party and of Nazi culture, and deepening of democratic values by exposing Germans to American culture.
Size: 20x13 cm. Fold marks. Fine condition.