Herta Coufalova's identity document, issued in Sweden

This is my identity document, issued in Sweden. This document was issued in 1945, when I was leaving Sweden. I could have stayed there, and many did. I returned home, as I very much longed for my native land. My longing for my homeland drove me along. This document was issued by the Czechoslovak Refugee Office. It's workers gave them to us automatically upon our departure. It was our only identification, we had nothing. They had to believe us that those were our names, our dates and places of birth. This document was issued by our embassy in Sweden. We didn't go there, an employee of the embassy came and gave it to us. We had to ask for this document at a government office in Stockholm. At that time we were in the south at the harbour. When we received it, we travelled by ship to Lubeck. I have to say, it was an act of extreme bravery, as the seas were still all mined. They were amazing people, one especially sees this as one ages, and looks back at it. In the beginning, after my return to Czechoslovak territory, I needed this document, as I used it to prove my identity. I went to the town hall to get my birth certificate. This all took a lot of time and money.