Objekt des Monats
Jedes Objekt in der Sammlung des Deutschen Auswandererhauses erzählt eine ganz persönliche Auswanderungs- oder Einwanderungsgeschichte. In dieser Rubrik stellen wir Ihnen jeden Monat ein anderes Objekt vor – eine Fotografie, ein Dokument oder ein persönliches Erinnerungsstück.
August 2015
Passport, Republic of El Salvador, from 1965
Historical Context
The first passport-like documents were introduced in the Middle Ages to distinguish leave-granted soldiers from deserters. Equipped with a seal, they allowed travelers to pass through (lat. passare) gates (lat. portas) or national borders. It was only in the second half of the 19th century that passports became associated with a specific nationality. Since World War I, the official identification has existed in the form we know today: with personal information, a photograph, and the signature of the holder.
Short Biography
Salvador Ernesto Herrador is born on August 3, 1945, in San Salvador. After graduating high school, he wishes to study abroad. With the help of a scholarship, he is able to realize this desire in Germany in 1965. From the tropics of Central America, he flies to snowy Hamburg on November 14. Before beginning his medical studies in the Hanseatic city, Salvador first attends a German course and visits a preparatory college. Just a week after his arrival, he meets his future wife Ursula, whom he marries in November 1967. Together they move to Marburg, where their four children are born. In 1980, Salvador is awarded a doctorate in medicine. He initially works in several clinics in Hesse before opening his own practice in Bremerhaven-Lehe in 1990. In December 2011, Salvador retires and hands over the practice to a friend.
Significance of the Object
Passports are an essential part of emigration and immigration and an important source for migration research: Due to the information they contain about the person and official notes like visas and residence permits, both the identity and the exit and entry of the holder can be reconstructed. This passport from 1965 is, because of its individual migration history, also a personal keepsake. For Salvador Herrador, this document and the residence permit contained within were prerequisites for his entry into and study in Germany.
Do You Also Have …
… a story of emigration or immigration in your family that you would like to share with the German Emigration Center together with the related objects and documents for its collection? Then please contact Dr. Tanja Fittkau by phone at +49 471 / 90 22 0 – 0
or by e-mail at: t.fittkau@dah-bremerhaven.de