PERSONAL IDENTITY DOCUMENTS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00047R000200190005-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 2, 2013
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: December 5, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFICATION SECRET/SECURITI LIMEM.43-LW'
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT
INFORMATION FIE:PC)FIT
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COUNTRY Czechoslovakia
SUBJECT Personal Idepity Documents
PLACE
ACQUIRED
50X1 DATE
ACQUIRED
DATE OF iNFOBMATION:
THIS 00CUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION APFECTING THE NATIDNA1 OFFENSE
OF THE oNITED STATES, WITHIN THE MEANING OF TITLE IS, SECTIONS /93
AND 794, OF THE U.S. CODE, AS AmENDED. ITS TRANSmISSION OR PEE,
CATION OF ITS CONTENTS TO OR RECEIPT ST AN UNAUTHORISED PEE SON IS
PRoNISITEO WY LAW. THE REPRODUCTION cF TNIS FoRm IS PRONISITEO.
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CD NO
CASE
DATE DISTR. s- 7g56952
NO. OF PAGES 6
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
State
Every person must secure and carry an identification card. This identification
card was formerly issued by the District National Council but is no issued. by the
Regional National Council which is a political administratiye organization. Each
region has its own headquartereand individuals desiring to obtain idontification
papers must go to the Regional Headquarters. At each headquarters Vlore Is a
security officer who screens the applications prior to issuance.
According to the law each person, male and female, upon reaching the age of l5
must obtain a personal identity card or certificate. That is the only legal
identity card in existence and every person must secure it and carry it, upon his
person at all times. In addition, there are many other cards in existence which
are carried by various individuals but the identity paper is the only cme which
must be carried by all people. Among these other certificates or cards there is
the trade union card which represents membership in a trade union. There are also
membership cards for organizations such as the Sokol, the Gymnastic Peneration, the
Youth Organization WSW and, finally, the membership card in the Communist Party.
Then, of course, members in the Armed Services also have military cards
EV
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Before a person can
through a probationary
accepted into the
the candidate must
at the Communist Party
for the schooling
Candidates without
tary school, while
schooling in which
which they call the
pate and which might
which school a candidate
Party. The teachers
well-trained corps
trained in Czechoslovakia
the USSR. After the
undergo an examination
in good standing in
sponsors also undergo
before the candidate
check. He must tell
Party and must answer
the entire story of
successful completion
and of the personal
a membership card,
apply for membership in the Communist
period in which he proves that he
Party. The probationary period last one
attend a special school for Party candidates
meetings. Not all candidates go to
is relative to the amount of ability that
previous education, even general education,
those who are further advanced intellectually
smaller groups participate. There is
individual school wherein one, two,
even take the form of self-tutoring.
must attend rests with the District
are experienced members of the Party
within the Party. At present, most of
but the leaders of the teachers
years schooling and probation is over,
which covers his knowledge of Party
the Party must act as sponsors for the
detailed questioning concerning the
is finally accepted he must undergo
the story of his life before the district
all questions that are put to him.
his life and also present his plans for
of the school, of the one-year probation,
check, then a candidate is admitted to
membership card in the Communist Party
Party he must go
is worthy of being
year, during which
and must assist
the Same type of school
the candidate possesses
go tc a very elemen.
have special
a third type of school
or three people partici-
The decision as to
Secretary of the
who form a distinct
the teachers have been
corps were trained in
the candidate must
doctrine. Two members
candidate and these
candidate. In addition,
what is called a personal
meeting of the
The candidate must bare
the future. After
of the examination,
the Party and is issued
in 1945 it VAS simple paper with
a big red star on the
of the Party member
of the card there were
received. A change
cover and with entries
and date e his entry
blank lines on which
occurred in approximately
noting the name, age and profession
into the Party. On the reverse side
contributions were noted as they were
1948.
Membership cards are not
permitted to be carried
abroad and this is true for all diplomatic personnel.
4The'officer in charge of the personal registration section in each region is re-
sponsible for the issuance of the personal identity cards. Each card is signed by
this individual.
The Party membership card is an honorary card, almost like a diploma, which
to Party loyalty. It is not considered as belonging to the members.
a member leaves the Party or is expelled he must return the card. As long
member is in good standing the card belongs to him. There is no notation
card that it is valid until any set date,
certifies
When
as the
on the
the
person losing the card must present a sufficiently good reason
to explain the loss in order to obtain a new car d.0
The Czech Law
1 states that when a person loses his card he must declare his loss to the police.
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All of them are very important at various times in the lives of people living
in the country. For instance, the birth certificate is important for it must
be shown in order to obtain a passport to leave the country and. also to obtain
the identity card. Citizenship papers must also be shown when applying for a
passport to leave the country. Academic papers are not now as important as they
were formerly, but they still have importance when a person wishes to obtain a
position.
Once they have shown either one or the other of these papers at the time of
for the personal identity card, only the latter must be carried.
application
Czechoslovakia used to have a double system of registration?church registration
and civil registration. Registers were maintained by parochial offices for
members of churches and by local civic organizations such as the mayor's office
for persons registered only with civil authorities. Now (19524however, these
matters have been taken away completely from the Church and out of the hands of
town and village authorities and, have been assigned to the local National Councils.
Each local National Council has an office called the Matriculation Office (Atricni
Urad) where births are registered. When a baby is born either at home or in a
hospital, the doctor must report the birth to the Matriculation Office. The
parents and one witness also have to go to the office to register the birth. A
similar procedure is necessary for marriage for no longer are churches allowed to
maintain a register. All =Kegs' must be registered at the local National
Council office.
The National Regional Council issues citizenship papers. A person born outside
the country must reside for five years in Czechoslovakia in order to obtain these
papers.
The only paper necessary is the identity certificate. No travel permit is necissary
but the person travelling must register with the police. Anyone remaining or
than 24 hours in a town must register with the nearest police station. If the
traveller stays in a hotel, thetotel will notify the police of his presence. At
the time of reporting to the police the identity card must be shown. It is the
usual practice for the police to take up the identity card and to return it after
a short time.
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some of the satellite countries citizen
certificates of loyalty have been issued
and are probably still in use in Czechoslovakia. Thez
were required as proof or loyalty for everyone who wished to obtain citizenship
papers or passports. They were issued by the Regional National Council. Now only
those who desire citizenship must obtain proof of loyalty for the ordinary native
has no need of this certificate. However, tmmediately after the mar, citizens alse
needed these certificates for many employers rsquired them prior to employment,
especially in government service. To obtain &certificate of loyalty a person had
to present ten witnesses.
The main purpose of this certificate after the war was to weed out those who had
collaborated with the Germans.
These certificates were required mainly
for employment in state positions and were generally not needed for those em-
ployed in private industry. This document was not needed for a document chegX1
and did not have to be carried on one's person.
The applicant would go to the local committee of the National Council and request
the president of the committee to issue a certificate. He would not be required
to fill out any form, but merely state his request. The president of the commit-
tee would ask who, his witnesses were and 'would require ten, signatures. It was not
necessary to bring the witnesses to the office of the Council but a statement
would suffice--either one statement with ten signatures or separate statements
from each witness.' As soon as the applicant had obtained the necessary affidavits
from his witnesses, he would return to the office and would obtain the certificate.
Generally no further investigation was conducted unless the person applying was
known to be an unreliable person.
the applicant was compelled to obtain a certificate of loyalty from the locsalty
where he had lived and. Where he was known. If a person moved from one city to
another then a delay might occur until such time as his application was investi-
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men must register for military service
at the age of 20 and must register three times at the ages of
20, 21, and 22. During that period he is under the control of the military author.
ities and must present himself for military duty whenever summoned. The period
of registration is between the first of July and the first of August of each year.
Initially a public announcement was made that all those born in a certain year
should present themselves to the local council of the National Committee. At the
local office each registrant would fill out some papers and would then proceed
to the Regional National Council. Here he would receive a medical examination
Whereby he was classified as - physically fit or unfit for military service. If
he were fit, he would then report for service on the first of October. In the
interim he was not permitted to leave the country. The men would be notified
immediately whether they failed or passed the physical examination. They would
be notified through the mail where to report for military service. With theses
orders they could secure tickets for the railroad and tickets for food on the
Journey. They travelled usually in groups and were accompanied by military police
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Exemptions are given on the basis of health, public service, acaclemic standing,
and family difficulties. The request for exemption for any of these reasons must
be presented immediately after the medical examination.
A person who presents himself for registration at the office of the local National
Council has a stamp put on his identity paper signifying that be has complied
with the requirements of reporting for conscription.
Each medical examination is the same.
It is possible that a person might be disqualified one year and might be found
physically fit the following year. The examination takes about five minutes. The
examiners measure the candidate's height and weight and give a short examination
to the body. No X-ray or blood pressure reading is taken, The eyes and the mouth
are examined but the ears are not.
Each deferment is judged on its own particular circumetances. Students might be
deferred for two years but more generally the deferment is for one year. Occupa-
tional and family deferments also would vary in each instance. The deferment is
given by the military department of the Regional Council.
for military training and semi-military training is obligatory for every
citizen, including women, in Czechoslovakia. Children take pre-military training
and as they grow older they are trained in various groups such as the Sokol, the
XSM, and the Federation for Czechoslovak Youth. Older people also have to partici-
rate in physical training and special military training.
No, he retains his military book. In it is listed his complete military servi6e
up to and including the time of his discharge from the Army. The military book
then continues the man's activity in the reserve. The book contains the name,
date and place of birth, the number of the regiment, the station, and signature of
the commanding officer. It was not necessary for the reservist to carry the book
with him at all times. All books were the same color, namely, gray.
there were different certificates
for temporary residence and for permanent residence. Temporary certificates were
issued to persons living in hotels, in rented rooms,or in sub-leased apartments.
These persons were required to carry a special certificate issued by the police.
Permanent residents in a home or an apartment received a permanent residence certi-
ficate. Both types of individuals were required to register their residence with
the local police. The general procedure was for an applicant to fill out an appli-
cation form in triplicate and to present the form at the nearest police station.
At the police station the application form was stamped and returned to the appli-
cant. A new certificate had to be obtained every time a person or family moved
from one apartment to another. When moving, a person had to execute two sets of
papers - one to register departure from an apartment and another to register rental
of the new apartment. The papers had to be signed both by the landlord of the
apartment being vacated and the landlord of the apartment being rented. The same
would apply to a sub-lessor or a hotel manager.
no attempt was
made to investigate the truth of the statements made in the application form.
People were not required to carry these registration forms on their personanor
aial at any one's door and renuirinr a tenant to
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produce
the
In stationary
stamp
such a registration certificate. The application forms were printed by
gOvernment printing office and could be obtained either at police stations or
stores or tobacco shops. The important thing was to get the police
upon the form.
Generally, the term passport is applied to passports for foreign travel and for
internal use. The latter is actuall7 the personal identity card. The travel
passport is generally issued to be valid for a period of two years but is often
limited to the actual time needed for the performance of a certain mission. For
Instance, delegates to certain conferences might obtain passports limited to three
or six months.
Passports were extremely difficult to obtain in Czechoslovakia. They were
issued only for important reasons, most often for matters of state interest and
almost never for private reasons. The passports were issued by a special depart-
ment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called The Department of National Pass-
ports. In order to obtain a passport the applicant had to produce his birth
certificate, his marriage certificate, citizenship papers, military papers, mili-
tary book, and tax papers. The tax papers certified to the fact that the appli-
cant has yaid all his taxes, The person desiring to leave the country was re-
quired to obtain a statement from the 10041 tax officer certifying that all his
tax obligations were satisfied. EA was also compelled to pay an emigration tax,
which was paid at the office of the Regional National Council. This emigration
tax was theoretically a percentage of the person's capital ownership in the country.
Diplomatic personnel were excluded from paying the emigration tax.
there are separate forma to be filled out for each type of passport. Further-
diplomatic personnel did not have to present their tax paper.
more,
Yes, all people, including diplomats, had to produce a certificate of loyalty.
This is a recent innovation begun about one year ago. I presume, although I am
not certain, that a Communist Party membership card could be presented in lieu
of the loyalty certificate.
The secret police play a very important
ports are obtained. Although ,according
Is charged solely with the authority
tions for passports must first be cleared
The applications are sent by the Ministry
Police, who investigate the case and
cation, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
through the Ministry of the Interior.
part in the entire procedure whereby pass-
to the law,the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
to issue passports, nevertheless all applica-
through the National Security Police.
of Foreign Affairs to the National Securit3
then replyoapproving or disapproving the appli-
Diplomatic personnel had to be cleared
end.
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