PERSONAL IDENTITY DOCUMENTS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600030231-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 1, 2011
• Sequence Number: 231
• Publication Date: December 5, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

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REPORT NO.
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Every person must "cvre and tarry an identification card. This identification
card was formerly issued by the District lk+tienal Council but is now issued by the
Ragiout.l National Council which is a political administrative organization. Each
region has its own headquarters and individuals desiring to obtain identification
p.p,rs must go to the Regional leadgta_-tors. At mach headquarters there is a
security officer who s,rooms the applications prior to issuance.
CLASSIFICATION SECRET
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPOR
INFORMATION REPORT
COUNTRY Czer_ho._;.ovakia
SUBJECT Personal Idenity Documents
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE
ACQUIRED
Acrordiag to the law each person, male and female, + :n leaching the age of 13
must obtain a personal identity card or certificate. That is the only legal.
identity card in axistenee and every person must secure it and carry it upon his
psrern at all times. in addition, t*ers are F4ny other cards in existence which
are carried by various individuals but the identity paper is the only one which
must be carried by ill people. Among these other certificates or cares 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 Federation, the
Youth Organization (M) sod. finally, the membership card in the CoueZaiat Party.
Then, of course, members +.n the Armed Services also have military cards.
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Before a person can apply for membership in the Communist Party, he must go
through a probationary period in which he proves that he is worthy of being
accepted into the Party. The probationary period last one year, during which
the candidate must attend a special school for Party candidates and must assist
at the Communist Party meetings. Not all candidates go to the same type of school
for the schooling is relative to the amount of ability that the candidate possesses.
Candidates without previous education, even general education, go to a very elemen-
tary school, while those who are further advanced intellectually
schooling in which smaller groups participate. There is a third type special
which they call the individual school wherein one, two, or three partil
pate and which might even take the form of self -tutors people x to
school a candidate must attend rests with t:ie District The S decision f he
Party. The teachers are experienced members of the Party who form a distinct
well-trained corps wi+hin the Party. At present, most of the teachers have been
trained In Czechoslovakia but the leaders of the teachers corps were trained in
the USSR. After the year's schooling and probation is over, the candidate must
undergo an examination which covers his knowledge of Party doctrine. Two members
in good standing in the Party must act as sponsors for the candidate and these
sponsors also undergo detailed questioning concerning the candidate. In addition,
before the candidate 1s finally accepted he must undergo what is called a persohsl
check. He must tell the story of his life before the district meeting of the
Party and must answer all questions that are put to him. The candidate must bare
the entire story of his life and also present his plans for the future. After
and uc essful completion of the school, of the one-year Probation, of the examination,
the personal check, then a candidate is admitted to the Party and is issued
e membership card,
:: in 1945 wet a membership card in the Communist part
cover and with entries noting thetname,saageland profession ofgthe Party member
and date of his entry _nto the Party. On the reverse side of the card there were
blank lines on vhich contribution were notod as they were received A c hang*
occurred in appmzimntt~ly 1948
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- cards
abroad and this is true for all diplomatic personnel not permitted o be carried
Tlu officer in charge of the personal registration section in each regim 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
certifies to Party loyalty. It is not considered as belonging to the members.
When a member leaves the Party or is expelled he must return the card, rA long
as the member is in good standing the card belongs to him. There is no notation
on the card that It is valid until any set date.
person losing the card must present a sufficiently good reason
to explain th, loss in order to obtain a now card. I do not know whether there
is any fine for the loss of the card or any loss of privilege. The Czech law
states that when a person loses his card he mast 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 import-ant for it must
be shown in orde:r 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.
I Once they have shown either one or the other of these papers at the time of
application for the personal identity card, only the latter must be carried,
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. Nov (1952)r hcvJver, the.a
matters have been taken away completely from the Church and out of the ha_neL* of
town ana village authorities and have been assigned to the local National Councils.
Each local National Council has an office called the Matriculation Office (Atricai
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 me'rtages must be registered at the local National
Council office,
The Nxtionsl Regional Council _eiu4s Citizenship papers. A person born outside
the country must reside for rive years in Czechoslovakia in order to obtain these
papers.
The only, paper necessary is the identity certificate. No travel permit is necessary
cut the person travelling must register with the police. Anyone remaining more
than 24 hours in a town must register with the nearest police station. If the
traveller stays ih a hotel, the hotel will notify ,he police of his presence. At
the tine of reporting to the police the identity card must be shown. It is the
usual practice !or the police to take up the identity card and to return it after
a short time.
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 in some of the satellite countries citizen
certificates of to alt have been issued.
and are probably still in use in Czechoslovakia. They
were required as proof of 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, immediately after the war, citizens also
needed these certificates for many employers required them prior to emploAent,
especially in government service. TO obtain a certificate of loyalty a person had
to present ten witnesses.
The main purpose of this certificate after the war was to weed cut those who ha3
collaborated with the Germans.
Initially a public announcement was me& 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 than 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 thou 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 parsed the physical examination. They would
be notified through the w4l where to report for military serving. With these
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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17.
These certificates were required mainly
for employment in state pe.itinns and were generally not needed for those em-
pinye?d in i-?--- vate 4L- ""'- -
in F-ry. ~-~o ?N;;wueui, was not needed for a document check
d did
t `?
an
no
~.ve to be carried on one's person.
l8.
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
nec,2ssary 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 a.^fidavita
from his witnesses, he would return to the office and would obtain the certificate.
Generally no further insestigation was conducted unless the person was
kntiwa to be an unreliabU rson.
the applicant was compelled to obtain a oertifiaatt of loyalty from the locality
where he bad lived and where he was known. If a person moved from one alt; to
another then a delay might occur until such time as his application was investi-
gated.
men must register for military service
wt the age of V21011 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.
0.
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 SF.CRET~
Exemptions are given on the basis of health, public eervite, academic standing,
and family difficulties. The request for exemption for any of these reasons must
be presented immediate:; after the medical examination.
A person who presents himself for registration at the office of the local National
Council has c stamp put on his identity paper signifying that he has complied
with the requirements of reporting for conscription.
Each
lifi ddonel earmindtmig is the same.
It is possible that a person might be die4ua
year and might be found
physically fit the following year. The examination takes about five minutes. The
examiner. measure the candidate?e 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 earn are not.
8a.eh deferment is judged on its own '4rticular circ tancei. Students might be
deferred for two years but more generally the deferment is for one year. Ocoypa-
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 Joni-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 variosli groups such as the Sckol, tho
KW, and the Federation for Czechoslovak Youth. Older people also have to partici-
pate ir physical training and special military training.
No, he retains his military book. In It is listed his complete military servite
up to and including the time of his discharge from the Army. Tne 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.
for ran, rigid a and -__ there were dot ement certificates
`emp 101, rareaaeat residence. Temporary . ertlficates were 'to issued 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.
PersAaent residents in a tome or an apartment received a permanent residence certi-
ficate. Both types of iardividuals were required to register their residence with
the local police. The general procedure v.,s for an applicant to fill out an appli-
cation form in triplicate and S;o present the form at the reare,?t police .Litton.
At the police station the application form wss 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 bad to execute two sets of
papers - one to register departure from an apartment and another to
register 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 would apply to a sub-lessor or a hotel manager. rented. The seas
made to investigate the truth of the etatemeate made in the attempt was
Pa le were not re zed these application Sosa.
registration forms on their pere% nor
at any one's door and requiring a "tenant to
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produce such a repistre.tion certificate. The application forms were printed by
the government printing office and could be obtained either at police stations or
in stationary stores or tobacco shops. The important thing was to get the police
stamp upon the form.
Generally, the term passport is applied to passports for foreign travel and for
internal use. The latter is actuall" 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 tesued 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 papere, military papers, mili-
tary book, and tax papers. The tax papers certified to the fact that the appli-
cant has paid all his taxes. The person desiring to leave the country was re-
quired to obtain a statement from the local tax officer certifyine that -24
tax obligations were satisfied. 8e was also compelled to
which was paid at the office of the Regional Natttonel Councpay an gration t
il. This emigrations
tax was theoretically a percentage of the person's capital ownership in the country.
Diplomatic personnel were excluded from paying the emigration tax.
more, diplomatic Personnel did not have to ';Present their tax pf apers~aport. fits'ther-
per.
!'es, 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 em
not certain, that a Communist Party membership card could be presented in lieu
of thq lc.yylty certificate.
The secret polic3 play a very import--Z part in the entire procedure whareb
ports charged obtained. Although, according to the law, the Ministry of Forei y pass-
por airs
Is solely with the authority to issue l Aff
tJJ.ons for passports must firut be cleared thrcagh8the orts, RationaltSecurity Police.
The applications are sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the National Security
Police, who investigate the case and then repl,% approving or disapproving the appli-
cation, to the Ministry of Foreigc Affairs. Diplomatic perdonnel had to be cleared
tksough the Mlaiatry of the Interior.
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