Alfred Schwarzbaum collection: a letter to him from Bedzin, April 1943
Scope and Content
From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letter sent by Maurycy from Bedzin, Poland, to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 8 April 1943. Maurycy writes that he is still active in the community. He gives information about his family [possibly to produce forged papers]: his daughter Helene (b. 1 November 19417) works as a nurse; his wife Mariem, 50 years old, works as a taylor. He writes that he often visits the Lejb family, but regrets to say they are not well, especially Dora. Vitus is a strong boy, and looks good. Maurycy adds that Michal, his previous employer, will soon be repositioned, and they will be working together. Notes: 1. Possibly Leib and Dora Zarompf and their son Witek. Witek could be Avigdor Zarompf. Dora (nee Gold) was Schwarzbaum's niece. 2. Possibly Michal Laskier, a member of the Jewish Council in Bedzin. 3 pages, handwritten original, in German About Alfred Schwarzbaum: Alfred (Alf) Schwarzbaum was a Jewish merchant from Bedzin, Poland, who fled to Switzerland after the occupation. In Switzerland, he set up a relief enterprise, and supported hundreds of Jews. Alfred (Alf) Schwarzbaum was born in 1896 in Sosnowiec, Poland. He later moved to Bedzin, became a businessman and started a family. In late September 1939, following the German occupation of Poland, he sent his daughter to England. In November 1939, he was jailed for several weeks in Myslowice and was interrogated by the Gestapo. After his release, he turned down an offer from Mosheh Merin, head of the Sosnowiec Jewish council, to be his deputy. Using his connections and his fortune, he was able to obtain visas for Switzerland. In April 1940, he left Poland and settled in Lausanne. Schwarzbaum soon started sending out food, clothing, money and papers to Poland. He managed to navigate between the often uncoordinated Jewish and Zionist organizations based in Switzerland, to transfer financial help to Jews in Poland. He sent hundreds of parcels to German occupied localities, via Lisbon, Sweden and Turkey. He visited refugee camps in Switzerland, and corresponded with persons living under the Nazi rule. He also produced passports, which led him into trouble with the Swiss police, who feared for violation of the country's neutrality policy. In 1945, he immigrated to Mandate Palestine. In Israel, he supported funds and provided stipends for students in need, in several Israeli institutes for higher education. He died in 1990.