From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letters and postcards from Mounique Humbert, Vilamont, December 1942 - February 1943, regarding her search for her mother

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letters and postcards sent by Mounique Humbert from Vilamont, Switzerland to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne, December 1942 - February 1943, regarding her mother, Elli Bail (nee Katz), who had been deported from the Drancy camp in the autumn of 1942. The letters were sent on 1 December 1942, 12 December 1942 and 2 February 1943. In the first letter, she thanks Schwarzbaum for referring her to Mrs. Darmstaicher about her mother, who she is looking for; her mother (b. 1886) was deported from Drancy between 26 October and 5 November 1942, and was not heard from since. On 12 December, she asks Schwarzbaum to send the enclosed letter (not in the file) regarding Mrs. G. in Neuvy, France. She thinks her mother's chances of survival where she is are very low. The first letter was originally in file 23954. 5 pages, typewritten and 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.