From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Three postcards from Hans Klee, Switzerland, 1942 - 1944

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Three postcards sent by Hans Klee to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne, Switzerland, 1942 - 1944. 6 pages, typewritten and handwritten, in German Note: Klee was active in the Relief Committee for the War Stricken Jewish Population (RELICO) in Geneva and a friend of Dr. Abraham Silberschein. Inventory: 1. Postcard sent by Klee from Geneva, 15 June 1942. Klee informs Schwarzaum that his sister in law, Gisa Hitschmann (age 60) was deported with other Jews from Holic, Slovakia, to Bielsko - Biala, Poland. Klee writes that he has been in touch with her sons in England and asks for Schwarzbaum's help in finding out about her. He also asks if it might be possible to contact someone at the Bielsko - Biala Jewish Council to ask about her. 2 pages, typewritten, in German Note: According to the list of deportees in Yad Vashem's witness pages, Hitschmann was deported by the Reich Main Security Office (RHSA) on 24 April 1942 from Zilina, Slovakia, to Auschwitz, where she perished. 2. Postcard sent by Klee from Geneva on 7 September 1943. The letter evidently concerns Schwarzbaum's clandestine relief efforts. Klee mentions his talk with Schwarzbaum and provides information about an individual, apparently a collaborator, who should leave soon. He advises Schwarzbaum to call on his next visit to Geneva. 2 pages, handwritten, in German 3. Postcard sent by Klee from Zurich on 24 February 1944. Klee thanks Schwarzbaum for his financial support and informs him that he was with his wife in Davos and also visited several places in the canton of Graubuenden. The postcard is signed by Hans and Edith Klee. 2 pages, handwritten, 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.