From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letters concerning the delivery of mail to Poland and entry visa for Switzerland sent by Hela - Rachel Muller, France 1942

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letters concerning the delivery of mail to Poland and entry visa for Switzerland sent by Hela - Rachel Muller (nee Abramson) from France to Schwarzbaum in Switzerland, 1942. 8 pages, handwritten, original, in Polish, German and French Notes: 1. Hela only uses her first name, except for the last letter. 2. According to Yad Vashem's records, Hela lived in France during the war, and was deported on 7 March 1944, in Transport 69, from Drancy to Birkenau, where she perished. 3. See also files 26546 and 26547 for correspondence between Hela's sister Lunia Gallerska Hermann (nee Abramson), in Marseilles, France, and Schwarzbaum, 1941 - 1942. 4. See also Jakob Abramson's letter from the Warsaw ghetto to Schwarzbaum on 19 March 1943, file 40201. 5. A document that was in this file was transferred to file 41502. Inventory: 1. Letter sent by Hela from Marseilles to Schwarzbaum, 16 September 1942. She thanks Schwarzbaum for his reply and says she has not heard from Mulik. He did not forward Schwarzbaum's letter and she worries about him and her family, from whom she has not heard in two months. She regrets leaving her home because while she was there she could send packages to her family. When she left, she asked an acquintance to keep sending the packages, but she is afraid not all packages arrive. She asks Schwarzbaum to send packages to her brother and to Cesia in case the aforementioned acquaintance failed to do so, and to send letters to her father, A. Pachter, in Czestochowa. 2 pages, handwritten, original, in Polish 2. Two letters sent to Schwarzbaum, written by two different senders, on a single page. One was written by Hela, asking for Schwarzbaum's help in forwarding an enclosed letter to her father in Poland. She writes that she lives with Mania and Moryc, and that her sister moved to Aix (possibly Aix en Provence). She adds that she has not heard from Mulik and asks about him. The letter on the other side was written by Manida, probably the person at whose home Hela was living. Mania send regards to Alfred and his wife Mania - Miriam. She asks if Mania Schwarzbaum has news about her family and asks Schwarzbaum to find out about her brother, who lives with her uncle and aunt, Baci and Jadzi. She asks for news about Mulik. 2 pages, handwirtten, original, in Polish 3. Letter sent by Hela and her sister Lunia to their family in Poland, 1 December 1942. They ask for news about them. Hela writes about Ms. Kurt's marriage with Roger. She also asks about Karola and her family. The letter was evidently sent to Poland through Schwarzbaum. 4. Letter sent by Hela from Marseilles to Schwarzbaum, asking for his help in obtaining a visa for Switzerland. Hela describes her difficulties and writes her personal information: Rachel Muller (nee Abramson), b. 13 September 1900 in Bedzin, Romanian citizen. 3 pages, handwritten, original, in French 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.