From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Five letters from Herbert Dembinski, a soldier in the CMF Polish Forces 673, 1946

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Five letters sent by Herbert Dembinski from his service as a soldier in the CMF Polish Forces 673 to Schwarzbaum in Mandate Palestine, 1946. Dembinski (b. 1925), a native of Bedzin, sent the last two letters from Northumberland, England. A group photo of him with fellow soldiers was enclosed, and was transferred to the GFH Photo Archive. The dates of the letters are 1 March, 8 March, 12 April 19 July and 14 August 1946. 14 pages, handwritten original, in Polish Note: The last letter (19 July) is originally from file 26548 Herbert (age 31) describes his frustration and the fate of the Jews of Bedzin, and asks Schwarzbaum to contact his family in Katowice, where his father had travelled during the war, and subsequently lost touch with his family. He writes that he was taken POW by the German army and was sent to France, where he escaped and joined the Polish army after the Allied invasion of France. He answers Schwrzbaum's questions about the Rybak family and asks for Schwarzbaum's advice on returning to Poland or immigrating to Palestine. 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.