From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letter and telegram from Jozefa Zielinska and a description of the wartime experiences of her daughter, Eliza Asz

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letter and telegram sent by Jozefa Zielinska to Schwarzbaum and a description of the wartime experiences of her daughter, Eliza Asz. 3 pages, typewritten original, in Polish Eliza was the daughter of Ruta (nee Zelwer) and Szymon Asz. Shespent the war years in Czestochowa. On 15 January 1943, she was sedated and taken in a bag to Dr. Tadeusz Ference in the city. He became her legal guardian and took her to the local orphanage. A couple expelled from Poznan, Atty. Urbanczyk and his wife, adopted her. On 24 April 1943, Jozefa travelled under the assumed identiy of Jozefa Zielinska to Mokrzesz and then to Germany. Inventory: 1. Telegram sent by Jozefa, no date or recipient specified, stating that her daughter is alive. 2. Letter sent by Jozefa from Bern, Switzerland, to Schwarzbaum in Palestine, writing that Mr. Tempel from Zurhc has visited and gave Mr. Marcowicz's address. She also writes that she has the address of Atty. Marian Hesenfeld and that she has been in Bern for two months with Wanda and the Melcer couple. She adds that Maryla is in a hospital in Locarno, Switzerland. Jozefa is waiting to see her daughter and asks about Irka Schwarzbaum. She writes that she will visit Marusia Cygler on her return to Poland 3. Description of Eliza's wartime experiences. 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.