From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Requests for help from Moses Szapyro on behalf of nine young Holocaust survivors in Switzerland, and related correspondence, May – July 1945

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Requests for help (money, provisions, finding relatives and immigration to Mandate Palestine) sent by Moses Szapyro on behalf of nine young Holocaust survivors, Switzerland, 25 May – 30 July 1945. 10 pages, typewritten and handwritten original, in German, Polish, Yiddish and French Note: additional letters that were in the file were transferred to the following files: 39865, 40092, 40093, 40094, and 40095. 1. A. Letter sent by Alfred Abrahamer from Bern to Schwarzbaum on 25 May 1945, reporting on nine young men who had come from the Dachau camp 14 days earlier and are now quarantined at the Gattikon refugee camp in Switzerland. He had been given 15 francs to provide for them, but feels that given their physical condition, it might have been better if they had been sent food parcels instead. He cannot reach them at the moment but hopes to contact them soon. He lists their names: Kopel Eidelbaum (b. 1922 in Przytyk), butcher; Schmul Lenga (b. 1928 in Warsaw), student; Lewi – David Perelman (b. 1928 in Krasznik), student; Sigmund (Zalman) Reich (b. 1927 in Krakow), student; Szlama Rubin (b. 1924 in Otwock), student; Josef – Chaim Rosbach (b. 1928 in Rzeszow), student; Maier Szapyro (b. 1928 in Przytyk), student; Moses Szapyro (b. 1924 in Przytyk), rabbinical student; Moses Teper (b. 1923 in Przytyk), student. 1 page, typewritten original, in Polish 1. B. Letter sent by Alfred Abrahamer from Geneva to Hans Klee at the Relief Committee for the Warstricken Jewish Population (RELICO) regarding the collection and publication of survivor testimonies, 9 July 1945. He mentions Moses Szapyro's story and the urgency of obtaining documentation on the ghettos and deportations while the survivors' memory is still fresh. He emphasizes three objectives of the testimonies: getting a clear and comprehensive picture of the Jews' wartime experiences, recording the names of the victims and notifying their relatives, and proecuting the culprits. He also expresses his hope that the documents and testimonies will have a place in an archive in Palestine. Abrahamer also critiques RELICO's inefficiency and turns down their proposal to publish his documentation in Switzerland. 2 pages, typewritten, original, in German 2. List of the aforementioned men, including dates of birth, place of birth, names of parents and mostly names of relatives they are trying to find and assumed addresses. 1 page, typewritten original, in French 3. Letter written by the young men from the Adliswil refugee camp, near Zurich, Switzerland, to Mr. Laski on 31 May 1945, asking for his help. The enclose their personal information. They write that on 1 May 1945, after four years in concentration camps (the last one being Dachau), they escaped and crossed the border into Switzerland. Due to their poor physical condition, they were hospitalized in Buks, where they could not contact their relatives. On 29 May 1945, they were sent to Adliswil, and are hoping to be released soon. They would like to immigrate to Palestine, but they have no possessions or families. 2 pages, typewritten and handwritten original, in Polish and German 4. The end of a letter sent by Heini Bornstein from Switzerland [date missing], regarding the nine men, asking Schwarzbaum to help them. He adds that two letters from Barcelona have arrived, regarding immigration to Palestine. He writes that they [?] boarded a ship the day before, and are expected to arrive in Haifa on the 16th. He also discusses a telegram from Mosche Furmansky in New York, saying that 159 survivors from Poland are in the Bergen – Belsen camp. Bornstein asks if Schwarzbaum can help them. 1 page, typewritten original, in German 5. Letter sent by Szapyro on behalf of the nine men to Abrahamer on 1 June 1945, asking him to help them find relatives, get food, and immigrate to Palestine. 1 page, typewritten original, in German 6. Letter sent by Szapyro from Beatenberg, near Bern, Switzerland, to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne on 26 June 1945. He writes that he had learned from Abrahamer that the Relief Committee for the Warstricken Jewish Population (RELICO) has given Schwarzbaum 15 francs for each of the men, including Szapyro. He asks Schwarzbaum to deliver them this money and send them foodstuffs. 1 page, typewritten original, in German 7. Letter from Szapyro to Schwarzbaum, 30 July 1945, regarding the allowance from RELICO. He mentions Abraham Silberschein and encloses the organized appeal [from 26 July 1945?]. 1 page, handwritten, in Yiddish 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.