From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: letters from Michal Laskier, POW camps in Germany, May - December 1944

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Three letters sent by Michal Laskier from POW camps in Germany to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne, 21 May - 7 December 1944. The letter were sent from the following camps: Laufen (Ilag 7), Upper Bavaria, 21 May; Spittal an der Drau (Ilag 18), Carinthia, southern Austria, 29 November and 7 December. 21 May - Laskier is happy to learn that Natan is feeling better. He writes that he and Benjamin have been informed by the Red Cross that they have been included in the second POW exchange deal. He thanks Schwarzbaum for sending them a parcel and sends regards from Jurek. 29 November - Laskier reports that Anna has received a postcard from Horn, who wishes to receive a second parcel with the same contents, and Laskier asks Schwarzbaum to arrange that. He also asks where Natan Ek is living and for Dawid Liwer's address. 7 December - Laskier writes that he has not yet received a reply from Schwarzbaum. He adds that he has received letters from Wolf Timankiewicz (b. 20 January 1906) and Leonard Lehrhaft (b. 23 October 1924) in the Sachsenhausen camp, who send their regards to Schwarzbaum's longtime friend Alfred Rachamim. Laskier also writes that he has received similar letters from Dawid Marianko and his friends, and that Andzia says she has sent a parcel to Horn on 15 November. If Schwarzbaum wishes to send letters to other friends, he writes, he should send them directly to Andzia in [camp] Liebenau. Laskier once again asks for Liwer's address and for a Stanislawski dictionary, and send regards from Jurek. Notes: 1. "Rachamim" means "mercy" in Hebrew. Laskier is possibly writing that Timankiewicz and Lehrhaft sent their personal information so that Schwarzbaum can arrange to send them life - saving papers, and that they ask for his mercy. 2. Stanislawski was a popular Polish - English and English - Polish dictionary, and was probably needed to communicate with other POWs in the camp. Note: another letter was transferred to file 40213. 6 pages, handwritten original, 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.