From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: letters sent by Georg – Jerzy Kuenstlinger from Budapest to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letters, including requests for support in money and food and confirmations for their reception, sent by Georg – Jerzy Kuenstlinger and his family members Hela and Zofia in Budapest during the war and in Bucharest after it, to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne, Switzerland, between 30 July 1943 and 28 August 1945, as well as Schwarzbaum's replies. The files also contains requests sent to Schwarzbaum from Kuenstlinger acquaintances Anna Segal, Laska Blum and his son, Benno Sussmann. Photos were sent to the Photo Archive. Handwritten original, in German Georg was born in Katowice in 1892 and married Frida Gruber. He spent most of the war in Budapest. After the liberation he spent some time in Bucharest, before settling in Wien (Vienna), where he edited the Jewish periodical Neue Welt. He died in Vienna in 1969. About Alfred Schwarzbaum: 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 1946 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.