From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letters and postcards sent to Schwarzbaum in Switzerland and in Israel by various people, 1949 - 1951

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letters and postcards sent to Schwarzbaum in Switzerland and in Israel by various people, 1949 - 1951: 1. Letter sent by Leon K. [?] from Haifa on 27 February 1949. 2 page, handwritten original, in Polish 2. Postcard sent by [?] from Paris to Schwarzbaum in Zurich on 3 September 1949. 2 page, handwritten original, in German 3. Letter sent by L. Polinsky from Geneva to Schwarzbaum on 2 January 1951. 1 page, typewritten original, in Yiddish 4. Letter sent by Naftali Brender from Sidney, Australia, on 15 January 1951. 2 pages, typewritten original, in German 5. Note sent by Ben Zvi [?] on 18 January 1951. The author writes that he had forwarded the letter to Gershon Levinson. 1 page, handwritten original, in Hebrew 6. Short letter sent by Marguerite Berger on 25 February 1951. 2 pages, handwritten original, in German and Hebrew 7. Letter sent by Helene E. [?] from Geneva to Schwarzbaum and his wife in the early 1950s (in July), offering them to stay at her place whenever they wish. 2 pages, handwritten original, in Polish 12 pages, typewritten original, in Polish, German, Hebrew and Yiddish Note: other documents that were in this file have been transferred to the following Holdings Registry files: 39860, 39861, 39862, 39863, 39864, 39865, 39866, 39867, 39868, 39869, 39870, 39871, 39872, 39873, 39874, 39875, 39876, 39877, 39878 The file also contains a portrait photo of an unidentified person. 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.