From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letters from a man in Krakow, asking for a weekly delivery of of foodstuffs, autumn 1941

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Two letters sent by a man from Krakow, Poland, to Schwarzbaum in Switzerland, asking for a weekly delivery of 5kg of foodstuffs (or money to the same worth) to Dipl. Eng. Bernhard Willer at the Zaliczkowy Bank in Krakow, 14 October and 14 November 1941. The sender [name illegible] writes that he has found Schwarzbaum's address through the parcels he sent to Mrs. Rosenthal in Krakow, addressed to Dr. Stanislaw Korngold. He writes that the cost of the deliveries will be paid for by Mr. Krieger in the US, whose address is enclosed. The sender also asks Schwarzbaum to send the money (in US Dollars) to two addresses, of which he only specifies one (apparently in Lisbon, Portugal), so that the parcels can be sent to him from these addresses to Willer at the bank. 8 pages, print copy, in German and Polish Note: additional letter from this fiel were moved to the following files: 39583, 39920, 40097, 40098, 40120, 40121, 40122, 40123, 40124, 40125, 40126, 40127, 40128, 40129, 40130, 40131, 40132, 40133, 40188, 40189. 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.