From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: letter from Bedzin and formal letters from Switzerland [1940 - 1945] and a review of Schwarzbaum's operations

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: 1. Letter sent by Kazik to Schwarzbaum, referring to their correspondence and parcel delivery, and updating that he had visited the Zarof family (possibly relatives of Maria Gold, Schwarzbaum's wife), at Schwarzbaum's request. Bedzin, 6 June 1940. [1] 1 page, handwritten original, in Polish 2. Swiss visas given to Schwarzbaum, his wife Maria (b. 1898), and his daughters Halina (b. 1919) and Irena (b. 1921), valid until 31 August 1940. Bern, 18 July 1940 [3, 4, 6] 3 pages, print and typewritten original, in French 3. List of documents (mostly letters) confiscated by the Lausanne Police form Schwarzbaum and a confirmation signed by Schwarzbaum, stating that his Polish passports have been given back to him. [11] 1 page, typewritten original, in German 4. A receipt for 4 Swiss francs given to Schwarzbaum from the Lausanne Police for buying dinner, 12 May 1932. [12] 1 page, print original, in French 5. Tax vouchers (1941 and 1942) for non – Swiss nationals, given to Schwarzbaum and his wife. Lausanne, December 1941, 1942. [8, 15] 2 pages, print original, in French 6. National defense tax vouchers (1941, 1942, 1943 and 1944) given to Alfred and his wife. Lausanne. [9, 13, 16] 3 pages, print original, in French 7. An information page explaining the importance of fundraising for war victims; a donation form; and a donor certificate for war victims given to Schwarzbaum. Lausanne, Spring 1945. [17, 19, 21] 3 pages, print original, in French 8. Certificate for the prolonging of Alfred and Maria's stay in Switzerland until 30 June 1945. Issued in Bern on 6 April 1945. [20] Shlomo Grossman 9. Letter from Shlomo Grossman to Yad Vashem, writing about his acquaintance with Scwarzbaum in Bedzin and the latter's' effort to rescue Jews during the war. Ramat Gan, 1 October 1964. [22, 23, 24] 3 pages, handwritten copy, in Yiddish 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 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.