From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letters and postcards from David Knout and his family, Switzerland and France, February 1943 - March 1945, and other documents

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letters and postcards sent by David Knout and his family from Switzerland and France to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne, 19 February 1943 - 26 March 1945, and other documents. 48 pages, print, typewritten and handwritten, original, in Russian, French, German and Hebrew Notes: 1. Knout was a Jewish poet and active in the Armee Juive (Jewish Army), a Zionist resistance movement in occupied France. He was born Duvid Meerovich Fiksman in 1900 in Orhei, Russia (now Moldova). In the 1920s, he moved to France, where he lived until November 1942. He then fled to Switzerland, where he found shelter. 2. Knout married Ariane Scriabin (later Ariane Knout - Fixman, b. 1906), a ntive of Baglialsco, Italy, the daughter od Russian pianist and composer Alexander Scriabin. In 1940, she converted to Judaism and took the name of Sara Knout - Fixman. 3. During WWI, Ariane was in Toulouse, France, where she fought for the Armee Juive under the alias "Regine". She was killed in July 1944. 4. For more information about Knout and Ariane, see Lazare, Lucien. Rescue as Resistance: How Jewish Organizations Fought the Holocaust in France. Columbia University Press, 1996. 5. David and Ariane had a son, Yosef (b. 1943). They both also had children from previous marriages. 6. An additional postcard that was in this file was transferred to file 41645. Inventory: 1. Letter sent by Knout from Switzerland, 19 February 1943, concerning the delivery of mail to Tel Aviv, Mandate Palestine. 1 page, handwritten, original, in Yiddish 2. Letter sent by Knout from Sierre, Switzerland, to Schwarzbaum, 10 November 1943. Knout thanks Schwarzbaum for agreeing to meet him and writes that he would be able to come to Lausanne in one week. 1 page, handwritten, original, in French 3. Letter sent by Knout from Geneva to Schwarzbaum, 14 November 1943. Knout informs Schwarzbaum that he was given a one - month leave in Geneva and would therefore not be coming to Lausanne. Knout adds that his son is living with a family in Basel. 1 page, handwritten, original, in French 4. Letter sent by Knout from the Morgins DP camp in Switzerland to Schwarzbaum, 7 February 1944. Knout thanks Shcwarzbaum for the products he sent to his daughter. He adds that on 19 February 1944, he will receive a five - day leave and would like to meet the Schwarzbaum family. 1 page, handwritten, original, in French 5. Letter sent by Knout from Morgins to Schwarzbaum, 17 February 1944. Knout informs Schwarzbaum of his return to the DP camp. He adds that some 500 Jews live there and that his son and daughter are unwell. 1 page, handwritten, original, in Russian and German 6. Receipt for a package sent by Schwarzbaum from Zurich to Arianne in Toulouse, 25 February 1944. An invoice and an explanatory page from the delivery service Colis Suisse is enclosed. 4 pages, typewritten and handwritten, original, in German and French 7. Letter sent by Knout from Morgins to Schwarzbaum 26 February 1944. Knout thanks Schwarzbaum for speaking with Ms. Hirsh and for forwarding his letter to Palestine. Knout adds that he was surprised by the level of Schwarzbaum's Russian. According to him, the refugees from Belgium receive 25 francs from the Belgian consulate. Myriam Tatiana – Lazarus, Knout's stepdaughter, adds a few words to the Schwarbaum family on the back of the page. She thanks them for the products they sent to her and her brother. 2 pages, handwritten, original, in Russian 8. Letter sent by Knout from Morgins to Schwarzbaum, 6 March 1944. Knout asks for Schwarzbaum's help in delivering mail. He adds that he intends to visit Schwarzbaum in early April. He thanks Schwarzbaum for sending a package to Sara (evidently Ariane) and his daughter and asks for new from Ms. Hirsh. 2 pages, handwritten, original, in Russian 9. Letter sent by Knout from Morgins to Schwarzbaum, 20 March 1944. Knout writes that he would come to him on 2 April 1944, and adds that Armand Brunschwig wants to help. He mentions Sara (evidently Ariane) and Ms. Hirsh. 1 page, handwritten, original, in Russian 10. Letter sent by Knout from Morgins to Schwarzbaum, 17 April 1944. Knout reports that he had asked for permission to live in Geneva to be able to go to the library and study at the university. He adds that his children came to visit him on Passover from Basel. He mentions the following names: Mr. Rotmund, Haymann, Ms. Hirsh, Yosef (evidently Knout's son) and Myriam (evidently Myriam Tatiana – Lazarus). 1 page, handwritten, original, in Russian 11. Postcard sent by Knout from Morgins to Schwarzbaum, informing him that he has received a certificate from Bern but still needs one from Geneva. He asks Schwarzbaum to host his daughter for one day. 2 page, handwritten, original, in French 12. Letter sent by Knout from Morgins to Schwarzbaum, 12 May 1944, concerning his wage from the Ort organization. He mentions Mr. S., Ms. Hirsh and Sara (evidently Ariane). 1 page, handwritten, original, in Russian 13. Letter sent by Knout from Geneva to Schwarzbaum. 18 May 1944. Knout reports on his meeting with Mr. S. and that he has told Mr. S. that he would still be in the camp if it were not for Schwarzbaum's help. He mentions Ms. Hirsh. 1 page, handwritten, original, in Russian 14. Postcard sent by Knout from Switzerland to Schwarzbaum, 20 May 1944, giving Schwarzbaum his new address in Geneva. 2 pages, handwritten, original, in Russian 15. Postcard sent by Knout from Geneva to Alfred and Irka Schwarzbaum in Zurich, 23 May 1944. Knout gives Mrs. U. Leu – Hotz in Basel and writes that this is Eli's [evidently Knout's stepson, Eli Magen] address. 2 pages, handwritten, original, in Russian 16. Two letters sent by Knout from Geneva to Schwarzbaum, 4 and 5 June 1944. Knout writes that Eli (age 9) is in a boarding school in Versoix, Switzerland. He writes that he is currently trying to bring Yosef to the same boarding school. He adds that he has no news from Sara (evidently Ariane) and mentions Myriam (evidently Myriam Tatiana – Lazarus), Mr. Bollay and Mrs. Silbeschein (evidently Fanny Silberschein). 2 pages, handwritten, original, in Russian 17. Letter sent by Eli (Knout's stepson) from Basel to Schwrzbaum, 7 June 1944. Eli thanks Schwarzbaum for the package he sent him. 2 pages, handwritten, original, in French 18. Postcard sent by Knout from Geneva to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne, 17 July 1944. Knout mentions Ms. Z. and Paula. 2 pages, handwritten, original, in Russian 19. Postcard sent by Knout from Geneva to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne, 21 July 1944. He mentions Mrs. S. and the Ort organization. 2 pages, handwritten, original, in Russian 20. Letter sent by Knout from Geneva to Schwarzbaum, 31 August 1944. Knout informs Schwarzbaum of his decision to return to France. He writes that a refugee named Regina Rosenfeld (age 33) and her daughter (age 6) are in the Finhaut camp in Switzerland. He asks Schwarzbaum to help them and that Eli and Yosef are together. A short letter by an unidentified person to Schwarzbaum on the reverse side of the page. 2 pages, handwritten, original, in Russian and German 21. A voucher for 20 francs sent by Knout from Geneva to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne, 11 September 1944. Knout writes (on the reverse side of the page) that this covers half of his debt. He adds that he had told Regina Rosenfeld to contact Schwarzbaum. According to him, Regina received a small amount of money from the Polish consulate. 2 pages, handwritten, original, in Russian, German and French 22. A voucher for 20 francs sent by Knout from Geneva to Schwarzbaum in Zurich, 14 September 1944. 2 pages, handwritten, original, in Russian, German and French 23. Letter sent by Myriam Lazarus, Knout's stepdaughter, to Schwarzbaum, 21 September 1944. She writes that she is with her father is Geneva and sends her regards to Irka Schwarzbaum. 2 pages, handwritten, original, in French 24. Letter sent by Knout from Geneva to Schwarzbaum, 6 October 1944. He reports that he has received a permit to travel to Bern and would sign Eli for the HeHalutz movement. 1 page, handwritten, original, in Russian 25. Letter sent by Knout from France to Schwarzbaum, 10 October 1944. He writes that his wife Ariane was killed and offers Schwarzbaum to contact Dr. Bleitrach, a former inmate of the Les Milles camp in France and is now in Zurich. The letter mentions M. Bollay. 1 page, handwritten, original, in French 26. Postcard sent by Knout from Geneva to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne, 10 October 1944, which mentions Bollay. 2 pages, handwritten, original, in Russian 27. Letter sent by Knout from Paris to Schwarzbaum, 5 November 1944. He informs Mrs. Silberschein (evidently Fanny Silberschein) that Alice Kaufman and Alfred Bernheim have been traced. He also asks Schwarzbaum to send him the Jewish Agency pamphlet from Toulouse. He writes that he only found Sara's (Arianne) grave. Their property is gone and French people new live in their apartment. He must seek legal relief to get his apartment back. 2 pages, handwritten, original, in Russian 28. Postcard sent by Knout from Paris to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne, 26 March 1945. He writes that his is currently writes two books and that he has agreed to be the chief editor of the "Bulletin du Centre de Documentation Juive Contemporaine". He asks for Schwarzbaum's help in bringing his son Yosef to France. He mentions, inter alia, Sigi, Leiner and Dr. Friedman (possibly Philip Friedman). 2 pages, handwritten, original, in French 29. "The radio announcer Lea knout" – newspaper article published in the Israeli daily "Davar", 21 December 1951. Lea (nee Virginia Sharovskaya) married Knout after the war. 1 page, print, original, in Hebrew 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.