From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Seven letters from Switzerland concerning Leo Kagan, 1944 - 1945

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Seven letters sent to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne, Switzerland, 1944 - 1945. The letters concern Leo Kagan. 7 pages, typewritten and handwritten, copy, in French, German and Yiddish Inventory: 1. Letter sent by Abraham Lekus from La Tour de Peilz, Switzerland, 18 August 1944. The letters contains biographical information about Kagan and his situation in Leysin. 1 page, typewritten, copy, in German 2. Letter sent by E.M., who works at the Ecole Polyglotte in Montreux, to H. Schwarzbaum, 15 January 1945, concerning Kagan's studies. 1 page, handwritten, copy, in French 3. Letter sent by Kagan on 28 January 1945, asking for a meeting. 1 page, handwritten, copy, in Yiddish 4. Letter sent by Kagan from Montreux on 5 June 1945. Kagan informs Schwarzbaum that thanks to his support, he was accepted to the Etania Sanatorium in Davos, and asks for additional support to finance his medical treatment. He adds that he has already received aid from the refugee relief and the Polish committee. 1 page, handwritten, copy, in German 5. Letter sent by the Comite International pour le placement des Intellectuels Refugies (International Committee for Securing Employment to Refugee Professional Workers) in Geneva, 15 July 1945, regarding Kagan's tuition at the Ecole Polyglot for 15 May - 15 June 1945. 1 page, typewritten, copy, in German 6. Letter sent by the chairman of the Jewish community in Davos, 1 August 1945, updating Schwarzbaum on Kagan's hospitalization in Etania since 15 July 1945. 1 page, typewritten, copy, in German 7. Letter sent by Josef Brumilk from Davos on 1 August 1945. Brumilk refers to Kagan's allowance and informs Schwarzbaum on the arrival of 37 refugees from the Buchenwald DP Camp. 1 page, typewritten, copy, in German 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.