From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Essay by Mordechai Hampel on Schwarzbaum

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Essay by Mordechai Hampel on Schwarzbaum and his relief efforts during WWII. 9 pages, typewritten, original, in Hebrew The essay is based on Hampel's interview with Schwarzbaum (the file does not contain a transcript). Notes: 1. Hampel, a native of Bedzin, Poland, was a journalist and author who wrote in Hebrew and Yiddish. He was one of the editors of "Pinkas Bedzin", the memorial book for the Jewish community in Bedzin, published in Tel Aviv in 1959. 2. The date and location of the interview are not specified. Hampel's essay is a chronological account that covers three phases in Schwarzbaum's life: his prewar life, his arrest in 1939 and his emigration to Switzerland in 1940. The first section describes his childhood and adolescence, his professional education, his business ties, his philanthropy, his involvement with Zionism and his visits to Mandate Palestine (1934 and 1939). The second section describes his incarceration in Myslowice, Poland, on 9 November 1939, his release and his efforts to leave Poland. The third and main section describes his relief efforts during the war, as well as his postwar activities such as visits to refugee camps in Switzerland. Hampel also mentions the "Comite international pour le placement des refugies intellectuels" (International Committee for the Placement of Intellectual Refugees), directed by Fanny Hirsch (Abraham Silberschein's wife), and the Deliverance organization. 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.