From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: correspondence with Jewish Councils of Elders

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Correspondence between Schwarzbaum in Lausanne and Mosze – Moszek - Monjek Merin, head of the Zentrale der Juedischen Aeltestenraete Ostoberschlesien (chief Council of Elders in Upper Silesia), which coordinated the affairs of the ghettos in Zagelbie, and his secretary Fanny Czarna; Chaim Merin, his brother, Elder of the Jews in the Sosnowiec ghetto; Chaim Molczadski, EOJ of the Bedzin; and other Jewish institutions such as the JDC in Poland, Switzerland, Hungary, the Netherlands and Portugal. The letters, financial reports and confirmations concern the delivery of parcels, financial aid, professional courses, immigration options and charity for Jews in the Zaglebie ghettos in the years 1940 – 1943. 135 pages, typewritten original and copy, in German Inventory: 1. Schwarzbaum's letters to Merin, 1940. 2. Schwarzbaum's letters to the councils and communities of Bedzin and Sosnowiec, 1941. 3. Schwarzbaum's letters to Sosnowiec and confirmations for 1942. Also a list of aid recipients. 4. Letters from Merin to Schwarzbaum, 1940. Budget proposal for various aid agencies. 5. Letters from Merin to Schwarzbaum, 1941. Budget proposal for professional courses. 6. Reports from the councils of elders received from Switzerland Via the JDC. 7. Financial balance sheets from the Zagelbie COE. Budget proposals for activities and productivities of the local Jews, 1940. 8. Letters from Merin to Schwarzbaum, 1942. 9. Letters from Merin to Schwarzbaum, 1943, including one dated 3 June 1943, announcing the termination of contact with private individuals in Zaglebie. 10. Letters from the JDC in the Netherlands and Belgium to the Sosnowiec council; a letter from Dr. Bohrer in Bratislava to Schwarzbaum, regarding the provision of visas for Switzerland for him and Merin. 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 1946 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.