From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Postcard from Simon Zangen, Geneva, 1942

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Postcard sent by Simon Zangen from Geneva to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 5 October 1942, asking to see him. Simon and Mirel, residents of Scheveningen, the Netherlands, fled to Switzerland in late 1942 following their son, Oskar, who had come to the country in June 1942. Simon and Mirel returned to the Netherlands after the war. In 1945, Oskar immigrated to Mandate Palestine, where he met his brother, Menachem, who had immigrated in 1933 and was amnog the founders of Kibbutz Kfar Szold. 1 page, handwritten original, in German Source file: 27101 Note: For further information, see file 33361 in the Holdings Registry of the GFH Archives. 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.