From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Correspondence with Rabbi Abraham Lekus, Dr. I.S. Meerschwam and Chaim Pozner, 1942 - 1944

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Correspondence between Rabbi Abraham Lekus in La Tour de Peilz, Switzerland; Schwarzbaum in Lausanne; Dr. I.S. Meerschwam in Clarens; and Chaim Pozner at the Palestine Office in Geneva; 19 July 1942 - 28 June 1944. The main topic discussed in the letters is the settlement of the accounts between Meerschwam and Lekus on one hand, and Schwarzbaum. Meerschwam and Lekus argue that no go - between is needed, and that they prefer direct liaison with Schwarzbaum, apologizing for any offence taken by him or his wife from them. Meerschwam also invites the Schwarzbaums to his wedding on 22 June 1944. Pozner welcomes the reconciliation, and he and Schwarzbaum also discuss the delivery of aid funds. 10 pages, print and handwritten original, in German and Yiddish Source file: 27100 Note: the envelope sent by Meerschwam on 11 November 1942 was removed from file 26775 in the Holdings Registry. 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.