From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letters sent by Fanny Schlossberg from Riga, May - June 1940

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letters sent by Fanny Schlossberg from Riga, Latvia, to Schwarzbaum and his family in Lausanne on 22 May and 6 June 1940. In her first letter, Fanny writes that she has received the letter sent by the Schwarzbaums from Warsaw, and that reply never arrived. She asks whether Eda is in Bedzin or in Warsaw, and in whose place. She writes that their youngest son is living in French North Africa, and asks Schawrzbaum to keep writing. In her second letter, she expresses optimism. She notes that for a short period, the authorities allowed parcels to be sent to Poland, but high tariffs are now preventing this. She aks whether Eda was staying with the Sarampf family in Bedzin, and asks for her address. She adds that Richard has a job, which means al lot to him. She asks if there are news from the Gold family, who moved to Lwow. Note: For correspondence regarding the Schlossbergs, see also files 25912 and 26695. 4 pages, handwritten original, in German Source file: 27102 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.