From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Postcard and letter from I. Klausner, the Netherlands and Belgium, May - July 1945

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Postcard sent by I. Klausner from Eindhoven, the Netherlands, to Schwarzbaum, 30 May; and a letter sent by Klausner from Brussels, Belgium, on 24 July 1945. In the postcard, Klausner writes that he was liberated several months ago and had come to Eindhoven the day before, still not knowing what to do next. He asks Schwarzbaum for information about his parents and common acquaintances. In the letter, Klausner writes that since the 30 May postcard, he has been hospitalized and has recovered from his medical conditions he suffered at Buchenwald. He has since learned that his father and brother had perished. They plan on going to den Haag, and would like to immigrate to Mandate Palestine in the future. He asks whether Pola Bilfeld - Torem of Krakow, last seen in Auschwitz, is still alive. 4 pages, hadnwritten original, in German Source files: 27102 and 27019 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.