From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Two letters from Inge Bienstock, Lausanne, 1944

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Two letters sent by Inge Bienstock from Lausanne to Schwarzbaum, also in Lausanne, on 26 July and 1 December 1944. In her first letter, written in French, Inge asks why the financial transfers to her account in Zurich have stopped. In her second letter, in German, she thanks Schwarzbaum for the support he gave her six months earier. She writes that she has no need for further assistance, but asks him to lend money to Alfred Gruen, who lives in Lausanne and suffers from health probelms. Note: Gregory Bienstock and Germina Rabinowitch's addresses were written in a different handwriting on the reverse side of the second letter: Gregory Bienstock, 60 West 107th Street, NY4 Montreal, International Labour Office, Germina Rabinowitch 3 pages, handwritten original, in French and German Source file: 27359 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.