From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Postcards sent by Heinrich Knorr from several places in the Third Reich, 1943 - 1944

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Postcards sent by Heinrich Knorr (b. c. 1926) to the Schwarzbaum family in Lausanne from several places in the Third Reich (as an Aryan boy, he could travel freely): Berlin, where he had come from Stutgart, 11 and 16 August 1943; the Treitschke camp; Waly, near Kutno, Western Poland, where he had been evacuated following Allied air raids under the auspices of the Verschickung der Kinder auf das Land (KLV), 1 November and 17 December 1943; Berlin, to which he returned for a a short visit, 20 March 1943; Vienna, where he had gone to work in late March, 8 May 1944. One postcard was sent by Henriette Knorr, presumably Heinrich's mother, from the same address in Berlin, thanking Schwarzbaum for the parcel. 13 pages, handwritten copy, in German Source file: 27116 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.