From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Two postwar letters from Biberach an der Riss to Irka Schwarzbaum

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Two letters sent by Adam Naparstek and M. Jarzybek from Biberach an der Riss, Germany, to their former schoolmates from Bedzin, Irka Schwarzbaum, after the war. 4 pages, handwritten original, in Polish Inventory: 1. Letter sent by Naparstek from Biberach. Naparstek describes the fate of his family, saying that he and his brother have been staying in Biberach since their liberation and are receving aid from the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). He asks Irka to contact his family, the Graycers, in Haifa, Mandate Palestine. 2 pages, hadnwritten original, in Polish 2. Letter sent by Jarzybek from Jordanbad, Germany. Jarzybek writes that other refugees from bedzin are also staying there, and that he has been receiving letters from Mr. Gold. He adds that he has no one left except for Lolek Dancygier, Mulko Miodownik and Kici in Paris. He also writes that his brother is with him and that Niusia Unger has gone to Poland to help her sister. Note: Jordanbad is a borough in Biberach. After the war, Holocaust survivors from Bedzin were concentrated there and received aid from UNRRA. Source file: 25895 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.