From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letter from S. Lipman, Montreaux, asking about his nephew, Adolf Tennenbaum in Warsaw, January 1943

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letter sent by S. Lipman from Montreaux, Switzerland, to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne, 27 January 1943, asking for information about his nephew, Adolf Tennenbaum, and his wife and two children, who had fled to the Warsaw ghetto from Lodz and were not heard from since 21 July 1942. Lipman writes that he has heard from his niece, Mrs. Lotto in Zurich, that Schwarzbaum was prepared to find out about her family in Warsaw. He therefore asks Schwarzbaum to help him find out what has become of his nephew Adolf, his wife Eugenia (nee Natanson), a dentist, their daughter Teresa (age 17), and their son Anastazy (age 12), who is ill. They are all staying at Mrs. Kromolowski's house on Twarda Street. Notes: 1. See also file 23954. 2. According to a witness page filled out for Yad Vashem, Adolf perished in 1942. 1 page, typewritten original, in German Source file: 23954 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.