From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letters from Jacob Fischer and the VSJF, regarding Jacob's wife and son, 1945

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letter sent by Jacob Fischer on 15 June 1945, and an official letter from the Association of Swiss Jewish Refugee Aid and Welfare Organisations (VSJF) in Zurich to Schwarzbaum, 24 October 1945, regarding Jacob's wife and son. 2 pages, typewritten and handwritten original, in German 1. Fischer writes that he has been liberated from the Dachau camp on 30 April 1945 and that he is waiting to return to Poland. He asks Schwarzbaum to inform his brother Leon in London. 2. The VSJF informs Schwarzbaum that according to the JDC in Paris, Helga and Olga Fischer from the Bergen - Belsen DP camp write: Jacob's wife and Alexander Ogurek's wife are asking for information. The file also contains: 3. Letter sent in June 1945 by Karolina Ogurek and Helena Fischer to Schwarzbaum. Karolina writes that she was sent with her parents, her husband and their son to Auschwitz. She and her mother were subsequently transferred to the women's camp in Lippstadt, Germany. They were liberated by the US Army. She adds that she is on her way to Poland and will try to find out what happened to her husband and son. She asks Schwarzbaum to inform Leon Fischer in London that they are both well. They note that they met Hala Buchway and Moniek Helberg in Auschwitz. Note: Helena is evidently the mother of Karolina Ogurek (nee Fischer), and Jacob is her husband. Karolina was Alexander's wife. The letter from the VSJF is apparently mistaken. 2 pages, handwritten original, in Polish Source file: 27250 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.