From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: lists of commodities from Lisbon to the Bedzin and Sosnowiec ghettos via Zurich, October 1941

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Three lists of commodities packed in Lisbon, Portugal, and sent to Zurich, Switzerland, from where they were sent to the Bedzin and Sosnowiec ghettos in Zaglebie, Poland, on 19, 20 and 23 October 1941. The list specifies qunatities, weight, packing and shipment costs, destinations and recipients. The delivery was orchestrated by Schwarzbaum. The commodities include coffee, cocoa, sardines, honey, jam, chocolate, cookies and [?] powder. The destinatinos include: a Jewish welfare center in Sosnowiec, the Jewish Council in the Sosnowiec ghetto, an orphanage in Bedzin (for Dr. S. Weinzuiher), a home for the elderly in Bedzin (for J. Wygodzki), a hospital in Bedzin (for M. Rosensaft), a hospital in Sosnowiec (for M. Cymerman), a home for the elderly in Sosnowiec (for H. Saper), a children's house in Sosnowiec (for A. Zynger) and M. Laskier in Bedzin. The list also names individuals who received parcels (mostly coffee). 11 pages, handwritten, original, in German Source file: 26317 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.