From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Postcard from Rabbi Elias Rosen - Stueckler, Bedzin ghetto, June 1943

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Postcard sent by Rabbi Elias Rosen - Stueckler from the Bedzin ghetto to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne, Switzerland, 21 June 1943. Rosen - Stueckler wrote the postcard on behald of himself, his wife Sabine and his unwed daughters Erna and Fela. According to Elias, he sent Schwarzbaum a postcard with his former address (Kirchsteig 12) on 19 April 1943. Schwarzbaum's brother in law, G. Abraham, visited them in early May, and showed them a letter Schwarzbaum had sent on 29 April 1943. Elias thanks Schwarzbaum and asks him to write to their new addresss, Kasernestr. 23, Kamionka [in May6 1943, the ghetto was established in this area, and the Jews were concentrated there). He sends regards to his cousin, who asked for a family photo. Elias apologizes for being unable to fulfil this request. Note: in 1943, many Jews sent Schwarzbaum family photos and personal information, hoping he would be able to provide them with foreign passports. Here, Elias could be implying that it was too late to rescue them. The liquidation of the Bedzin ghetto began on 23 July 1943, one month after this postcard was sent. 2 pages, handwritten, original, in German Source file: 23958 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.