From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Two letters from Susy Kaner, Teufenthal, 1945 and 1947

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Two letters sent by Susy Kaner* from Teufenthal, canton of Aargau, Switzerland, to Schwarzbaum, 15 July 1945 and 25 April 1947. 6 pages, typewritten, original, in German * illegible handwriting The first letter was sent to Schwarzbaum in Lausanne and concerns Susy's decision to work as an assistant manager at the DP camp in Graubuenden. She describes her family's problems and answers Schwarzbaum's questions on business matters. She mentions Agi, a friend from Hungary, from whom she has not heard in three years. 2 pages, typewritten, original, in German The second letter was sent to Schwarzbaum after his immigration to Mandate Palestine and concerns his support for Jewish refugees. Susy describes her work at the refugee hostel. According to her account, the refugees are at the ages of 15 - 20, some of them are suvivors of the Auschwitz and Buchenwald camps. They are natives of Poland (Lodz, Sosnowiec and Katowice). Some of them are familiar with Schwarzbaum: Chaim Kimmelman, Nechemia Werdinger, Abramczik Hersch and Chaim and Meilech Korenwasser. There are also Jewish refugees from other countries, such as Lota Neumann, native of Zagreb. According to the information Susy received from Lota, Agi Marie's entire family perished except for one aunt, Any Fuhrmann. Susy asks Schwarzbaum to check the prospect of wiring money from Agi's bank account to Fuhrmann's, who is in Tel Aviv in financial distress. 4 pages, typewritten, original, in German Source file: 24058 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.