From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Correspondence between Holocaust survivors from Poland and Hans Klee Switzerland, June 1945

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Correspondence between Holocaust survivors from Poland, in St. Margarethen, Switzerland, and Hans Klee in Geneva, June 1945. 2 pages, typewritten, original, in German Inventory: 1. Letter sent by Klee from Geneva to Jecheskiel Rozmaryn in St. Margarethen, 11 June 1945. The letter contains information about financial assistance to the refugees in St. Margarethen and Saint Gallen. Klee reports that he has spoken with Schwarzbaum, who is aware of the difficult situation of the refugees, and they have raised money to help them. Klee writes that he has asked for clothes for Rozmaryn, his brother Abram - Yakov and Chaim Molczadski. Klee adds that they have been in touch with the Association of Swiss Jewish Refugee Aid and Welfare Organizations (VSJF) concerning Rozmaryn's legal entrance to Switzerland. 1 page, typewritten, original, in German 2. Letter sent by Jecheskiel Rozmaryn, Chaim Molczadski and Iser Londner from St. Margarethen to Klee, 13 June 1945. They report on the situation in the DP camp and report that they had arrived in Switzerland in May 1945 and have since been in quarantine. They express their wish to remain in Switzerland until an option to immigrate to Mandate Palestine opens. They send their regards to Dr. Rechtman, his wife and fellow Jews from Bedzin. 1 page, typewritten, original, in German Notes: 1. Klee was active in the Relief Committee for the Warstricken Jewish Population (RELICO) and a friend of Dr. Abraham Silberschein. 2. See also files 26699, 27379 and 27193 in the Holdings Registry. 3. For letters sent by Rozmaryn to Schwarzbaum, see files 23106 and 41511 in the Holdings Registry. 4. Source file: 27189 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.