From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letter sent from the legal office of the lawyer Lifschitz, Bern on October 16, 1944. The letter addresses the difficulty of Mr. Licht who had hoarded food stamps.

From the Alfred – Alf Schwarzbaum collection: Letter sent from the legal office of Boris Lifschitz and J.D. Lifschitz, Bern to Alfred Schwarzbaum, Lausanne on October 16, 1944. The letter addresses the difficulty of Mr. Licht who had collected food stamps beyond the amount permitted by the authorities [It is possible that the collecting of the food stamps was done for the purpose of sending food packages to poor Jews]. The writer of the letter explains how Mr Licht should respond to the letter he had received from the War office of food (Kriegsernaeherungsamt). Lifschitz advises him to apologize in writing, explaining what the law permits as too hoarding food stamps, highlighting that the authorized food stamps were given to Licht by the senior members of the house. He also expresses his opinion that Licht's argument that he had hoarded the food stamps because of his diabetes is not persuasive. If Licht would be sued, Lifschitz could give him legal advice. The writer adds an additional note that Mr Levink had not sent his reply yet and that the time extension that was given to him would end only on the 20th of this month. Copy, German (Typewritten), Single page. Source: 28114. 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.