Object ID
2022.1.23
Object Name
Letter
Date
7-6-1942
Content Warning
The Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection consists of images, documents, and artifacts related to the Holocaust. The collection contains materials that depict a number of topics that may be difficult for viewers to engage with, including: antisemitic descriptions, caricatures, and representation of Jewish people; Nazi imagery and ideology; descriptions and images of German ghettos; graphic images of the violence of the Holocaust; and the creation of the State of Israel. For more information, see our policy page.
Description
Typed letter, 7.6.45 at top right, signature of N Schwalb at lower right
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:
Nathan Schwalb was a Polish member of the HeChalutz movement, a Zionist youth movement that trained young people for agricultural settlement in Palestine. Moved by the growing plight of Jews in Europe, Schwalb relocated to Switzerland to offer his assistance. He became the representative of the World HeChalutz movement in Geneva, and an important resource for persecuted Jews in Europe, raising and transferring funds, sending parcels through the Red Cross, and helping Jews escape from Europe.
In the effort to gather and communicate information regarding the plight of Jews in German-occupied countries, Schwalb corresponded with fellow HeChalutz activists, including Saly Mayer of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Dr. Abraham Silberschein of RELICO, and Gisi Fleischmann regarding the situation of Jews in Slovakia.
This letter to Roswell McClelland (the representative of the War Refugee Board in Bern, Switzerland) from July 1945, concerns a package Schwalb attempted to send to acquaintances (“girlfriends”) in Mauthausen concentration camp (probably after it had become a DP camp), detailing the content of the package (clothes, food, a sewing kit, etc.). He states he knows that much is to be done and that the items he sends are only a small part. He hopes they will be happy with the items. And “we will be happy if we can take care of them until they regain their health.” He thanks McClelland and wishes him strength for the trip to the camp. The letter is signed by Schwalb.
Dimensions
11 3/4 x 8 1/4"
Keywords
Nathan Schwalb, Roswell McClelland
Subcollection
Slovakia
Recommended Citation
"Letter from Nathan Schwalb (1908-2004) to Roswell McClelland" (1942). Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection. 2022.1.23.
https://digital.kenyon.edu/bulmash/1870
Rights Statement
