A letter received by Alice Jones (then Alice Woolbert, after her first husband), a USA resident (1911–1975) from the HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society). The organisation was founded in 1909 in New York with the aim of providing financial and legal assistance to Jewish immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe in America. During World War II, HIAS also sent food parcels to Jews living in Europe. The letter of 14 October 1940 is a response to Alice Woolbert’s inquiry regarding the situation of Halina Chaja Bernbaum’s family, living at Leszno 33 St. in Warsaw. The letter was written on HIAS letterhead using a typewriter. At the top of the document, the organisation name and address data can be seen, in the left margin are the names of employees and their functions.
The content of the letter is written in two languages. The introduction in English says that below is information about the condition of Halina Chaja Bernbaum’s family, sent to New York by the office in Warsaw. The introduction is signed by Isaac L. Asfosky, HIAS executive director. The information from the office in Warsaw was written in German. It states that all members of the Bernbaum family are healthy, however they live in misery, without domicile. Previously, they lived in Łódź, now they are in Warsaw. They ask for packages (material support) and letters to be sent via HIAS New York. Greetings to Dr. Dattner from Vienna are added at the end of the message. The further fate of the Bernbaum family from Warsaw has not been established. Most likely, Halina Chaja and her relatives perished in the Warsaw ghetto or were transported to an extermination camp.
The letter was handed over to the Museum by Anne Catesby Jones, Alice Jones’s daughter, who remembered that, during the war, her mother would also send parcels, to a family living in Florence. Alice Jones was not Jewish. Her daughter describes her as an “anti-fascist”. She worked as a librarian all her life.
Marta Fraczkiewicz
