61340 Vorabseiten_e - Unabhängige Expertenkommission Schweiz

discrimination. In spring 1933, the Swiss Federal authorities passed a law,
which was to remain in force until 1944, distinguishing between political and
other refugees. Political refugees were those who were under personal threat
owing to their political activities. The Federal authorities were extremely
reticent to recognise political refugees; communists in particular were not
welcome. According to an instruction issued by the Federal Department of
Justice and Police (Eidgenössisches Justiz- und Polizeidepartement, EJPD) only
«high state officials, leaders of left-wing parties and well-known authors»
should be accepted as political refugees. On the basis of this restrictive interpretation
of the term «refugee», Switzerland granted political asylum to only
644 people between 1933 and 1945, of these, 252 cases were admitted during
the war. The Federal Council had the final decision on granting political
asylum; political refugees were the responsibility of the Federal Prosecutor’s
Office (Bundesanwaltschaft), which was part of the EJPD. 4
All other refugees were considered simply as foreigners from a legal point of
view and were subject to the stipulations of the Federal Law on Residence and
Settlement of Foreigners of 26 March 1931, which came into force in 1934.
From an administrative point of view, they were the responsibility of the
cantonal police, which issued so-called tolerance permits (valid for a few months
only), residence permits and settlement permits. The Police Division of the
EJPD co-ordinated cantonal policy regarding foreigners; as the highest
authority, the Police Division had to approve the issuing of work permits and
longer-term residence permits in particular. In addition the Division could
lodge an objection to cantonal decisions. Between 1933 and 1938, however, the
cantons still enjoyed a good deal of freedom in the way they implemented their
policy with regard to refugees. Some cantons adopted a very restrictive policy
while others freely issued tolerance permits. The latter were granted on the
condition that the recipient did not engage in gainful employment and left
Switzerland as soon as possible. 5 Switzerland saw itself as a transit state, a
halfway station for refugees where they would organise their emigration to other
countries such as France, the Netherlands or the USA. In view of the restrictive
policy adopted by Switzerland after the end of the First World War, it was
hardly worth considering as a place of permanent residence. In his manual for
emigrants published in 1935, the Jewish sociologist Mark Wischnitzer wrote
«The ban on employing foreigners is implemented to the letter in Switzerland».
He also mentioned the authorities’ fight against «over-foreignisation»
(«Überfremdung»), which had negative repercussions in particular for Jewish
emigrants. 6 Accordingly, at the end of 1937 there were only around 5,000
refugees in Switzerland. 7
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