61340 Vorabseiten_e - Unabhängige Expertenkommission Schweiz

for Foreigners, which based its policy primarily on considerations relating to
population policy, and representatives of the economic sector, who were
demanding residence and work permits for the work force they needed. When
a foreigner applied for a residence permit, the municipalities too were guided
less by principles than by quite pragmatic considerations such as how much tax
the newcomer could be expected to pay. This is illustrated for instance by the
case of a German Jew living near the border who ran a company in Switzerland
and submitted numerous applications for a residence permit as well as for a
permit as a commercial traveller. He won the support of the municipality and
the canton owing to the fact that he employed a number of Swiss people and by
moving to Switzerland would have increased tax revenue. Rothmund, however,
noted in an internal memorandum in 1935:
«I don’t approve of this at all. I’m not keen on a Jew trading with used
machinery, and visiting customers in rural areas. It is the presence of
precisely these Jews, these ‹dealers›, that creates hostility among the
people. I can understand rival enterprises taking a dim view. I say his application
should be refused.» 66
Fear of «over-foreignisation» and anti-Semitism were thus combined with
considerations related to the economic situation and employment. The EJPD,
which since the depression was enjoying greater support from professional
associations, also fought against the «economic over-foreignisation» («wirtschaftliche
Überfremdung») of Switzerland.
Although refugees did not constitute competition owing to the ban on their
taking up gainful employment, the same argument was put forward time and
again, even during the war when they were under the greatest threat. There were
fears of a massive economic crisis immediately after the war, similar to that after
the First World War. In September 1943, the man who had led the national
strike of 1918, Robert Grimm, underlined the concern among the Swiss workforce
in relation to the stream of Italian refugees who might well upset the
balance of the labor market and cause widespread unemployment. 67 Training for
Jewish refugees also led to fears of competition. For this reason, the Young
Liberals of Waadt, for example, urged in November 1943 that all refugees be
refused higher schooling, using the motto «We don’t owe the refugees
anything». 68
The question of domestic supplies
The difficulty of supplying the country with food and industrial goods was one
of the most important factors arising from the war and was put forward
125