61340 Vorabseiten_e - Unabhängige Expertenkommission Schweiz

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UFA Universum-Film-Aktiengesellschaft UNO United Nations Organization UNRRA United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration URO United Restitution Organization vol./vols. Volume/Volumes VR Verwaltungsrat (Board of Directors) VSIA Verband Schweizerischer Israelitischer Armenpflegen (Association of Swiss Jewish Poor Relief); later: VSJF VSJF Verband Schweizerischer Jüdischer Fürsorgen (Association of Swiss Jewish Welfare and Refugee Relief); earlier: VSIA VSM Verein der Schweizerischen Maschinen-Industriellen WJC World Jewish Congress WO Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon WRB War Refugee Board YMCA Young Men’s Christian Association ZGB Zivilgesetzbuch (Swiss Civil Code) ZKB Zürcher Kantonalbank ZL Zentralleitung der Heime und Lager (Central Directorate of Homes and Camps); earlier: ZLA ZLA Zentralleitung für Arbeitslager (Central Directorate for Work Camps); later: ZL 20
1 Introduction Looking back at the Nazi era and the Second World War will always pose problems. In our cultural memory, no final word can be said about the catastrophe of the Holocaust. The «Drowned» (Primo Levi), Jews, Roma and Sinti and other victims of political, religious and «racial» persecution, who «perished» in the extermination camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Sobibor, Chelmno, Belzec, Majdanek and Treblinka, remain as vivid in the respective collective memory of minorities and political groupings, as in the history of Europe and of other areas of the world. For the general public in the post-war period, the horror over the mass crime was related to the question of how this could have happened in one of the major civilised European countries. However, people gave little thought to their own conduct as far as the victims of persecution and their assets were concerned. Even after certain aspects had become the subject of research and debate, there was at first only limited interest in a comprehensive analysis of how assets that were confiscated or stolen or which were left behind as a result of the Holocaust were dealt with (which later have come to be known as «Holocaust era assets»). In the latter part of the 20 th century, the questions as to relationships and transactions in this field have so far given rise to historical investigations in 25 countries into what happened to the property of victims of the Nazi regime, into the restitution of looted assets, and into the responsibility of private companies and public authorities. 1.1 Switzerland during the Nazi Period seen as a Problem of Today Today, Switzerland is faced with a past which has never been incorporated into the prevailing view of history. The resulting problems are linked to difficulties in the country’s finding its bearings. How did this come about? The «small neutral state» as an impartial observer? In continuation of a long-standing national self-image, Switzerland saw itself after 1945 as a «small neutral state», which because of its will to resist and a 21
Page 1 and 2: Final Report of the Independent Com
Page 3 and 4: Independent Commission of Experts S
Page 5 and 6: Preface This book focuses on Switze
Page 7 and 8: the monetary system and refugee pol
Page 9: sometimes difficult conditions and
Page 12 and 13: 5 LAW AND LEGAL PRACTICE 391 5.1 Pu
Page 14 and 15: Abbreviations A.G.I.U.S. Assistenza
Page 16 and 17: EFV Eidgenössische Finanzverwaltun
Page 18 and 19: OECD Organization for Economic Coop
Page 22 and 23: clever policy managed not to be dra
Page 24 and 25: economic and military power». 10 I
Page 26 and 27: Holocaust and the context of the Se
Page 28 and 29: informed will see more options, set
Page 30 and 31: with a violent threat, emergency le
Page 32 and 33: Germany although against the couran
Page 34 and 35: concerned, the findings are release
Page 36 and 37: Projects that had been suggested in
Page 38 and 39: Conscious of the importance of pers
Page 40 and 41: Considering all these developments,
Page 42 and 43: over the next few years. Only a few
Page 44 and 45: war the Soviet Union seized massive
Page 46 and 47: 12 It is symptomatic in this contex
Page 49 and 50: 2 The International Context and Nat
Page 51 and 52: The revolutionary upheavals at the
Page 53 and 54: 1935 established a racial basis for
Page 55 and 56: The small state of Switzerland The
Page 57 and 58: Figure 1: Import and export trends,
Page 59 and 60: system. Payments from Swiss debtors
Page 61 and 62: Foreign investors desired security
Page 63 and 64: Although the political equality of
Page 65 and 66: the state and legislation was also
Page 67 and 68: Switzerland - «come what may». 28
Page 69 and 70: the Radical Party leading to a comb
Page 71 and 72:
in the economy in the post-war peri
Page 73 and 74:
in a far more clear-cut manner. It
Page 75 and 76:
«original» Swiss values, so to sp
Page 77 and 78:
take the measures deemed necessary
Page 79 and 80:
also committed to an ideological co
Page 81 and 82:
defence sector. The consumer price
Page 83 and 84:
economic, social, cultural and spir
Page 85 and 86:
28 November 1937 for a ban on Freem
Page 87 and 88:
Supreme Commander - the General - a
Page 89 and 90:
The phases of the war Hitler hoped
Page 91 and 92:
Bircher sending Swiss doctors to th
Page 93 and 94:
The victorious powers were in agree
Page 95 and 96:
on 7 March 1945: «after the ‹Rus
Page 97 and 98:
significantly bogged down after 194
Page 99 and 100:
18 There are no recent studies on G
Page 101 and 102:
73 See Imhof/Ettinger/Boller, Flüc
Page 103:
126 Stucki’s speech on 12 Februar
Page 106 and 107:
papers, had to go back to France. T
Page 108 and 109:
Increased persecution of Jews and i
Page 110 and 111:
created a legal basis for the pract
Page 112 and 113:
to supervise the internees, to meet
Page 114 and 115:
discourage refugee smugglers and th
Page 116 and 117:
Nazi regime were forced to leave as
Page 118 and 119:
times in the statistics concerning
Page 120 and 121:
deal of information circulated thro
Page 122 and 123:
defensive system that led to restri
Page 124 and 125:
consequences - as well as from the
Page 126 and 127:
epeatedly as justification. At the
Page 128 and 129:
even betrayed in the face of the Ge
Page 130 and 131:
situation. 83 As was customary, the
Page 132 and 133:
The immense popularity of Swiss aid
Page 134 and 135:
admission of illegal «French, Span
Page 136 and 137:
the decisions made. As far as refug
Page 138 and 139:
with the authorities in individual
Page 140 and 141:
The main role played by the church
Page 142 and 143:
with Switzerland and other countrie
Page 144 and 145:
and resulted in improving in the fl
Page 146 and 147:
occupied areas as well as taking in
Page 148 and 149:
war in particular, tension arose be
Page 150 and 151:
claim they were wealthy in order to
Page 152 and 153:
sight of the German border police t
Page 154 and 155:
of the war, the Federal Political D
Page 156 and 157:
would be estranged from their famil
Page 158 and 159:
country were subjected, was finally
Page 160 and 161:
egard to the post-war period - favo
Page 162 and 163:
the export of foreign currency and
Page 164 and 165:
post-war period through «humanitar
Page 166 and 167:
Federal Council’s delegate for in
Page 168 and 169:
taken seriously. It was not until 1
Page 170 and 171:
25 Ludwig, Flüchtlingspolitik, 195
Page 172 and 173:
67 See Häsler, Boot, 1971, pp. 275
Page 174 and 175:
113 Narbel, Eglises, 2001. Study un
Page 176 and 177:
162 With reference to the first cam
Page 178 and 179:
approaches to a critical debate abo
Page 180 and 181:
But there was more to Swiss objecti
Page 182 and 183:
transition to economic warfare as o
Page 184 and 185:
that this important economic potent
Page 186 and 187:
market became much more important a
Page 188 and 189:
members of the management. In any c
Page 190 and 191:
machine tools and aluminium the con
Page 192 and 193:
to obtain only limited supplies, if
Page 194 and 195:
of the various areas of economic ex
Page 196 and 197:
«The nations which are today fight
Page 198 and 199:
11 Vereinigung des Schweizerischen
Page 200 and 201:
4.2 The Armaments Industry and the
Page 202 and 203:
Table 2: Export permits issued for
Page 204 and 205:
International tolerance of and cond
Page 206 and 207:
acquired what it needed from abroad
Page 208 and 209:
military expenditure in Switzerland
Page 210 and 211:
32 light machine gun and the MG 34
Page 212 and 213:
the disastrous situation with regar
Page 214 and 215:
In summer 1940, the Swiss diplomacy
Page 216 and 217:
important of these was the Dixi-Jun
Page 218 and 219:
Whether the contribution of Swiss e
Page 220 and 221:
4.3 Electricity The authorities of
Page 222 and 223:
closer to the Swiss electricity gen
Page 224 and 225:
provided by Switzerland to the Axis
Page 226 and 227:
Passenger transport In recent years
Page 228 and 229:
a day passed through the Gotthard T
Page 230 and 231:
Table 4: A few examples of transit
Page 232 and 233:
to ensure that the volume of suspic
Page 234 and 235:
- first Italy, then Germany - were
Page 236 and 237:
Closing remarks The aim of this sec
Page 238 and 239:
4.5 Gold Transactions During the Se
Page 240 and 241:
on 7 December 1942, when the Federa
Page 242 and 243:
shipped to Switzerland even during
Page 244 and 245:
lished two different dollar categor
Page 246 and 247:
icance of these transactions on the
Page 248 and 249:
their gold transactions and positiv
Page 250 and 251:
customers (such as the Reichsbank)
Page 252 and 253:
corporations could therefore not co
Page 254 and 255:
11 Banken, Degussa, 1999. 12 SNB Ar
Page 256 and 257:
Figure 5: Balance-sheet totals of S
Page 258 and 259:
phenomenon. Having such a well-esta
Page 260 and 261:
the Geneva bank had to be liquidate
Page 262 and 263:
the Swiss institutions was the guar
Page 264 and 265:
esumption of debt service and were
Page 266 and 267:
position they were still prepared a
Page 268 and 269:
The banks provided Germany with oth
Page 270 and 271:
of Swiss ownership, others without
Page 272 and 273:
from Germany. The corresponding fig
Page 274 and 275:
the certification procedure had dam
Page 276 and 277:
owners. In cases where the company
Page 278 and 279:
1 This section is principally based
Page 280 and 281:
4.7 Swiss Insurance Companies in Ge
Page 282 and 283:
1934 and 1939, which decreased slig
Page 284 and 285:
1936 and in Frankfurt in 1939. Rent
Page 286 and 287:
- were able to withstand this «Ger
Page 288 and 289:
Did this anti-Semitism spill across
Page 290 and 291:
In cases where foreign exchange pol
Page 292 and 293:
In Switzerland, insurance policies
Page 294 and 295:
the German economy was to an ever-i
Page 296 and 297:
Swiss-German border, and these firm
Page 298 and 299:
leading figures in the Nazi regime
Page 300 and 301:
which, once peace returned, would b
Page 302 and 303:
independently. They backed this up
Page 304 and 305:
egime. The same was the case for th
Page 306 and 307:
options: either the «Generalgouver
Page 308 and 309:
ities such as synthetic silks (Lonz
Page 310 and 311:
6 Burrin, France, 1995, pp. 468f. 7
Page 312 and 313:
Phases and extent of the use of for
Page 314 and 315:
Table 7: Proportion of foreign work
Page 316 and 317:
Fischer, the Aluminium-Walzwerke Si
Page 318 and 319:
At Lonza, the Board Committee knew
Page 320 and 321:
10 Quoted from Herbert, Fremdarbeit
Page 322 and 323:
if the owner or the personally liab
Page 324 and 325:
improving their position in the Ger
Page 326 and 327:
their shareholders; according to a
Page 328 and 329:
Willstätter to emigrate to Switzer
Page 330 and 331:
of 193, not including «half-Jews»
Page 332 and 333:
As a major manufacturer, Bally Wien
Page 334 and 335:
their intention was to sell the thr
Page 336 and 337:
December 1933 started negotiations
Page 338 and 339:
were of the opinion that the admini
Page 340 and 341:
ments and common international laws
Page 342 and 343:
The Swiss authorities were prepared
Page 344 and 345:
24 With reference to what follows,
Page 346 and 347:
70 After the «Anschluss», Austria
Page 348 and 349:
and irreplaceable; they are artefac
Page 350 and 351:
Another channel for the transfer of
Page 352 and 353:
In the case of Fides, five sub-cate
Page 354 and 355:
«Switzerland plays a significant r
Page 356 and 357:
was merely the first phase leading
Page 358 and 359:
Case study: Curt Glaser - «I put t
Page 360 and 361:
His art collection and art library
Page 362 and 363:
well-known event is the «official
Page 364 and 365:
Out of a total of around 20,000 con
Page 366 and 367:
4 The following comments are based
Page 368 and 369:
4.12 German Camouflage and Relocati
Page 370 and 371:
documentation developed out of the
Page 372 and 373:
ank collapses in the summer of 1931
Page 374 and 375:
British branch out of the Netherlan
Page 376 and 377:
interests of Switzerland. However,
Page 378 and 379:
its former Swiss holding company mu
Page 380 and 381:
spring 1944, as had already happene
Page 382 and 383:
SS member Helmuth Maurer and the Zu
Page 384 and 385:
economy syndicate in Switzerland, P
Page 386 and 387:
Figures and Legends As a result of
Page 388 and 389:
comply with the duty, established b
Page 390 and 391:
25 On the «Red House» conference,
Page 392 and 393:
emergency plenary powers). This «e
Page 394 and 395:
provide for emergency powers for th
Page 396 and 397:
In terms of international law, Swit
Page 398 and 399:
those concerned, the rigorous separ
Page 400 and 401:
opinion which had been commissioned
Page 402 and 403:
material. This duty of equal treatm
Page 404 and 405:
the systematic plundering of privat
Page 406 and 407:
orne in mind in this context that i
Page 408 and 409:
securities described above. 104 Her
Page 410 and 411:
international law is applicable if
Page 412 and 413:
Heynau’s petition against the Olm
Page 414 and 415:
cation of Nazi injustice. This feel
Page 416 and 417:
27 This included not only «politic
Page 418 and 419:
66 Schindler, Fragen, 2001 (Publica
Page 420 and 421:
106 Vischer, Handel, 2001 (Publicat
Page 422 and 423:
142 After the war, the German crimi
Page 424 and 425:
concerned, it was stated that «ind
Page 426 and 427:
actions] assets in such countries o
Page 428 and 429:
eplaced it with «Wiedergutmachung
Page 430 and 431:
individual. 23 Reparations do not i
Page 432 and 433:
6.2 Restitution Claims in Switzerla
Page 434 and 435:
commission concluded that investiga
Page 436 and 437:
prevented numerous claimants from m
Page 438 and 439:
advantage for Switzerland was that
Page 440 and 441:
was also justified by the argument
Page 442 and 443:
vention of international law carrie
Page 444 and 445:
transfer instructions received from
Page 446 and 447:
e «never to mention the entire aff
Page 448 and 449:
in question. Often, therefore, inve
Page 450 and 451:
The Cold War and agreements with Po
Page 452 and 453:
hensive survey to be carried out an
Page 454 and 455:
of which 1.7 million francs came fr
Page 456 and 457:
Learning processes of the 1990s In
Page 458 and 459:
Table 8: Restitution proceedings ag
Page 460 and 461:
Germany at that time, or were depor
Page 462 and 463:
Judges at that time also had proble
Page 464 and 465:
policies belonging to Jews who rema
Page 466 and 467:
the International Commission of Hol
Page 468 and 469:
international law and it had theref
Page 470 and 471:
as many cases as possible by amicab
Page 472 and 473:
under duress to be between 50 and 1
Page 474 and 475:
Table 9: Restitution claims involvi
Page 476 and 477:
Restitution claims after 1947 After
Page 478 and 479:
ook with the title «Vénus de Cyr
Page 480 and 481:
camouflaging. After the Allied occu
Page 482 and 483:
elief that relations would continue
Page 484 and 485:
group of companies was not a tradit
Page 486 and 487:
communities in Switzerland supporte
Page 488 and 489:
44 Letter from the three leaders of
Page 490 and 491:
94 Investigations carried out by th
Page 492 and 493:
139 FA, E 2001 (E) 1970/217, vol. 2
Page 494 and 495:
Switzerland?» can be found in the
Page 496 and 497:
French-speaking Switzerland called
Page 498 and 499:
conformist tendencies, served only
Page 500 and 501:
different type of conduct displayed
Page 502 and 503:
also in more recent legal proceedin
Page 504 and 505:
Discussions about the high level of
Page 506 and 507:
this kind would be abrogated after
Page 508 and 509:
State and private business. This ha
Page 510 and 511:
tutional rights of Switzerland’s
Page 512 and 513:
The task of the Commission did not
Page 514 and 515:
The defensive attitude of private b
Page 516 and 517:
much which would have failed to bec
Page 518 and 519:
seemed to function outside establis
Page 520 and 521:
spectre of a renewed post-war crisi
Page 522 and 523:
«Axis» under the terms of the cle
Page 524 and 525:
dissuasion in the broadest possible
Page 527 and 528:
Sources and Bibliography The follow
Page 529 and 530:
SVB (Schweizerische Volksbank) Fund
Page 531 and 532:
Federal Department of Justice and P
Page 533 and 534:
2.3 USA National Archives and Recor
Page 535 and 536:
- Zweiter Weltkrieg (ed.): Die Schw
Page 537 and 538:
Unabhängige Expertenkommission Sch
Page 539 and 540:
mémoire en construction, in: Allge
Page 541 and 542:
Bloch, Marc: Apologie der Geschicht
Page 543 and 544:
Erster und Zweiter Weltkrieg. Demok
Page 545 and 546:
Arbeitskreises «Zweiter Weltkrieg
Page 547 and 548:
Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ge
Page 549 and 550:
Haab, Robert; Simonius, August: Art
Page 551 and 552:
Volkswirtschafts-Departementes, ed.
Page 553 and 554:
des réfugiés entre 1933 et 1945.
Page 555 and 556:
Kunz, Hans Beat: Weltrevolution und
Page 557 and 558:
Lüthy, Herbert: Die Disteln von 19
Page 559 and 560:
Vonarb, Zurich 1995 (Archäologie u
Page 561 and 562:
Radbruch, Gustav: Gesetzliches Unre
Page 563 and 564:
Schumann, Wolfgang: Die wirtschafts
Page 565 and 566:
Stutz, Hans: Frontisten und Nationa
Page 567 and 568:
Waeger, Gerhart: Die Sündenböcke
Page 569 and 570:
Zuschlag, Christoph: Die Ausstellun
Page 571 and 572:
Lussy Hanspeter Marden Matthew D. M
Page 573 and 574:
Ball, Alexander, 473, 474 Ball, Ric
Page 575 and 576:
Budge, Emma, 356 Bührle, cf. Oerli
Page 577 and 578:
Dynamit Nobel AG, Bratislava, 266 E
Page 579 and 580:
Grosz, George, 51 Grüninger, Paul,
Page 581 and 582:
Jezler, Robert, 113, 156 Jöhr, Ado
Page 583 and 584:
Maggi GmbH, Singen, 295, 297, 300,
Page 585 and 586:
Papen, Franz von, 381 Parfümeriewa
Page 587 and 588:
Schenker, Alois, 139 Schering AG, B
Page 589 and 590:
Sturzenegger, cf. Bank Sturzenegger
Page 591:
Wartmann, Wilhelm, 358 Weber, Ernst
Page 594 and 595:
Volume 6 Geschäfte und Zwangsarbei
Page 596 and 597:
Volume 16 Die Schweiz und die Goldt
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