61340 Vorabseiten_e - Unabhängige Expertenkommission Schweiz

from 1949 assumed in fact that the total German funds held abroad were
about double the registered figure. Whilst savings held in Germany were
largely devalued as a result of the currency reform in June 1948, assets in
Switzerland retained their value. Even though the amounts involved in
individual cases were modest, these funds represented a high value for their
German owners following the German impoverishment caused by the
outcome of the war. These Germans stated their gratitude to the loyal Swiss
who had kept and protected their assets, and made them available to them
once again to a large extent during the 1950s, despite claims made on them
by the Allies.
Motives and interests
Switzerland provided a wide range of covert services to Nazi Germany, services
which even today can only be partly brought to light. This much can also be
established from a conservative assessment of the material available. The
camouflage activities organised from 1937/38 onwards told clear-sighted
contemporaries that Germany’s foreign policy calculations had reckoned with
a European war; they represented the taking of sides in the conflict which was
to come. This was even more true once that conflict had begun. The state’s
unwillingness to intervene created a framework without which such activities
would not have been possible. By protecting German assets and giving shelter
to fleeing Nazis after the German defeat, the Swiss authorities became actively
involved in the debate, going against the post-war strategies of the victorious
Allies.
What were the reasons for this behaviour? Only in a very few cases was it
motivated by sympathy for Nazism. In the business community, there often
existed long-standing relationships, some of which dated back to well before
1933. Insufficient account was taken of the changes in Switzerland’s neighbour
which came into effect from 1933 onwards; it was commonly felt that German
business partners were still «decent», even long after doubts should have arisen.
Meanwhile, the political will to put a stop to dubious business activities was
very weak. It should be emphasised here that this had little to do with the
survival of the Swiss economy in the difficult wartime situation, and more to do
with opportunities for fairly small groups to make profits. The identification of
the Zurich lawyers who were deeply involved in German business revealed, for
example, that only a small but extremely influential minority of the legal
profession was involved here. Its unified front against state intervention in the
strictly maintained area of professional secrecy ensured that the minority group
was protected by the other members of the profession. It was only with considerable
difficulty that it was possible in 1945 to oblige the legal profession to
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