61340 Vorabseiten_e - Unabhängige Expertenkommission Schweiz

vention of international law carried out against its citizens in the Nazi sphere
of influence with diplomatic counter-measures, but refrained from intervening
on behalf of Jewish and other Swiss living abroad or on behalf of their assets
held abroad. 57 It is difficult, however, to obtain a coherent picture of the Swiss
government’s policy towards Swiss citizens abroad owing to the current state
of research. 58
In terms of the restitution and compensation laws in force in the German
occupied zones and later in the Federal Republic of Germany, it was relevant for
surviving Swiss victims of the Nazis that the compensation legislation of the
1950s limited the circle of those entitled to claim to a narrow group. Foreigners
who did not live on West German territory were exempt from benefits. Thus
there was no body to which Swiss citizens could have turned. Although the
cantonal and Federal authorities, parliament, and the public discussed the issue
of «Swiss living abroad» («Auslandschweizerfrage») intensively in the post-war
period, this was primarily understood to mean the sustenance, repatriation, and
integration of Swiss living abroad or former Swiss citizens who had married a
foreigner if they had lost their means of making a living abroad as a result of
the war or had fled to escape the advancing Red Army. This perception distorted
the view of differences in the fate of various groups persecuted, and particularly
of the racist nature of Nazi persecution. These victims were forgotten and, as a
highly heterogeneous group, were edged out in the struggle for aid by the
significantly stronger groups of war victims. It was only in 1957 that a law was
passed charging the Confederation with compensating the victims of the Nazi
regime. This was seen within Switzerland as a measure to contain the damage
resulting from the scandal that arose in 1954 when the «J»-stamp became
public knowledge. At the same time the passing of this law was also enhanced
by the consent of the Federal Republic of Germany to conclude global agreements
to compensate the victims of persecution in the formerly occupied
Western European and in several neutral countries. For the Swiss government
there was therefore no risk of having to provide funds for restitution payments.
Even now, no governmental responsibility has been recognised for the lack of
diplomatic protection during the Nazi period.
6.3 Banking Sector, Dormant Accounts and Frustrated
Restitutions
As regards the banks, the public has focused almost exclusively on the issue of
restitution claims and violations of property rights in connection with
«unclaimed assets» and «dormant accounts». Dormancy is a term commonly
442