61340 Vorabseiten_e - Unabhängige Expertenkommission Schweiz

in the economy in the post-war period was also related to the decision to refuse
entry to refugees in 1942 which was justified by the intention of maintaining
jobs in the long-term for «our own people». 46 Anxiety about renewed mass
unemployment in the crisis-ridden transition to a peacetime economy was
particularly noticeable on the left wing of the party spectrum in 1943/44. 47
Fear of «over-foreignisation» and Anti-Semitism
In Switzerland, as in other countries, the perennial problems of the labour
market and the sustained fear of Bolshevism were linked, in the inter-war years,
to a growing xenophobia, sometimes accompanied by strong anti-Semitic
tendencies. At the core of the debates was the slogan of losing national identity
due to the presence of an excessive number of foreigners. This «over-foreignisation»
(«Überfremdung») had many different interpretations in politics. The
experience of the First World War and the social disruptions of 1917/18
nurtured the fears spectre. The political and bureaucratic instrument to combat
«over-foreignisation» was the Federal Police for Foreigners which was formed
during the emergency plenary powers in 1917 as a Swiss state institution. 48
Hostility towards foreigners was expressed in the media, in political debates and
in plebiscites. On an administrative level, the asylum policy formed part of a
policy towards foreigners, the guidelines for which were laid down in the
Federal Law of 1931 on the Residence and Settlement of Foreigners (Aufenthalt
und Niederlassung der Ausländer – ANAG) which again enshrined the battle
against «over-foreignisation» in law. Paradoxically, the level of foreign nationals
living in Switzerland had been continuously dropping from 1910 to the 1930s.
In 1910 it was 14.7%; in 1920 only 10.4%; by 1930 it had fallen to 8.7%; and
in 1941 it reached the lowest level of the century at 5.2%. On the one hand,
«fear of over-foreignisation» was nebulous in nature with no clear points of
reference. On the other hand, however, it was directed quite clearly against the
immigration of Jews and – something often seen as identical – against socialist
immigrants and dangerous «elements» that might undermine a social and
cultural solidarity already under threat. 49
When assessing anti-Semitism, it is important to investigate whether it was a
latent attitude which surfaced on a case-by-case basis, or whether it was transformed
into a principle which found its way into administrative practice and
legislation. The aim to protect the country from «over-Jewification»
(«Verjudung») had been growing in Switzerland since the First World War. 50
This stance influenced naturalisation, which became increasingly restrictive.
From 1916 onwards, files of candidates for naturalisation bore handwritten
comments attesting the intention of making it difficult for Jews to gain Swiss
citizenship. In 1919, the Federal Administration used a stamp in the form of
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