La Suisse, les Suisses, la neutralité et le IIIe Reich (1941-1945)

Résumé 0

Switzerland is all at once a financial center, a neutral country, and a land of asylum. Since World War I, Swiss authorities fight immigration, and more particularly the Jewish immigration. The economic crisis and World War II reinforce this official policy. There are three decisive moments:1938: the negotiations between Switzerland and Germany resulted in the marking of passports of German Jews with the “J“-stamps; 1942: the Swiss federal executive decided the closing of the border. As these decisions were being made, information about the murder of the Jews was increasing in Switzerland; 1945: While maintaining the structural bases of previous policies, federal authorities sought to forge an image of the Confederation as a land of asylum. This renewal of the discourse idealize the Swiss humanitarian tradition.By way of illustration, the concept of “accomodation” (Philippe Burrin), and the notion of “grey zone” (Primo Levi) allow us to understand and analyze complex issues to which Switzerland is confronted.