Government to Create Swiss Memorial for Victims of Nazi Era

The Federal Council announced today that a Swiss memorial is to be created in honour of the victims of the Nazi era. The memorial will be located in Berne and be accessible to the public. Support will also go to the planning and realisation of an additional site for cross-border knowledge transmission and networking in collaboration with the Canton of St. Gallen. The SIG and the Platform of Liberal Jews in Switzerland PLJS welcome this decision. It represents a clear commitment to remember the numerous Swiss victims of persecution, the thousands of refugees who were refused entry to Switzerland or were deported, but also the many courageous Swiss citizens who, against all odds, provided help and support to those persecuted by the Nazis.

National memorial site to be built in Berne

With the decision to create a central place of remembrance, the Swiss government, together with the City of Berne, are making a clear statement against genocide, antisemitism and racism. The memorial is also intended to foster exchange and debate, and to have an impact beyond the country’s borders. The Confederation will also support the Canton of St. Gallen in planning and realising a further national site dedicated to cross-border knowledge transmission and networking. It will highlight especially the asylum policy of the Nazi era and the dramatic events that occurred as a consequence.

Focus on remembrance, knowledge transmission and networking

With its decision to create a national memorial, the Federal Council has met the demands of Switzerland’s Jewish umbrella organisations, which received wide-ranging support from the worlds of politics, culture and civil society. The approval of the project is the outcome of two parliamentary motions from the year 2021 that were unanimously adopted by both chambers of parliament. The project content is based on a concept for a Swiss memorial that was submitted to the Federal Council in May 2021. It was elaborated by a project group founded on the initiative of ASO (Organisation of the Swiss Abroad). Also involved in the planning were the SIG, the Christian-Jewish Working Group (cja), the Archive of Contemporary History (AfZ) at ETH Zurich and the Centre of Jewish Studies at the University of Basel.

The concept was designed around three basic elements: remembrance, knowledge transmission and networking. Its implementation, as outlined by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, is to include all three aspects. This enables the creation and maintenance of a central memorial without detracting from the numerous small and local memorial sites that already exist in Switzerland.

SIG and PJLS convinced of memorial’s necessity

The SIG and the PLJS have backed this project from the outset, convinced of its necessity. The victims of Nazi rule and the Shoah must never be forgotten. In Switzerland, too, victims and crimes of the Nazi regime have left a deep imprint in the collective Jewish consciousness. Remembrance, however, also means drawing lessons for the present and the past. With the educational elements included in the memorial project, the coming generations in particular are to be inspired to reflect perennial topics such as prejudice and marginalisation. The knowledge transmission offered by the Berne memorial must therefore be sufficiently comprehensive in scope.

The Jewish umbrella organisations thank especially the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs for its commitment to the present solution. They will continue to lend their support to the Confederation, the Canton of St. Fallen and the City of Berne with regard to the memorial and its educational features. In turn, they expect backing from the government agencies responsible for the implementation of the project.