Swiss Memorial for the Victims of the Nazis

In Switzerland, there are around sixty small, private sites commemorating the Shoah and other Nazi crimes and their victims. There is, however, no official or national memorial for the numerous Swiss victims of persecution, for the thousands of refugees repelled at the borders or deported, or for the many courageous helpers in this country. In honour of all these groups, and for the victims of the Shoah, a national memorial is to be created as a site for remembrance and knowledge transmission.

Swiss victims and rejected refugees

Over the past few years, the call for a national memorial has become louder. Recent studies have revealed that a sizeable number of the Nazi regime’s victims were Swiss. They were persecuted because they were, for example, Jews, socialists, Sinti or Roma. Among them were also numerous women whose marriage to a foreign husband had bereft them of Swiss citizenship and the associated protection. These people were persecuted, deprived of their rights or murdered. Moreover, thousands came to the Swiss borders during the Second World War seeking protection, only to be repelled and, in many cases, sent back to certain death. On the other hand, there were also numerous people in Switzerland who stood up against Nazi ideology, or actively provided protection and assistance to those who were persecuted.

Innovative concept combining remembrance, knowledge transmission and networking

A project group came together in 2019, at the instigation of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad OSA, to create such a memorial. A concept was developed in collaboration with the Christian-Jewish Working Group in Switzerland CJA, the Archives of Contemporary History AfZ at ETH Zurich, the Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Basel and the SIG. It envisages three pillars: ‘remembrance – transmission – networking’. As a place of remembrance in a public space, the memorial is to be dedicated to the victims. As a place of knowledge transmission, it is intended to convey information on Nazi persecution and on the topic of escape, as well as related challenges facing democratic Switzerland, and also to provide opportunities for events and temporary exhibitions. Ultimately, the memorial is also intended to be a place for networking, connecting existing places of remembrance, educational opportunities and initiatives. This combination of remembrance, knowledge transmission and networking is new and so far unique in Switzerland.

Broad support for national memorial

In May 2021, the completed concept was submitted to the Federal Council. Prior to that, the project had already received wide-ranging support from the worlds of politics, culture and civil society as well as Switzerland’s national churches and Muslim organisations. In March 2021, two parliamentary motions were also tabled calling on the federal government to create a national memorial. The two motions under the same title («Schweizer Ort der Erinnerung an die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus») were prepared by Alfred Heer (SVP) for the lower chamber of parliament (Nationalrat) and Daniel Jositsch (SP) for the upper chamber (Ständerat). In both chambers, the motions were backed by a broad cross-party alliance. In March 2022, both motions were unanimously adopted and submitted to the Federal Council. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs was entrusted with the task of developing an implementation proposal.

Part of the Swiss Memorial: a central place of remembrance in Berne

The Federal Council finally gave the go-ahead on 26 April 2023. The memorial project as a whole followed this decision in line with the principles of the original concept and the three pillars of ‘remembrance – transmission – networking’. A place of remembrance for the victims of the Nazi regime is to be erected in the centre of the city of Bern. To implement this, the FDFA launched an international design competition in July 2025. The aim is to select a project in spring 2026 that commemorates the victims of Nazi persecution and, at the same time, encourages an in-depth examination of Switzerland’s history during the Second World War. The municipal council of the city of Berne has made the central casino terrace in the immediate vicinity of the Parliament Building available as a location. The jury consists of fifteen members, six of whom represent the federal government, the city of Berne and the initiators. The President of the SIG, Ralph Friedländer, will take a seat on behalf of our organisation. The technical jury will be complemented by an expert jury consisting of nine independent specialists from the fields of art, architecture, history, education and museology.

The project is supported by Swiss Memorial, which was founded as a sponsoring association in June 2025 by the SIG, Gesellschaft Minderheiten in der Schweiz GMS (Society for Minorities in Switzerland) and the AfZ. After the place of remembrance has been established, the association will support its operation and further development as well as the content of its educational and mediation programmes. The sponsoring association will later be able to take on a corresponding role for the planned ‘Refugee Mediation Centre’ in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley.

Part of the Swiss Memorial: a mediation centre in the canton of St. Gallen

The planned Refugee Mediation Centre, which is to be built in Diepoldsau, will focus on the history of refugees during the Nazi era, refugee policy and the dramatic events associated with it. For the development of the exhibition and the mediation and educational programmes, a collaboration is being entered into with the nearby Jewish Museum of Hohenems on the Austrian side of the border.

The Swiss Memorial with a networking role

A networking association was set up at the start of 2025 to connect existing memorial sites and initiatives. Its task is to establish a national network dedicated to remembrance work and to promote the Refugee Mediation Centre. The networking association, which is funded by the Federal Office of Culture, is currently supported by the SIG, the canton of St. Gallen, the Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Basel, the AfZ and the city of Berne. The SIG is responsible for the administrative office of the association.

A vision is being implemented

With the decision to implement the Swiss Memorial in all its facets, the Swiss Confederation, the city of Berne and the canton of St. Gallen are sending an important signal against genocide, antisemitism and racism. The SIG, which has been intensively involved in the memorial from the outset and has played a major role in its development and realisation, is convinced of the necessity of this national project: the victims of Nazism and the Shoah must not be forgotten. They and the crimes of the Nazi regime are deeply rooted in the collective consciousness of Jews, including those here in Switzerland. Remembering teaches lessons for the present and the future. The memorial’s educational programme is intended to enable future generations in particular to reflect critically on prejudice and exclusion.

Literature

Spörri, Balz/ Staubli, René/ Tuchschmid, Benno 2019: Die Schweizer KZ-Häftlinge. Vergessene Opfer des Dritten Reichs, Zurich: NZZ Libro.

Azaryahu, Maoz/ Gehring, Ulrike/ Meyer, Fabienne/ Picard, Jacques/ Späti, Christina (Ed.) 2021: Erzählweisen des Sagbaren und Unsagbaren. Formen des Holocaust-Gedenkens in schweizerischen und transnationalen Perspektiven, Cologne: Böhlau.