Authors Defend Report on Swiss Wartime Role
Authors of a controversial report accusing the Swiss government of aiding Nazi Germany during World War II defended themselves Wednesday against accusations that the conclusions were unproved.
The report, based largely on documents from German and Swiss archives, was criticized by Swiss President Flavio Cotti as “untenable and perfidious” and an insult to “an entire generation.”
Authors of the report, prepared by the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, argued at a New York news conference that their findings were substantiated in three key documents.
The documents--a border patrol circular on immigration and two sets of minutes of meetings between a top government official and a pro-Nazi group--are at the heart of the report that portrays Switzerland as pro-Nazi despite its neutral status, they said.
According to minutes of a 1942 meeting, Eduard von Steiger, the minister of justice, discussed with the Swiss Fatherland Assn. the idea of “enlightening” the Swiss people on the dangers of immigration.
“When a minister of justice . . . tells the Swiss Fatherland Assn., ‘We’ll work together to try to enlighten the Swiss people,’ to me that means he will do all he can . . . to choke off any immigration,” said the center’s dean, Rabbi Marvin Hier.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
