Switzerland: National Socialism and the Second World War: Final Report of the Independent Commission of Experts

"In the course of 1996, the behaviour of Switzerland during the National Socialist regime and World War II became the subject of harsh criticism. The small neutral state appeared as an amoral war profiteer and a > for covert operations conducted by the Nazis. In the glaring light of the international media, the unsolved problems of restitution of the years 1933 through 1945 were discussed. Dealings in looted gold along with the issues of dormant bank accounts and stolen cultural assets stood in the spotlight of a debate on the mysterious whereabouts of the assets of victims of persecution and extermination." "In this situation, at the end of 1996 the Swiss Parliament and Government set up an internationally composed Independent Commission of Experts whose five-year assignment was to investigate these allegations in their historical and legal context. Thanks to the unique privilege of assess to archives, it was possible for the first time to overcome the obstacle of Swiss banking secrecy - believed insurmountable until then - and to extend the research to the archives of banks and other companies." Against this background, a multifaceted picture of the challenges of those dark years emerges, challenges which Switzerland met with varying degrees of success. The investigations provide an illustration of the constraints of national survival placed on a country with not only strong economic, but also close cultural lies to the international community. It becomes clear how tightly national security policy and business interests were intertwined. Complex issues concerning the restitution of stolen property are analyzed from a political and legal perspective. The individual fate of the refugees and of those persecuted, as well as the interests of the victims, are intentionally and constantly placed in the foreground. The answers found have expanded the horizon of knowledge and understanding of the position and policies of neutral Switzerland in the Nazi era, and


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