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from: Peter Balzli: Treuhänder des Reichs. Eine Spurensuche. Werd-Verlag, Zürich 1997<Preface
* Names with an * have been changed by the author for personal protection (p.15).
Thinking this efforts some courage - above all when it's having it's origin in Germany. The situation in Switzerland reminds somehow to Federal Republic of Germany in the 1950s. German Wehrmacht was confronted with some truths in those times. When Hitler's proud soldiers were representing honorful behavior of "the German" there were some critics revealing come crimes which were on the same level like crimes of SS of Heinrich Himmler. Wehrmacht should have been an assist for mass murder? A myth was shaking, the last alibi for a pure conscience was in danger of being destroyed. But this should not be. So much truth should nobody be charged of. The critics were stamped to be runner-downs; and collective suppression was coming up. [This collective suppression is the Swiss policy of right extreme political party of SVP and the political party of the middle, FDP, being responsible for the mass robbery of Jewish funds since 1945].
Thinking this efforts some courage. At the first glance the comparison with Switzerland is not so right. Neither the Swiss population has begun a big war, nor they killed 6 million Jews [but this figure is a big fake and Hitchcock showed GERMAN emaciated persons and GERMAN bodies from the Rhine meadow camps]. They [Swiss people] are not responsible for the destruction of Europe [but precision parts of Swiss industries were well fitting into the destructing guns of the Reich, even for V1 and V2]. Now there was an international pressure of Jewish [Zionist] organizations, and one more heavy guilt is coming up, and since then the Helvetic myth is coming down. The traditional picture of well defended Switzerland defending against the sons of Hitler cannot be hold upright any more.
But principally the myth is dead since a long time already. And who wants to know it, should know it since a long time. Special circles knew that the heroes of General Guisan did not make much impression to the big neighbor. Historians and journalists presented the truth about this fact again and again relativizing the history of the couragous hedge hog step by step. If the topic was policy of refugees or adapted diplomacy, it was more and more clear (p.9)
that defense with deterrence was not real in Switzerland but only adaption. But now these pieces of truth have to be composed, unfriendly truths were accepted in Swiss public only a little bit during decades. Suppressing the truth is the main principle, and suppressing is no problem.
[New facts since 1995 by new research for "lost" funds]
But now with the new research for lost funds of Holocaust victims since spring 1995 shocking facts were coming out again and again about Switzerland. Public was reacting without help first. And whereas politicians or also managers are approving that they also want to have investigations for clearing the situation up with the past the new flood of knowledge is provoking a new defense, partly covered, but partly also open. Open defense is proved with a new anti-Semitism in the country [above all by right wing extremist political party of SVP, which seems that they have robbed most of the Jewish funds since 1945 of account holders who "did not come back again"].
The reasons for this defense can be found in a complex mechanism. Past is identity. Collapse of a fantasy about the pst is also a loss. This loss of identity is a loss of orientation. Handling this loss is difficult and leads to a dangerous production of simple enemy pictures. The difficulty is less difficult the less complex it is - reinstalling orientation again.
The little elite with banksters, trustees, lawyers, merchants of art, assurances, dummies are applying this mechanism because they don't know anything about history when they are simply discussing about looted gold for example. The debate is limited again and again to some little facts presented as exceptions, as "black sheep".
The presented book here tries to give a big survey handling this lack of information. It is presenting the actions within a complete picture of actions searching for lost funds. Many forms of action can be seen with this which were available to bring the fortune of Nazi victims to a loss or to enrich oneself with it [the main profiters were lawyers and banksters and representatives of the stock exchange of both political parties SVP and FDP administrating number accounts, and after the war most of them were silent suppressing all research]. With this is shown badly how "Switzerland" was first the synonym for a safe castle (refuge) for persons and fortune but then was itself more and more becoming an element of the terror system.
[Swiss people of upper class making their profits by Nazi terrorism in Switzerland]
Not "the Swiss", but some little circles in Swiss policy and economy were not only accepting this terrorism but were even profiting by it. And there were only a few responsibles blocking these methods (p.10)
thus it's proved clearly that the moral levels of today would be the invention of a prosperous society.
Many times there was the reproach of profiting without limits, but the proofs can show this only in some cases. Whereas only a comprehensive historiography of these times will be capable to show the systematic system and the real dimensions of the methods of those times the now present research is already showing a horrific systematic system. At the same time there are more events showing a horrific phenomenon that is not eliminated until today: concealing, lying, being silent about the profits. These reactions were provoked when the defeat of Nazi Germany was coming more and more. The facts were lied until the contrary was proved. And this research was only and is only performed by the pressure from outside. In the past as today there are some voices claiming an extortion - and always the factor of time was playing with it awaiting that elaborate research would be hindered.
[Swiss upper class - above all the political party of SVP - was helping the big Nazis after 1945 passing Switzerland and Berne organizing their flight to Argentina and Chile and Swiss lawyers were brining them their Nazi fortune in the diplomat suit case...]
When Jews and their organizations want justice now then this justice cannot be reestablished in form of money. But in this country only claims for money seem to be taken earnest. When humanitarian gestures cannot be provoked by correcting injustice but only by booking clerk or juridical criteria, then the law is working with a strange limitation of damage. In the case that this would be the slogan of the economized society, then also the institution of a foundation will have a doubtful facade.
There are no precise estimations. But for sure there are hundreds of decisive archives in the country and abroad playing a role working out the role of Switzerland during WWII. There are over hundred archives with millions of documents which can be filed to some thousand meters of length. Therefore this book cannot and does not want to present a complete history. But the journalistic work is to show many cases and traces, and often there are open questions yet. It should be a glance inside to different levels of very complex events of the past of Switzerland (p.11),
and in this chapter of past the trustees of the victims are often converting into trustees of the Reich.
Accomplishment of the past is connected with pain. But at the end of the long lasting process Switzerland could be richer than today, richer than other countries who are awaiting for this process yet. Government member Villiger was claiming that the enemies of investigations would be "self-pitying". Overcoming it Switzerland will not only be a country with chocolate, cows, cheese, Matter Horn, perfection and banks. But the new identity would also be a historic awareness and the general cognition that not only Nazis, mafiosi and dictators are the culprits, but also their trustees.
Beat Balzli, February 1997 (p.12)
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