Heroines of Vichy France by Paul R. Bartrop

Author:Paul R. Bartrop
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ABC-CLIO
Published: 2019-03-21T16:00:00+00:00

Switzerland and the Refugees: Two Case Studies

While the risks were enormous for passeurs and others who, for whatever reason, sought to help Jews, they were often just as hazardous for those on the other side of the border. As crossing without a valid visa or other documents was forbidden, any Swiss citizens facilitating such movement were effectively breaking the law—notwithstanding the noble motivations underscoring their actions. They were, in the words of Israeli historian Mordecai Paldiel, “punished for showing compassion,”14 with little in the way of flexibility or understanding shown for the circumstances of the situation.

The celebrated case of Paul Grüninger provides an excellent illustration of the ethical duality accompanying such scenarios, where breaking the law was a laudable act that saved lives but invited government retribution.

Paul Grüninger was a Swiss police commander whose actions on the border with Germany before World War II saved several thousand Jews who otherwise would have been refused sanctuary. Born on October 27, 1891, in St. Gallen, the son of a cigar shop owner, he lived a fairly simple lifestyle and was not especially involved in matters outside his hometown. During World War I, when Switzerland was neutral, he served in the Swiss Army as a lieutenant. After the war he joined the border police, rising to the rank of colonel; by 1919 he had become border police commander for St. Gallen Canton.

When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, many Jews fled to neighboring Austria, but with the Anschluss on March 12, 1938, persecution began there immediately. As Jews from Austria then sought sanctuary in Switzerland, and the Swiss government responded by clamping down on admissions, Paul Grüninger found himself approached every day by German and Austrian Jews seeking asylum. As he heard their stories, he could scarcely believe what they told him. Faced with choosing between following state laws or staying true to his moral code, his sense of compassion made it nearly impossible for him to turn the Jews away. Many other border commanders, similarly torn between these two conflicting approaches to right and wrong, had their subordinates deal with the issue. Grüninger realized he could have taken this easy way out and absolve himself of responsibility; he could just as easily follow the commands of his superiors. On the other hand, he saw that he could do what he considered to be humane and right—even though doing so would be putting himself at risk. Ultimately, he believed that saving lives was far more important than preserving his job, and, as a result, he admitted over 3,600 Jews by falsifying their passports and entry papers or turning a blind eye when required. He even used his own money to buy winter clothes for refugees who had been forced to leave all their belongings behind.

In addition, he would record the Jews’ date of entry into Switzerland as prior to March 1939, when Switzerland further tightened its borders, enabling the arrivals to be treated as legal refugees. They would be taken

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