Holocaust debate in Switzerland: What really happened behind the scenes

On November 21, 1996, after months of increasingly fierce media attacks from the United States, Switzerland finally got a breather. On that autumn day, Thomas Borer, head of the new Switzerland – World War II Task Force, met for the first time with Israel Singer, chairman of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and driving force behind the concerted campaign against Switzerland, in the context of the debate over the unclaimed assets of Holocaust victims in Swiss banks.

The two discussed the matter for two hours in a meeting room of the former "Savoy Baur en Ville" on Zurich's Paradeplatz. The luxury hotel is one of Singer's favorites, and he will stay there again and again. Singer was conciliatory, demanding, but always friendly, Borer recalls in his recently published book "The Swiss Task Force – Second World War, Nazi Gold and Unclaimed Assets. Switzerland's Major Foreign Policy Crisis from 1996 to 1999."

In his "exuberant manner," Singer is demanding moral and material reparations. They expect an apology from the Swiss government, an initial financial gesture, and the establishment of an institution for the benefit of all Holocaust victims. In return, the WJC and Singer personally would be willing to make extensive concessions if he would offer the prospect of a first step toward resolving this extremely delicate situation.

Borer remains "cautiously probing" and demands a "ceasefire" against the media attacks from the US so that Singer's demands can be examined calmly. The two agree on the so-called "Christmas truce," which is to take effect from December 11, 1996, after the hearing before the Banking Committee of the US House of Representatives, until January 15, 1997.

After the meeting, Borer returned to Bern and informed the individual Federal Councilors, who expressed relief at the time gained. However, Borer and his team warned that the situation was extremely delicate and that a swift, significant gesture in the form of a fund or foundation was necessary. This was also the conclusion of analyses by the Swiss Ambassador to the United States, Carlo Jagmetti, and the Consul General in New York City, Alfred Defago. Many Swiss media outlets shared a similar view.

Federal Councilor Flavio Cotti, head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), dismisses the idea, saying the Federal Council will look at the matter as planned in the new year. First, the holiday season begins. The powerful representatives of the financial center, the major banks, insurers, the National Bank, and the associations, also want to play for time. They reject Borer's proposal for an immediate financial gesture.

Nevertheless, Borer writes in his book that the task force did not allow itself to become frustrated. "We are happy with what we have achieved in just a few weeks. We believe we have the situation under control for the time being. We all want to take advantage of the 'Christmas truce' and continue to work with all Swiss decision-makers in January 1997, finalize the offensive strategy, and implement it in a well-planned manner by the end of January 1997. These are our New Year's resolutions," he says, describing the mood of those days.

The task force feels well prepared. All Federal Councilors have been sent a language policy outlining responses to media inquiries for each escalation level. Borer originally wanted to ensure that the task force was the only body within the federal administration to make public statements on this issue. Franz Egle, the FDFA's press officer, declared this completely unrealistic. However, the departments were made aware that all interviews must be submitted to the task force, even over the holidays.

Borer actually wanted to relax a bit by skiing. Instead, he watched with "fear" as the Federal Councilors increasingly deviated from the language rules in their public appearances and became increasingly aggressive. "They wanted to pay homage to the brave World War II generation, their voters," Borer writes. No one consulted with the task force.

For example, on December 28, 1996, Arnold Koller, the Federal President elected for the following year, declared on the radio that he had had enough of the “foreign arrogance” and the despicable methods of “denouncing us with historical pseudo-revelations.”

The low point came three days later. In two French-speaking Swiss newspapers, outgoing Federal President Pascal Delamuraz mused that, in light of the allegations, he was asking himself "whether Auschwitz is in Switzerland." He further stated that the whole discussion was only about "destroying the Swiss financial center." He then completely sidelined himself and Switzerland with the statement: "The creation of a relief fund for Nazi victims would be an admission of guilt and nothing more than ransom and blackmail."

Today's reader is embarrassed by Foreign Minister Cotti's reaction. He seriously expressed to Borer the hope that Delamuraz's interview had "only" appeared in two French-speaking newspapers and would likely be lost in the "New Year's lull." The opposite was the case: The media worldwide picked up on it, and starting on January 2, 1997, an international wave of protest of unprecedented proportions swept across Switzerland.

Books have been and continue to be written about the events of that time, which also led to Switzerland and its banks thoroughly reexamining their conduct during the Second World War. The chronology and key points, such as the Delamuraz interview, are widely known.

But perhaps no one has as much insider knowledge as Thomas Borer about exactly what was going on behind the scenes in the Federal Palace at the time, how Federal Councilors, senior civil servants and politicians, as well as business leaders from Switzerland and the USA, argued and acted behind closed doors on both sides of the Atlantic, and what was discussed with the negotiators of Jewish organizations and the American class action lawyers. As Special Envoy, he and his task force had intensive contact with all the protagonists in front of and behind the cameras during the crucial years amidst the storm.

Borer spent eight years writing his historical treatise, without a ghostwriter, as he emphasized upon request. It comprises five volumes totaling 2,808 pages. These have now been published because the Federal Archives have made the documents public. The work spans the arc from the origins of the dormant assets during World War II to the scandal of the conflict in the 1990s. It then explains how Switzerland managed to find allies and achieve fairer media coverage. On August 12, 1998, the global settlement orchestrated by the major banks took place, settling all claims for all protagonists in Switzerland, and what subsequently happened with the settlement payment of 1.25 billion Swiss francs and with the main players.

The very fluent, extremely detailed descriptions of events and people, which always address the circumstances of discussions and interpersonal aspects, were only possible because the task force documented every meeting, every conversation, and every trip from the very beginning. This allows the sometimes fatal errors on the part of Switzerland and on the part of counterparties abroad and in the international press to be explained in a comprehensible manner, enriched with extensive background information.

For example, on September 6, 1997, the British "Jewish Chronicle" reported on possible accounts held by Adolf Hitler in Swiss banks. The rumor would prove to be unfounded. A spokesperson for the bank in London at the time, however, refused to comment "due to banking secrecy." Borer wrote dryly: "It's thought-provoking that a Swiss banker would invoke sacrosanct banking secrecy even with regard to Hitler." In any case, Borer repeatedly places the chronological events not only in historical and political terms, but also in personal terms.

All the protagonists are named, as are the merits and shortcomings of individual figures. Unsurprisingly, Borer is fond of praising himself. Nevertheless, the current advisor, who occasionally wields a two-handed sword, remains in the book in his former role as an ambassador, who must work extremely diplomatically for the good of Switzerland amidst the turmoil. The focus is therefore repeatedly on laurels for companions like the members of his task force, without whom his success would not have been possible. According to Borer, his documents will be transferred to the Archives of Contemporary History upon the book's publication.