OBITUARY: Jean Francois Bergier, Swiss WWII historian, dead at 77

Oct 29, 2009, 14:20 GMT

Geneva - Jean-Francois Bergier, the Swiss historian who headed the independent commission established in the 1990s to determine Switzerland's role during World War II, died Thursday at the age of 77, RSR radio reported.

The independent group of experts was established in 1996, after pressure increased on the Swiss government and the country's economic sector to reveal the volume of their connections to the Nazi regime in Germany during the fateful years of the war.

Bergier told the Tribune de Geneve earlier this decade that he was given only 15 minutes to decide whether to join the group as its president or decline, but could not turn down the appointment from Bern.

The commission was given largely unfettered access to archives of both the governments in Switzerland, at local and federal levels, as well as to the records of Swiss private sector enterprises, a rarity in a land with strict secrecy laws.

Bergier and his colleagues, including academics from Israel, Poland and the United States, looked at refugee policy, financial relations to the Axis powers and assets transferred into Switzerland.

The final document issued in 2002 and dubbed the 'Bergier Report,' forever tying his name to the commission, was very critical of the government and private sector. It was also considered thorough, consisting of 11,000 pages. The summary alone was 600 pages long.

At times, the historian said the pressure on him was tremendous, as many did not like the commision's findings and, in some cases, the very existance of a body to investigate the troubled period.

The report harshly dissected the policy of turning away Jewish refugees, saying the Swiss leaders were aware those seeking asylum in the neutral land could likely be killed.

Also, looted gold ended up in Switzerland's coffers in exchange for Swiss francs while banks traded in stolen goods and ill-gotten financial instruments made their way to the country's markets.

Moreover, the commission found that the Swiss government and private sector helped Germany obtain loans and offered trade concessions to the Nazi regime and the fascist government in Italy.

Switzerland was officially neutral during World War II, maintaining an old tradition, though its was completely surrounded by Axis powers or countries occupied by the belligerent forces. The country shares borders with Austria, France and Germany.

People sympathetic to the policies of the old governments have said the Alpine land had little choice but to make certain limited concessions in order to avoid occupation at the hands of powerful neighbors and to ensure imports of basic goods, including food.

Bergier was born in Lausanne in 1931 and taught at universities in Geneva and Zurich. He was a specialist on Switzerland's economic history and industrialization.

Regarding Switzerland, Bergier said in 2002 he was 'patriotic, but not excessive.'