The part played by a highly placed Bonn official in the infamous deal between Nazi officials and the Swiss Chief of Police during World War II to keep German Jews out of Switzerland has been attacked here in a report just published by a Socialist member of the Bundestag, the lower house of the German Parliament.
The deputy, Dr. Adolf Arndt, revealed that Dr. Hans Globke, now secretary of the German Federal Chancellery, had in 1938 when he was an official of the Third Reich not only acceded to the request of the Swiss that passports of German Jews be stamped with a “J”, but had also ordered the passports of “Aryan” Germans living abroad stamped with the legend: “Valid for Switzerland.”
This, Dr. Arndt charged, made it even easier for the Swiss authorities to exclude German Jews and cost the lives of many Jews outside Germany who were caught in countries overrun by the Nazi armies, in two ways: they could not escape to Switzerland and were more readily identified as Jews and murdered by the Nazis.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
