The Geneva (Switzerland) Cantonal Archives has posted a list of 25,604 names of persons who entered Switzerland through Geneva during World War II at <http: //etat.geneve.ch/dt/archives/a_votre_service-liste_refugies-1700. html>. Specific dates are not given. The information for each individual includes name, (including maiden name of women), date of birth, and nationality (including “stateless”). The list includes names of Swiss citizens who returned to Switzerland during that period of time, but these do not constitute a large percentage of the total. The project is described as ongoing, so, presumably, more names will be added in the future.
The Geneva collection is different from and far larger than the list of all Jews admitted to Switzerland that the Swiss Embassy donated to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) some years go. The USHMM collection, RG 58.001M, identifies 10,962 Jews admitted to Switzerland between 1936 and 1946, consists of 534 reels of film, and includes extensive files on each individual. The donation agreement between the Swiss Embassy and USHMM specifies that entire reels may not be posted on the web or copied, but individual entries may be copied and given to individuals in response to inquiries.
A letter has been sent to the Geneva Archives asking the following questions:
- Would the Archives object to downloading the Geneva list and placing it on a public website such as JewishGen?
- Does the Archives retain the case files that were developed on each individual during the course of their sojourns in Switzerland, or were these records centralized and held in Bern?
- If files on individuals are held in the Geneva Cantonal Archives, will these be made available in response to requests from individuals?
- Can the Archives estimate when this project might be completed and/or how many more names might be added?
The reply will be shared with AVOTAYNU readers when received.
(right) One of 34 pages of documentation about Max Karl Liebmann in the Geneva Cantonal Archives. Liebmann, born in Mannheim, Germany, fled to France and then Switzerland where he crossed the border at the Geneva Canton. After the war he came to the United States. Today he is senior vice-president of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Their Descendants. Used with permission.
