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Percorso: USC Shoah Foundation Institute Thesaurus
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(PIQ) Svizzera CercaDefinizione
Location: Central Europe, bordered in 1939 by Austria, Germany, France, and Italy.
Capital city: Bern.
History:
A former part of the Holy Roman Empire, the first Swiss confederation of cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden was created in 1291. The boundaries, number of cantons (22), and the policy of neutrality were established in 1815. During the 1930s and WWII, Switzerland became a destination for refugees, especially Jewish. The Swiss government drew up categories of refugees: political refugees, granted asylum; immigrants, granted temporary shelter; and refugees placed under surveillance who were encouraged to leave. The Anschluss of Austria in March 1938 led to a massive influx of Austrian Jews. The refugee problem was discussed at the Evian Conference in the summer and Swiss authorities asked that Jewish passports be stamped with a J to distinguish them from other refugees. During the war, refugees were placed in camps around the country. Switzerland also received Jews who were able to leave Bergen-Belsen on the Kasztner transport. (en-US)
Fonte
Edited by Leon E. Seltzer with the Geographical Research Staff of Columbia University Press and with the Cooperation of the American Geographical Society. With 1961 Supplement. New York: Columbia University Press, 1962. p. 1855