Swiss Review 5/2018

Swiss Review / September 2018 / No.5 19 INTERVIEW: MARC LETTAU “Swiss Review”: Until1980 the state in- flicted suffering on many children. Are you satisfied with what has been achieved in reparation? Luzius Mader: Yes, very satisfied. Par- ticularly because, in contrast to ear- lier attempts, it was successful in get- ting the political reappraisal underway. The reappraisal is com- pleted in political terms only. The ac- ademic inquiry and individual reap- praisals continue. You had to find solutions that could be implemented politically. Can the politically feasible do adequate justice to the victims? As we wanted to achieve something concrete, it was necessary to take the political framework into account. An- other failure would have been devas- tating. You sat with the victims at the round table. Was that difficult? The key thing was that we first strove for mutual trust. At the beginning, the talk was of the side of the victim and the side of the perpetrator. I made it clear that here there were no victims or perpetrators, but people who wanted to contribute to reap- praisal. That did not change the perspective for many: as a victim they had to file a request with their abuser – that is, the state. There was no other way around it. Some public authority would have to take on the task. And rightly so: the state itself should stand up and say that an injustice has occurred and that it therefore wants to take on the re- sponsibility. That is quite crucial. Up to 20,000 persons could have proved their status as a victim. Nine thousand requests have been received. That is completely in line with what we expected. The number shows that the hurdles to even file a request were surmountable by the victims. Acknowledged victims receive 25,000 Swiss francs: can this amount “make good” a life of disadvantage? No. I always avoid speaking of com- pensation or reparation. The contribu- tion is a gesture of solidarity. A neces- sary gesture, because a written confirmation of victim status cannot suffice. Many victims understood it exactly that way. Themany thank-you letters are proof of this. Those so badly afflicted by the suffering incurred that they now live on social bene- fits will presumably continue to do so. Exactly. With 25,000 Swiss francs, it is not possible to radically change a life, particularly since many of those eligi- ble are already advanced in age. But the contribution is tax-free, it does not lead, for example, to a reduction in needs-based minimum benefits. In this case the state should not give out with the one hand and take back again with the other. It is the federal government that has acted up to now. The measures which the victims had to suffer were enacted by municipalities and cantons. Are they now off the hook? No, they are not. Municipalities and cantons have also already done a great deal, for example, in their archives or in setting up contact points. Addition- ally, municipalities such as Bern and Köniz have made substantial contri- butions to emergency aid. Eight cantons up to nowhave also made contributions to the financing of the solidarity contribution. The fact that they have participated is more important than the amount. You retired at the end of May, and are there- fore no longer the deputy director of the Federal Office of Justice. Are you then fin- ished with this issue? I will continue to concernmyself with this issue. I will continue to preside over the advisory commission on the solidarity contributions and will con- tinue to look after the academic in- quiry in the interest of the federal gov- ernment. * Luzius Mader was the deputy director of the Federal Office of Justice and headed the round table in favour of the victims of the compulsory social measures. “The contribution is a gesture of solidarity” Luzius Mader* was charged by the federal government with the “compulsory social measures” dossier. Overall, he draws a positive interim balance. Luzius Mader: “The reappraisal is completed in political terms only.” Photo: Keystone