OCTOBER 2025 The magazine for the Swiss Abroad Permafrost thaw, crumbling mountains – are parts of the Alps still safe to live in? Who am I? Where are my roots? Tracing ancestry is an emotional journey Grisons was car-free until 1925, but it now has more cars per capita than any other canton
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Autumn in Switzerland? There are plenty of things to do. Enjoy the mild October days; play boules with your friends by the Rhine; hike in the Alpine foothills of Fribourg and Vaud; browse through the autumn schedule of your local theatre; pick the last tomatoes; roast the first chestnuts. While we do that, we can also look back at the preceding few months. US President Donald Trump made sure 1 August went off with a bang and a clatter even before the fireworks started, slapping a 39 per cent import tariff on Switzerland. This was much higher than any of Trump’s other European tariffs. Switzerland wondered what it had done wrong – there are no Swiss tariffs on US imports. Who knows where this will take us? Parts of the Swiss economy are already feeling the pressure, and some companies have started to lay people off. Many would have preferred to take a step back on Swiss National Day to process the events of 28 May – the day a devastating landslide not only obliterated the village of Blatten but also changed our perceptions. As the permafrost thaws and mountain peaks crumble, where does this leave those who live in the valleys below? What do we do if disasters like Blatten become more frequent? The residents of Blatten want to rebuild their village, but could their efforts be in vain? It’s an awkward question to ask, but should we consider vacating certain Alpine valleys altogether? This edition of “Swiss Review” looks both at this and at the delicate state of US-Swiss relations. Tracing your own ancestry can be very revealing – and leave you in shock and awe. Many Swiss Abroad have explored their Swiss family tree, and their interest continues to grow. Some travel to Switzerland to visit their roots, which is invariably a momentous experience. We spoke to genealogist Kurt Münger. “Descendants see it as an emotional journey back to their roots,” he told us. MARC LETTAU, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 4 Focus After the Blatten landslide – is it still safe to live in the mountains? 9 News Trump’s 39 per cent tariff feels like punishment – but punishment for what? 10 Society Tracing your Swiss ancestors can be an emotional journey The Federal Council wants to ban Swiss couples from adopting foreign children 16 Report The curious case of Grisons, where cars were banned until 1925 News from your region 20 Politics Switzerland to vote on an inheritance tax for the super-rich No fixed price – Switzerland’s new fighter jets could cost much more 24 Tourism Tenants priced out by Airbnb? Swiss municipalities fight back 28 Notes from the Federal Palace Elisabeth Eidenbenz – the humanitarian face of the “Fifth Switzerland” 31 SwissCommunity swissinfo under pressure – opinion piece on cost-cutting measures SwissCommunity Days 2025 – a new event format makes its debut 1/800,000: Susanne Mueller from the US is another of our “puzzle pieces” Shock and awe Cover photo: Warning sign in the Swiss Alps. Photo: Keystone (Val dal Botsch)/iStock; montage: Joseph Haas “Swiss Review”, the information magazine for the “Fifth Switzerland”, is published by the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad. Leaflet distributed by opponents of automobile in Graubünden, 1925 The following news is certainly more shock than awe: the federal government has announced that it will be cutting subsidies in numerous areas – including the OSA. The scope to deliver the print edition of our magazine free of charge is becoming narrower, which is why reader donations are more important than ever. Please show your solidarity and donate. Thank you. – See page 33 for details. Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4 3 Editorial Contents Donate here
4 Focus Thawing ice, crumbling mountains The devastating landslide in Blatten (canton of Valais) shocked Switzerland. Are exposed mountain valleys really still safe to live in? Scientists warn that the likelihood of cataclysmic landslides and mudslides in the Alps will only increase with climate change. Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4
5 THEODORA PETER The Valais village of Blatten was wiped out on 26 May 2025, when some ten million cubic metres of rock and ice plummeted into the Lötschental valley. Blatten’s residents, who had been evacuated to neighbouring villages two weeks before, watched in horror as the Birch Glacier came thundering down the side of the mountain at 3.30 p.m., burying their village. A fatal chain reaction triggered the disaster. In the preceding days and months, parts of the Kleines Nesthorn mountain had begun to break off, piling up on the glacier below. The ice groaned under the enormous strain – before finally giving way. According to the scientists at ETH Zurich, who have been monitoring the glacier and the Kleines Nesthorn since the 1990s, climate change is likely to have contributed to permafrost thaw and increased rockfall. They see parallels between Blatten and the landslide that ripped through the Grisons village of Bondo in August 2017. Back then, an approximately three-million-cubic-metre rockslide on the Piz Cengalo mountain landed on a small glacier, causing some of the glacier to be swept away. This sent a river of mud, rocks and dirt flooding into Bondo. Eight hikers were killed. The inhabitants of Bondo got the shock of their lives, with the debris flow causing extensive damage to homes and roads. To protect the village from future threats, the authorities have invested over 50 million Swiss francs in protective infrastructure including a dam to prevent flooding. Plans for a rapid rebuild Blatten’s 300 residents have lost everything they own. The landslide claimed the life of a man who had been on the way to his sheep and was later found dead. Barely a day after the disaster, local mayor Matthias clear away the earth and rocks beneath which the centre of the village is currently buried. The aim is for Blatten’s first new house to be ready by 2029. Insurers are set to pay out around 300 million francs for new builds. The public sector will invest in roads, electricity and water supplies, with the federal government and the canton of Valais having promised financial assistance. Many Swiss municipalities and private individuals have also donated money in solidarity. But as the country rallies around Blatten, some wonder whether climate change is rendering certain parts of Switzerland uninhabitable. Giving up on Blatten would be unimaginable, says the mayor. “This is our home and Permafrost, the “glue” that holds mountains together, is thawing at an increasingly rapid pace. Higher temperatures mean more landslides and rockfalls, as meltwater penetrates the permafrost and accelerates erosion. Bellwald declared that Blatten would be rebuilt. “We have lost our village, but not our heart,” he said – a quote that was seen around the world. Only two weeks later, the Communal Council pledged to rebuild the village within the next five years. It was important to say that Blatten had a future and that it was possible to rebuild, said Bellwald in July when “Swiss Review” visited him in the neighbouring village of Wiler, from where the mayor is continuing his duties. Some 80 per cent of Blatten’s residents have remained in the Lötschental valley after finding other places to stay. Happily, there was no exodus. One reason for that is because children from Blatten have always gone to school in Wiler and Kippel. “Continuity is crucial for our schoolchildren,” says Bellwald. After the shock and trauma, adults in the village community must adjust to a new reality. “This isn’t necessarily easy,” says the mayor. Neighbouring communities welcoming them with open arms is one thing, but living in exile is another. Many villagers are simply desperate to return home. “We are fully committed to making this happen.” Firstly, the authorities will secure access to the hamlets higher up that were left unscathed. They will then our land.” The village belongs to the people who have lost it. “And we have the right to return.” Blatten is a “oncein-a-millennium event” that could happen anywhere. “We would have to relocate the entire country [to avoid every hazard].” Uncertain future for Brienz-Brinzaul The spectre of relocation hangs over another Swiss mountain village: Brienz-Brinzaul in Grisons, where unstable slopes were a longstanding issue that came to a head in 2023 (see “Swiss Review” 5/2023). The hamlet’s The view over the buried village of Blatten. The layer of ice and debris is two kilometres long and up to 100 metres deep. The avalanche of debris thundered into the valley from the left, reaching as far as the hamlet of Weissenried on the right-hand side. Photo: Keystone Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4 Blatten’s mayor Matthias Bellwald does not want to give up on his village: “This is our home and our land.” Photo: Keystone
“It gets awkward when you start questioning the very existence of the places that people call home.” Historian, ethnologist and mountain expert Jon Mathieu on Switzerland’s Alpine identity and the social impact of natural disasters. material donations – known as “gifts of love” – mainly to their fellow brothers in faith. This tradition was revived when Switzerland became a country in its own right, albeit recipients were now both male and female. This new phase began after the Goldau landslide of 1806. The “Landammann” (chief magistrate) of Switzerland made an appeal for donations. It was the moment when people got their first inkling of a new era after the demise of the Old Swiss Confederacy. How are the Alps intertwined with Switzerland’s identity? And has our relationship with the Alps changed over time? The first suggestion of any Alpine identity dates back to the 16th century, when a number of scholars began to refer to “Alpine people” – not least to emphasise that they were less INTERVIEW: THEODORA PETER The Blatten landslide has brought people in the Lötschental valley together. Can we say the same about Switzerland as a whole? Jon Mathieu: It is probably overstepping the mark to claim that a landslide has brought the whole country together, but there has clearly been a nationwide wave of solidarity. It was particularly touching to see numerous donations from small municipalities – communities that had no real obligation to help the people of Blatten, but did so anyway. The president of the National Council tapped into this sentiment when she opened the summer session of parliament by mentioning the disaster in a short address entitled “Together for Blatten – a country stands together”. Why do natural disasters engender this sense of togetherness? It is all to do with empathy and that feeling of belonging. People stick together in difficult moments. This does not mean we suddenly all become bosom buddies; the rat race will go on as it always has. But the immediate response is to want to do something. This, essentially, is a ritual that dates back centuries. During the Reformation, men made monetary and than keen on being affiliated to the Holy Roman Empire. But it was not until the late 19th century and the opening of the Gotthard railway in 1882 that this identity became important. The railway line was the new federal Swiss state’s pride and joy, signalling to the entire (Western) world that we were a mountainous nation. The national exhibitions of 1914 in Berne and 1939 in Zurich made a big play of it. Both events happened to take place shortly before the World Wars – two difficult periods in Swiss history. This national identification with the Alps has waned since the 1960s, although the rest of the world continues to associate Switzerland with mountains. Can we dare to talk about the costs and benefits of protecting ourselves from Mother Nature – or even consider vacating certain Alpine valleys altogether? By all means, but then we risk the ire of those communities affected. Basel was rebuilt after the 1356 earthquake, they will say. No one would consider evacuating Zurich or Berne either if the Limmat or Aare burst their banks, as they have done in the past. It gets awkward when you start questioning the very existence of the places that people call home. People on the ground weighing up the costs and benefits are not always best placed to make those decisions either. To date, no one has analysed this complex issue over a long period from a scientific viewpoint. Jon Mathieu, born in 1952, is professor emeritus in history at the University of Lucerne. He was founding director in 2000 of the Centre for the History of the Alps at the Università della Svizzera italiana. Photo provided The Goldau landslide in 1806 was met by a wave of national solidarity. The first nationwide campaign for donations was launched following the disaster. Image: Keystone www.labisalp.usi.ch/en Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4 6 Focus
“glue” that holds mountains together. Higher temperatures mean more landslides and rockfalls, as meltwater penetrates the permafrost and accelerates erosion. Another growing problem: heavy rainfall Climate change has also amplified other natural threats. Apart from drought, the Alps have seen a proliferation of heavy rainfall events. Warmer air can hold more moisture. Due to the topography, major concentrated downpours in the mountain valleys can have fatal consequences. A storm in the upper Maggia Valley in Ticino caused flash flooding in summer 2024. Raging torrents obliterated houses, roads and bridges, claiming the lives of eight people. Officials subsequently expanded the area in the valley that it regarded as risk-prone, meaning that a number of houses near water are now classed as unsafe and had to be vacated. 90 residents had to evacuate their homes in November 2024. With the threat of a huge landslide literally hanging over it, Brienz-Brinzaul has remained off-limits since then. Rockfalls proliferated again this summer after heavy rainfall, although the situation had become a little less acute by the time of our editorial deadline in mid-August. Brienz-Brinzaul will not be vacated for good, the authorities insist. The construction of a drainage tunnel costing 40 million francs is meant to mitigate the risk of landslides. Nevertheless, the villagers are aware that they may yet have to resettle. The Bernese Oberland also has its fair share of crumbling mountains. Landslides have been a topic in Guttannen since 2005 (see “Swiss Review” 4/2022), while officials have been closely monitoring Spitzer Stein, an increasingly unstable peak above Kandersteg, for a number of years. Permafrost thaw has weakened one side of Spitzer Stein, raising concerns that millions of cubic metres of rock could come tumbling down and cause flooding. Dams are currently being built to protect Kandersteg. These will cost 11 million francs. In general, scientists warn of further deterioration in the Swiss Alps. Permafrost temperatures monitored at over 20 sites by the Swiss Permafrost Monitoring Network (PERMOS) have increased significantly in recent years. Permafrost is commonly found above altitudes of 2,500 metres, acting as the Other cantons are also reviewing their hazard maps and investing a great deal of money in dams to prevent flooding and in netting to intercept rockfalls. In total, Switzerland spends around one billion francs a year on shoring up its defences against natural hazards. This includes investing in early-warning systems that save lives by ensuring that communities are evacuated in time. ETH climate scientist Sonia Seneviratne, who is vice-chair of Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), believes in the importance of prevention. “But these are no more than sticking-plaster measures in the long run,” Seneviratne told the “Watson” news portal in an interview. We need to be asking a different question: “Should we really be living and building more houses in increasingly exposed areas?” Global warming will further increase the risk of rockfalls, landslides and mudslides in the Alps. It is imperative that we take this into account, stressed Seneviratne. “Unless we dramatically cut carbon emissions and get a handle on climate change, future tragedies are almost inevitable.” Top: In Bondo (Grisons), authorities have invested 50 million Swiss francs in protective structures, including a dam and a catch basin. In 2017, the village was razed by a mudslide. Right: Heavy rainfall in southern Switzerland caused widespread destruction in the summer of 2024. The picture shows a section of the A13 near Lostallo in the Misox Valley that was washed away. Below: In the Grisons village of Brienz, the hillside continues to slide. Whether those evacuated from their homes will be able to return is uncertain. Photos: Keystone Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4 7
1,800 pages long – the Federal Council unveils package of Swiss-EU agreements The outlines of the deal to reset Swiss-European Union relations had been known for months. On 13 June 2025, the federal government approved and published all its contents along with corresponding laws and declarations – marking the beginning of a public consultation process. The package is over 1,800 pages long and consists of two elements: a “section on stabilisation” containing existing agreements that have been amended (e.g. freedom of movement), and a “section on development”, with new agreements on food, electricity and health. The package of agreements continues with the existing bilateral approach guaranteeing Swiss access to the EU single market. Switzerland negotiated a safeguard clause on immigration. Berne also had to make concessions, with the new agreements providing for a “dynamic” adoption of EU law – a particularly contentious area for Switzerland. The consultation process, involving political parties, umbrella organisations and other interested parties, will run until the end of October. (RED) Link to the Swiss-EU package: www.revue.link/cheu Live in France but go to school in Switzerland – end of a Genevan anomaly The Geneva cantonal government announced in June that the 2,500 or so children of cross-border commuters who go to school in Switzerland will, in future, have to attend lessons in France. In other words, the residence principle will also apply to school attendance, meaning that children in the Geneva area will have to attend school in the country in which they live. This marks the end of an anomaly. In other border cantons, parents who live abroad but send their children to school in Switzerland have always had to pay the full school fees. The new regime has not gone down well everywhere. Neighbouring French municipalities are up in arms, saying that Geneva took the decision unilaterally. (SH) For more information, see the online edition of “Swiss Review”: www.revue.link/school “20 Minuten”, Switzerland’s largest newspaper, to end print run “20 Minuten”, the Swiss newspaper with the highest circulation (330,000 in German-speaking Switzerland; 130,000 copies of “20 minutes” in French-speaking Switzerland) will discontinue its print edition at the end of 2025 to focus solely on its online reporting. The move reflects the challenges and rapid pace of change facing Swiss print media. The aggregate print run of Switzerland’s leading daily newspapers has shrunk from 2.51 million to 1.34 million in the last ten years. (MUL) Angela Koller A 42-year-old lawyer from the Centre Party joined the Appenzell Innerrhoden cantonal government in April. So far, so unremarkable. But Angela Koller is different. She is the first woman to be elected as Appenzell Innerrhoden’s cantonal president at the Landsgemeinde, the traditional open-air assembly at which eligible citizens gather to vote. Appenzell Innerrhoden became the last Swiss canton to give women the vote – after the Federal Supreme Court forced it to do so in 1990. Some 35 years later, Koller – who has sat in the cantonal parliament for a number of years – says that she has heard from a lot of women who, in her words, “want better representation”. This motivated her to stand for election. She beat three other candidates to the post, with the customary show of hands sealing a historic result. Koller had previously not only chaired the parliamentary committee responsible for overhauling the cantonal constitution but had also headed the Appenzell employees’ association, AVA. Bodies like the AVA often carry more weight than political parties in Innerrhoden. Koller was exposed to politics from an early age, often listening in to the conversations at her parents’ pub. She has enjoyed reading ever since she was at school, and her book recommendations on Instagram reflect this. Koller will first take on the education portfolio. She and Roland Dähler are the dual heads of the cantonal government. Dähler currently has governing powers, which will pass to Koller at the end of a two-year alternating cycle that has just begun. Innerrhoden’s women may not have been able to vote before 1990, but their embroidery skills used to be one of the canton’s key sources of income. They now have a political milestone to celebrate. SUSANNE WENGER Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4 8 Top pick News
9 CHRISTOF FORSTER It was a bombshell that shook Switzerland to the core. On Swiss National Day, US President Donald Trump hit the country with an exorbitantly high tariff rate of 39 per cent. Only a few countries in the world have to endure higher punitive tariffs. The steep import tariffs will be felt most keenly by machine manufacturers, watchmakers and producers of luxury goods (which also include Nespresso capsules). The pharma industry has been spared. phone. She apparently managed to get the US president to understand the consequences of his tariff policy. That was how the “Washington Post” reported the outcome of their call, in any event. Since then, it has emerged that that conclusion was false, something that took even Keller-Sutter by surprise. Trump asked a lot of questions, she said. “I clearly found a way to get through to him.” High-ranking delegations from both countries subsequently reached agreement on a tariff deal. All that was missing was Trump’s signature. But that showed no sign of appearing. Doubts in the Federal Council began to grow. Shortly before the ultimatum expired, Keller-Sutter requested a second telephone call with the US president. Accounts vary on how exactly this call went. In any event, it failed to produce the desired result. Quite the opposite: instead of the 31 per cent initially threatened, Swiss companies are now being penalised with a tariff of 39 per cent. Once again, anyone who believed there was a special relationship between the two “sister republics” was disappointed. The current situation is more reminiscent of an elder sister telling her younger sister what to do. Hit where it hurts The tariff announcement triggered a fresh wave of hectic activity in Switzerland. Politicians and representatives of the economy sought in vain for ways to avert the tariff imposition. There was also something humiliating about the whole affair: while the US president was speaking disparagingly about the president of the Confederation on television, the latter was on a plane heading for Washington. But the discussions were unsuccessful. The Swiss economy must – at least for the time being – live with tariffs of 39 per cent. This steep duty is hitting Switzerland where it hurts. Exports are Switzerland’s economic lifeline. They are one of the reasons behind the country’s affluence. For a long time, during the period of open international trade, Switzerland was able to leverage its status as a small country that was not a member of the European Union. This position is looking increasingly tenuous. The division of the world into power blocs, which is what seems to be happening, might drive Switzerland closer to the EU. A first step in this direction would involve approving the new treaty package with the EU. More than a tariff shock It initially seemed that Switzerland was part of a first group of countries that were going to be able to make a customs deal with the USA. The shock arrived on 1 August: President Trump imposed a 39 per cent tariff on imports from Switzerland. President of the Confederation Karin Keller-Sutter at the 1 August celebrations on the historic Rütli meadow: all the questions she fielded were about the tariff shock, not the Swiss National Day. Photo: Keystone Related topic: the purchase of the US F-35 fighter jet has been a huge debacle for Switzerland, page 23 Conversely, Switzerland abolished all industrial tariffs at the beginning of 2024. Over 99 per cent of all goods from the USA can be imported into Switzerland tariff-free. The Federal Council expressed concern at Trump’s announcement. The FDP party president called it a “catastrophe”. The SP, on the other hand, criticised the Federal Council’s “strategy of currying favour” with the USA, a strategy it said had failed “massively”. Financial umbrella association economiesuisse expressed its shock. In its view, the high tariffs are neither justified nor comprehensible. “A way to get through to Trump” The Federal Council and Swiss business community had both felt for a long time that they were out of danger, even though Trump had imposed a 31 per cent tariff on Switzerland in April. Shortly thereafter, President of the Confederation Karin Keller-Sutter spoke with Trump on the Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4 News
DÖLF BARBEN Tracey Jones (56) lives close to Philadelphia and works at a school. She visited Switzerland with her husband last year. In St Gallen, she discovered one of the houses in which her grandmother had lived as a child. She was deeply moved by the experience, she tells us. Pete Thalmann, 80, lives in Holliston near Boston. The former electrical engineer spends his summers on the Cape Cod peninsula. He wants to travel to Switzerland this autumn. His itinerary will include the hamlet of Eggetsbühl near Wängi (canton of Thurgau), where his great-grandparents lived. Jones and Thalmann have a few things in common. Both have been interested in history and, in particular, the history of their respective families since they were teenagers. Both wanted to trace these family roots – doing the groundwork, pursuing leads and overcoming hurdles along the way. Both also know Kurt Münger. Münger, 74, is the president of the Swiss Society for Genealogical Studies (SSGS). He says that the SSGS receives more and more inquiries from people abroad who are interested in their Swiss ancestors. “We try to help them as much as we can in our voluntary capacity.” Münger grew up in eastern Switzerland and lives in Gossau, but his family originated from the canton of Berne. In around 1900, many Bernese farmers moved to Thurgau to start a new life. Migration also plays a big role in Münger’s family history, albeit on a smaller geographical scale. He says he regards himself as an inquisitive soul who wants to understand as well as discover. Münger studied chemistry and wrote a doctoral thesis on specific molecules. People who up sticks to start afresh elsewhere remind him of what molecules do. Curiosity and perseverance All genealogists are driven by curiosity, he adds. A healthy, not a lurid curiosity. It can take you far, provided you keep persevering: “The investigations are not always easy.” Tracey Jones did her initial research online, delving through various archives until she stumbled upon Tracing their roots to Switzerland Tracey Jones and Pete Thalmann, both from the US, sought professional help to trace their family roots back to Switzerland. They were deeply moved by what they discovered. Both their cases illustrate how important tracing ancestry can be for those who live far away from the homes of their forebears. joyed when she was able to show him photos of her visit. “Moments like that are priceless.” Pete Thalmann would agree. His priceless gift from the past was an article written by his grandfather that appeared in a newspaper in Baltimore. John J. Thalmann left home after learning to become a dressmaker. He met the love of his life, Mathilde Bos, in Paris. The couple then emigrated to Baltimore. But tragically, six of their children died. “Baltimore was a hellhole back then,” says Thalmann. For fear of losing all their children, his grandparents returned to St Gallen for a while. Thalmann’s father was two at the time. Thalmann would have liked to have found out where his father later went to school. “But I hit a dead end.” He is all the more intrigued as to what his ancestors were like as human beings. “My grandfather and my father were gentle souls, but they didn’t shy away from taking risks,” he says. “I am just the same.” Thalmann built up his own business and was a go-getter. “And life dealt me heavy blows, like it did them.” He lost one of his daughters – and his wife. Mistakes are easy to make It is much easier these days to search your ancestry than it used to be. Everything is digitalised; even old church records are available online. There are also people happy to do the heavy lifting for you – provided you cough up enough money for their services. This is where Münger urges caution. Mistakes are easy to make if the research is done in a hurry. For example, what if there are two possible male ancestors who have the same Kurt Münger. The SSGS president referred her to a genealogist with local knowledge, who provided her with the decisive leads. Jones then travelled to Switzerland. She says her grandmother never reminisced much about her childhood or teenage years, although she was very proud of where she came from. “To see where she grew up and which houses she lived in was extremely moving.” Her father had never been to Switzerland and was over- “To see where my grandmother grew up and which houses she lived in was extremely moving. Moments like that are priceless.” Tracey Jones, USA Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4 10 Society
Genealogy! – Max Spring draws exclusively for “Swiss Review” Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4 11
Tips on how to trace your ancestry Start with the people who are alive; those who are dead can wait. This is the golden rule to remember when you begin your research. Firstly, ask relatives who can provide information by speaking to you. Then start searching for other sources. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Other people will often have done research on the same family and drawn family trees. You need to check whether someone has already done this spadework for you. Contact genealogists in Switzerland. The Swiss Society for Genealogical Studies (SSGS) can provide information directly or pass on inquiries to local genealogy societies. www.sgffweb.ch Tracey Jones and Pete Thalmann share this sentiment. It is very important for her to hold on to her Swiss roots and pass that knowledge on to her two daughters, says Jones. “I now know exactly where I come from, and this makes me very proud.” After visiting Switzerland, Thalmann intends to flesh out the family history that he has been writing. The account, already of considerable length, is for future generations to read. “I have six children and eleven grandchildren.” When he read his grandfather’s article for the first time, one thing became clear to him: “Voices from the past are priceless.” name? Pick the wrong gentleman and you mess up the entire family tree. If you are unsure, you will have to look for proof. That takes a lot of patience. Or help from experts like Therese Metzger. Aged 79, Metzger lives in Münsingen near Berne and is a professional genealogist. She does over 30 assignments a year, two thirds of which come from clients abroad. For around 1,000 Swiss francs, she is able to produce lists of people dating back over 200 years. A large proportion of her clients come from the US, she says. “There are people who just want to know where their ancestors lived. Once they know that, they are happy.” Some clients will then travel to the place in question. “To stand in a church and know that an ancestor was baptised there is very moving for them.” Other clients are interested in the detail. One person wanted information about a possible ancestor who lived in the 13th century. “I had to give up.” Being able to look that far into the past is only possible in exceptional cases. Nor is it easy if the client can only give a name that was very common in the past. “Where do I start to look if the ancestor is called Jakob Meier?” Priests with bad handwriting are another problem. Decoding their scribblings is almost impossible. “Purgatory is the least they deserve,” she laughs. Migration drives people to trace their ancestry Metzger used to wonder on occasion why people in countries like the US were so interested in tracing their ancestry. She concluded that the relatively short history of the United States had something to do with it, as did the hugely important role that immigration played in the American story. “I imagine it’s like being an adopted child,” she muses. “They, too, want to know where they have come from.” Münger takes a similar view. Visiting your ancestors’ home country is much more than just a holiday. “Descendants see it as an emotional journey back to their roots.” They will often view the trip as a lifetime goal or a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Genealogist Therese Metzger finds that people who live in a country with a short history that has been marked by immigration are often particularly interested in their own family history. Photo provided Genealogist Kurt Münger keeps receiving more enquiries from people abroad who are taking an interest in their Swiss ancestors. Photo provided Pete Thalmann in Yellowstone National Park, writing poetry. He plans to travel to Eggetsbühl bei Wängi (Thurgau), the home of his great-grandparents. Photo provided Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4 12 Society
13 STÉPHANE HERZOG What should you do against a dictatorship? A commemorative plaque erected in Neuchâtel in May in honour of Maurice Bavaud, who at the age of 22 attempted to assassinate Hitler, raises this question. “We might wish for more people like him in the world, to kill these monsters,” retired doctor Jean-François Burkhalter, 81, who was responsible for the initiative, said during the ceremony. Maurice Bavaud, who came from a humble Catholic family, decided to act. “He sees the Führer as a threat to Switzerland’s independence, to humanity and to Catholicism,” according to the record of his trial in 1939, which no Swiss diplomat attended. In 1938, after returning from a seminary in Brittany where he had trained to become a missionary, the young man took the train for Germany, whose leaders were seeking dialogue with Switzerland and making barely any effort to prevent Swiss citizens visiting the Reich, recalls historian Marc Perrenoud. Maurice Bavaud managed to get close to Hitler during a parade in Munich on 9 November. The number of arms raised to hail the dictator prevented him from firing. He was subsequently arrested for travelling without a ticket. The Swiss embassy in Berlin, run by a certain Hans Frölicher, “did not want to exhaust Germany’s goodwill towards Switzerland for this person”, the Neuchâtel historian comments. The Office of the Public Prosecutor, when approached by the German authorities, carried out an investigation into the young man, and sent the Nazis a message describing him as a homo- sexual. Maurice’s father suggested that Germans imprisoned in Switzerland be released in exchange for his son’s life. The Swiss administration ignored this proposal. During the trial, his duty counsel stressed (in vain) that Bavaud had not fired a single shot. His family received a final letter from the prison in Plötzensee. “I embrace you all very tightly, as this will be the last time.” Maurice was guillotined on 14 May 1941. There was no burial. During the 1950s, the Bavaud family received 40,000 Swiss francs in compensation from the Federal Republic of Germany as a settlement. In 1979, German writer Rolf Hochhuth depicted Bavaud as a modern William Tell. In 1980, journalist Nicolas Meienberg published a work devoted to him. Could Switzerland have saved Bavaud? Marc Perrenoud cites the case of another Neuchâtel native, pastor Roland de Pury, who was arrested in a Protestant church in Lyon in 1943. He was close to the French Resistance and his life was saved after an exchange with German spies. De Pury and his family had relatives and contacts that the Bavaud family did not. In 1989 and 2008 respectively, federal councillors René Felber and Pascal Couchepin acknowledged that Swiss diplomacy did not do enough to save Bavaud. The commemorative plaque devoted to the Catholic features a bas-relief portrait of him. It was placed on a house located between the house of his birth and the house he left to go to Germany. A memorial stele stands on the banks of Lake Neuchâtel and another plaque (erected in 1998) can be found on the house where he was born. “Here, though, you can see his face,” the former doctor says. The doctor’s plan is to have a monument to Bavaud erected outside Plötzensee. Maurice Bavaud: the Swiss man who planned to assassinate Hitler In May, a commemorative plaque was erected in Neuchâtel to commemorate the life of young Catholic Maurice Bavaud, guillotined in Germany in 1941 for having planned to assassinate Hitler. Switzerland made no attempt to save its native son. Maurice Bavaud. Photo handout: Filmkollektiv Zürich Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4 Society
EVELINE RUTZ From the 1950s, the received wisdom among couples in Switzerland who wanted to adopt children was that they were giving someone the chance of a better life, not least if the child came from a poor country and a seemingly deprived background. It was seen as a humanitarian act. Interstingly, this positive spin persisted for a long time, says Andrea Abraham, professor at the Berne University of Applied Sciences. Reported abuses of the system barely registered in public debate. In Switzerland, experts, let alone the general public, have only started addressing the issue in recent years – unlike their foreign counterparts. Abraham: “This is astounding, given that child adoption has such a real-life impact.” “This wound will remain” Sarah Ineichen has played a key role in bringing the international adoption process under much greater scrutiny. Ineichen arrived in the canton of Nidwalden from Sri Lanka as a baby in 1981. When delving into her past many years later, she discovered that what she had been told about her roots was wrong. Instead of meeting whom she thought was her biological mother at her place of birth, Ineichen was confronted by a woman who had merely given her name to secure the necessary adoption papers. “I still don’t know who my biological mother is,” says the 44-year-old. She has no idea why she was given away as a baby, and whether her biological mother gave her away of her own accord. “This deep wound will remain with me until I die.” Ineichen went public in 2017, one of the first adoptees to do so. She and others founded Back to the Roots – an organisation that advocates for the rights of Sri Lankan adoptees in Switzerland. Newborns used to be snatched from their mothers and sent for adoption, she says. Some babies were even surreptitiously swapped for stillborn babies in hospital and handed over to adoptive parents. “They picked the children for the parents, not the other way round.” Officials turned a blind eye The international adoption process played on Western couples who were desperate to have children. Studies The heart-wrenching adoption baby trade The Federal Council wants to ban couples in Switzerland from adopting children abroad, arguing that it is the only way to prevent illegal practices. It is a highly charged issue. ing that time. Orphanages and women’s refuges in both countries played an active role in the international adoption process. These organisations would help expectant mothers to keep their pregnancy and the birth of their child secret. In particular, they would assist pregnant women who faced stigma because they were destitute or had conceived out of wedlock or as a result of rape. It was also not uncommon for them to organise the necessary adoption papers and coordinate the handover of Sarah Ineichen made irregular adoptions into a widely debated topic. The issue concerns her personally: “I still do not know who my biological mother is.” Photo: Keystone by Abraham and numerous others prove this, documenting illegal practices in 11 countries of origin from 1973 to 2002. They refer to suspected child trafficking, forged documents, missing declarations of consent from biological mothers, and cases of Swiss officials who turned a blind eye to systematic lawbreaking. Around 700 babies from Sri Lanka and 2,280 babies from India were adopted durnewborns to mainly Western adoptive parents. The adoption process moved abroad From 1973, more and more couples from Switzerland would arrive in these countries. Due to social factors and changes in the law, it was now easier for people who wanted to Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4 14 Society
parency are essential today, he points out. A ban would stigmatise those directly affected, say opponents. Adopted children would start thinking that they actually should not be in Switzerland. It would imply that adoptive parents are in the wrong. This is unfair and does not reflect reality. And the consequences for orphans and abandoned children would be devastating, they warn. The reform will have no impact as far as the Swiss Abroad are concerned. adopt children to do so abroad. Few were unduly worried by this. As one of the studies recounts: “It was like reproductive medicine today, in that it was socially acceptable back then to say that adoptive parents were entitled to have children, full stop.” Self-interest was conveniently hidden under the veneer of altruism. Responsibility now lies with the federal government and the cantons, says Ineichen. “They were the ones that tolerated and even facilitated this shabby trade for decades.” By not doing enough to protect children and their biological families from exploitation, an entire generation of adoptees now have to suffer the consequences. “We expect an apology for the wrong that was done to us as well as targeted support to help us uncover our past.” DNA tests in the countries of origin to help uncover falsified adoption papers are one example of what can be done. Gaps in information It is heart-wrenching to discover that there are gaps in information or parts of your story that are actually downright lies, says Andrea Abraham. People have to live with this incomplete biography. It affects their sense of identity and belonging. “There are still thousands of adults in Switzerland who have unanswered questions.” The Federal Council wants to ban international adoption. “It is the only way to fully prevent abuses of the system,” Justice Minister Beat Jans argues. Monitoring what happens in the countries of origin is extremely difficult and time-consuming. The Hague Adoption Convention, which came into force in Switzerland in 2003, is an example of the significant progress that has already been made, but there are limits to its scope, he adds. The Federal Council intends to flesh out its plans by the end of 2026. A ban could come into force by 2030 at the earliest. Among those directly affected some are vehemently opposed to the government’s plan. “Without international adoption, I probably would never have grown up in a loving family,” says EVP National Councillor Nik Gugger, who was adopted from India as a young boy. Within a month, he collected over 10,000 signatures for a petition to prevent a blanket ban. Nik Gugger is fighting against tight restrictions. Born in India and adopted by Swiss parents, he talks about his luck: thanks to this adoption, he was “able to grow up in a loving family”. Photo: Keystone Gugger believes that the Hague Convention already has effective safeguards in place – but that a high bar should also be set for countries of origin, with professional support provided in Switzerland. “The practices of yesteryear are no longer possible,” says Centre Party National Councillor Stefan Müller-Altermatt, who is the adoptive father of a boy from Armenia. Full documentation and trans- “They can continue to adopt children in accordance with the laws of their country of residence,” says Joëlle Schickel-Küng from the Federal Office of Justice. Foreign adoptions will, in principle, be recognised in Switzerland if they take place in the country where the adoptive parents live. Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4 15
JÜRG STEINER Climate activists could maybe learn a trick or two from Grison’s decision to ban cars in the early 20th century – a move that went against the grain but commanded majority support within the canton. “People of Grisons!” exhorted the banner. “Do you really wish to graft and grovel for those who roar past you in their motor cars with an air of haughty contempt?” The rhetoric went full-throttle, more or less turning the anti-car argument into a class war. Twenty years after the first automobile had been patented by German engineer Carl Benz in 1886, cars were portrayed as “stink boxes” flaunted by flash tourists from the lowlands. The canton’s Alpine valleys would be engulfed in dust, noise and stench if nothing was done to stop them. It took a remarkably long time for such views to change. Grisons became a car-free enclave, banning all motor vehicles between 1900 and 1925 – longer than anywhere else in Europe. Bolting horses It was the Grisons cantonal government, no less, that crank-started the prohibition on cars, taking the public’s concerns seriously. Baulking at the prospect of these newfangled contraptions endangering other road users on the narrow, winding mountain passes of Engadine, it issued its canton-wide ban in 1900. If visiting motorists came rattling around the corner, carriage drivers feared that their horses would bolt and take them and their passengers down the mountain with them. Cars quickly became an accepted form of transport elsewhere in Switzerland. After the ban came into force in Grisons, officials in Chur soon began to worry that being car-free could put the canton at an economic disadvantage. Yet the all-male electorate (women were not allowed to vote) remained unmoved. The ban survived nine consecutive popular votes, despite road users occasionally taking matters into their own hands: photos of the time bear testimony to vehicles being pulled by horses once they passed into Grisons. It was not until 21 June 1925 that a narrow majority voted in favour of the motor car. Some suspect – not Grisons – from car-free to four-wheel drive Grisons was stubbornly anti-automobile until 1925. One hundred years later, the Alpine canton now leads the way in road infrastructure and cars per capita. We look at the hairpins that were negotiated in between. republished essay to mark the 100th anniversary of the ban being lifted. From June 1925, the car began to take the 150 valleys of Switzerland’s largest canton by storm, it is now safe to say. Only 136 passenger cars were registered in Grisons at the end of 1925. The number is now 126,000. The canton leads the way in numerous mobility-related “disciplines”, scoring above the national average in terms of cars per capita. There are significantly more cars than households in Grisons. Based on the latest information from the Federal Statistical Office, people in the canton have a penchant for buying big, expensive cars. And the proportion of new fourwheel-drive vehicles is higher than anywhere else in Switzerland. Driving over the mountains Grisons historian Simon Bundi has followed the story of automobiles closely. He curates the car museum at Emil Frey Classics in Safenwil (canton of Aargau) and has led a research project devoted to 100 years of the motor car in Grisons, the results of which are now available in a book. There are several reasons why the ban lasted so long, Bundi tells us. Grisons is Switzerland’s most sparsely populated canton, statistically speaking. But it has an extensive transport network. Back then, there were significant doubts as to whether a relatively small number of taxpayers would be able to cover the cost of maintaining roads for cars. People feared that the financial burden might be too great. At almost the same time as the advent of the automobile, Grisons had also made the expensive decision to establish the Rhaetian Railway (RhB). The RhB regarded the car as a comwithout reason – that the June date was chosen deliberately, because farmers would be up in the pastures and unable to vote no. More cars than households Cars were permitted with immediate effect thereafter. Pockets of opposition remained, and nails would sometimes be scattered on roads. And the police were unforgiving towards motorists who broke the speed limit (12 km/h in towns and villages; 40 km/h outside built-up areas), as Bernese author Balts Nill recounts in “GR!”, a The canton’s Alpine valleys would be engulfed in dust, noise and stench if nothing was done to stop them. Argument of those in favour of a car ban Higher, farther, faster, more beautiful? In search of somewhat unconventional Swiss records This edition: the canton that resisted the lure of the motor car longer than anywhere else. Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4 16 Report
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