Bern - Switzerland turned away thousands of Jewish refugees during the second World War despite knowing they faced death at the hands of the Nazis, a commission investigating Swiss wartime policies said yesterday. The commission head, Mr Jean-Francois Bergier, releasing an 800-page report on Switzerland's policies, told a news conference the independent probe had noted two key steps in Swiss discrimination against Jewish refugees.
In 1938, after Nazi Germany annexed Austria, Swiss authorities decided on the "sadly famous" introduction of a "J" stamp in the passports of German Jews, he said. The second step came in 1942 "with the decision to close Swiss doors to refugees persecuted by virtue of their race," he said.