PROF JEAN-FRANCOIS BERGIER (ETH Zurich)
Prof Jean-Francois Bergier was professor of social and economic history at the University of Geneva from 1963-1969 and Professor of History at ETH Zurich since 1969. The main focus of his work is the economic, social and cultural history of Switzerland and alpine countries from medieval times until the present. He is a member of Institut de France and the Académie royale de Belgique and has been Professor emeritus since April 1999.
In the 1990s he was appointed Präsident der Unabhängigen Expertenkommission Schweiz - Zweiter Weltkrieg (Chairman of the Independent Commission of Experts Switzerland - Second World War (ICE). Its role was to examine various aspects of the nation’s actions before, during and after the War. In December 1999 the Commission presented a report known as the Bergier Report.It addresses Switzerland’s refugee policy before and during the War, specifically criticizing two decisions by Switzerland that had a devastating impact on Jews attempting to find refuge there: in 1938, to stamp all passports with a ‘J’, and in 1942, the sealing of Switzerland’s borders.
