Description
This is quite rare and unique – Schutzbrief
A 1944 Swiss letter of protection for a Berlin woman
In the summer of 1944, the approaching and inevitable catastrophe
becoming more and more clear.
A significant Swiss community lived in Berlin during the war; lived in 1928
still 55,800, in 1945 still 20,000 Swiss in Germany.
Also for these Swiss it was clear what danger ultimately threatened Berlin
The Swiss embassy at Königsplatz in Berlin remained open until the end of hostilities
active.
In the final phase of the Battle of Berlin, the embassy building was destroyed at the end of April 1945
occupied by Soviet troops and served as a base during the conquest of the Reichstag.
The members of the embassy who remained in the house were initially kept in the basement
imprisoned and transported to Moscow after the end of the war, from where they only left months later
were allowed to return.
Before the end of the Second World War, the Swiss Confederation supplied its…
Compatriots living in Germany with so-called letters of protection.
The letters of protection were clearly visible on the front door before the (expected) winners arrived
attached. The occupying troops had a great need for quarters and occupied them
therefore the houses of the Germans, but not those with these letters of protection
marked Swiss apartments.
Featured in a Book Berlin 1945 – Coming out 2024/2025.
