Paul Grüninger was a Swiss police chief who disobeyed orders so he could save about 3,600 Jewish refugees. He falsified their documents to indicate that they came when the legal entry of refugee was still legal. Grüninger was fired, convicted of misconduct, and stripped of his pension.

1 comment

1. [Paul Grüninger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Gr%C3%BCninger)

   Grüninger was the police commander of the Canton of St. Gallen that borders with Germany and Austria. Following the Anschluss, Switzerland closed its borders. That restriction did not make any exceptions for Jewish refugees arriving without proper entry permits, and in October 1938 negotiations between Switzerland and the Third Reich led to the stamping of the infamous “J” in passports issued to Jewish people. As the situation worsened and the number of refugees who tried to illegally enter Switzerland crossing the border increased, Grüninger decided to not send them back. He falsified their visas, so that their passports showed that they had arrived in Switzerland before March 1938, when immigration had been restricted. The manipulations of dates enabled the newly arrived Jewish refugees to be treated as legals, and they had to be taken to an internment camp.

   There, aided by the Jewish organizations, the refugees awaited their permits for temporary stay in Switzerland or their departure to a safe destination. Grüninger turned in false reports about the number of arrivals and the status of the refugees in his district, and obstructed efforts to trace refugees who were known to have entered Switzerland illegally. He also paid with his own money to buy winter clothes for needy refugees. The German authorities informed the Swiss authorities of Grüninger’s actions, and he was dismissed from the police force in March 1939. In March 1941, a court found him guilty of breach of duty, official misconduct and forgery to a fine. His retirement benefits were forfeited, he was cashiered, fined and had to pay the trial costs. The court recognized his altruistic motivations, but found that nevertheless, as a state employee, it was his duty to follow his instructions.

   It really seems like ACAB is true everywhere. They root out all of the genuinely good cops.

   >”Whoever had the opportunity, like me, to witness those heartbreaking scenes, the victims; collapse, the cries of mothers and children, the suicide threats as well as suicide attempts – that person could no longer comply.”
   >
   >Ostracized and forgotten, Grüninger lived for the rest of his life in difficult circumstances. Despite the difficulties, he never regretted his action on behalf of the Jews. In 1954 he explained his motives:
   >
   >”I am not ashamed of the court’s verdict. On the contrary, I am proud to have saved the lives of hundreds of oppressed people. My assistance to Jews was rooted in my Christian world outlook… It was basically a question of saving human lives threatened with death. How could I then seriously consider bureaucratic schemes and calculations. Sure, I intentionally exceeded the limits of my authority and often with my own hands falsified documents and certificates, but it was done solely in order to afford persecuted people access into the country. My personal well-being, measured against the cruel fate of these thousands, was so insignificant and unimportant that I never even took it into consideration.”

   After his death, Grüninger’s fate started to return into into the public memory from some publications, starting in 1984. Steps to rehabilitate him were set into motion. The first attempt was rejected by the Swiss Council. In 1995, the Swiss federal government finally invalidated Grüninger’s conviction: the district court of St. Gallen revoked the judgment against him and cleared him of all charges. Three years later, the government of the Canton of St. Gallen paid compensation to his descendants, and in 1999 also the so-called Bergier Commission’s report took part in Grüninger’s rehabilitation, as well to rehabilitate the surviving people who had been convicted during the National Socialist period in Switzerland for their assistance to refugees – 137 women and men received public rehabilitation up to 2009.