Von der Klassensolidarität zur humanitären Hilfe: Die Flüchtlingspolitik der politischen Linken 1930–1950

The 1930s and 1940s were a momentous period for the Swiss labor movement. At the beginning of this era, the two wings of the labor movement—the Communists on the one hand and the Social Democrats and the trade unions close to them on the other—stood in sharp opposition to bourgeois Switzerland and its political system. At the same time, they were also deeply divided among themselves. While the Communists were forced into illegality for four years from 1940 onward and subsequently became a political marginal phenomenon, the Social Democrats gradually moved closer to the political center. The refugee policies of these groupings within the labor movement, along with their differing and changing motivations, are examined in this book in the context of their historical development. From the “preservation of the capacity to fight,” to “solidarity with like-minded comrades,” and finally to humanitarian aid for “suffering people,” the book shows the discourses through which the Left called for refugee assistance, as well as where the limits of this engagement lay. The main focus is on the organizations of the Swiss labor movement—the Social Democratic Party, the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions, refugee aid organizations, workers’ relief organizations, the Communist Party, and the Red Aid—and on their connections with state authorities and other aid organizations at home and abroad. Another key emphasis is the practical implementation of refugee policy. By depicting the living conditions of refugees and the commitment of the “ordinary man,” and in refugee aid especially the “ordinary woman,” the book illustrates the theoretical statements on refugee policy. It becomes clear what difficulties refugees and helpers had to confront. Overall, the study shows that refugee assistance by the political Left was not an isolated field, but was closely intertwined with other areas of policy. With regard to refugee policy, it becomes evident that stereotypes—such as the notion of the Left’s general friendliness toward refugees—require correction