Raiffeisen’s founding period was investigated for anti-Semitism
Published: Thursday, Apr 18th 2024, 09:01
Back to Live Feed
Raiffeisen Switzerland has commissioned an investigation into the role of anti-Semitic positions in its own history. The results were announced on Thursday. The investigation was triggered, among other things, by criticism of the naming of Raiffeisenplatz in St Gallen.
In May 2023, a committee called for the renaming of Raiffeisenplatz in St. Gallen. The reasoning: The founder of the Raiffeisen movement in Germany was an anti-Semite.
At the time, Raiffeisen Switzerland announced a research report to show whether the positions of the Raiffeisen founder had also influenced Swiss organizations.
The report presented on Thursday by the Archives of Contemporary History at ETH Zurich now confirms that the Raiffeisen founder used anti-Semitic stereotypes and expressions. He later distanced himself from this.
Swiss Raiffeisen representatives had also adopted the stereotype of "Jewish usury". However, there is no evidence that anti-Semitism played a role in Raiffeisen's banking business.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic