The Swiss Memorial to the Victims of National Socialism in Diepoldsau: Education Centre on the history of flight to Switzerland 1933-1945 in planning

In 2023, the Swiss Federal Council made a policy decision to establish a Swiss memorial to the victims of National Socialism at two locations: in the capital, Bern, and at a site on the border. The choice fell on Diepoldsau (across from Hohenems)—here, on the old arm of the Rhine, many people tried to escape from Nazi persecution, particularly in the summer of 1938 coming from Vienna.

Following an initiative by the government of the Canton of St. Gallen, the Jewish Museum Hohenems has been commissioned since 2025 by the association “Network for a Swiss Memorial to the Victims of National Socialism” to jointly develop the planned “Flight Education Center.” It is slated to open its doors one day in the Diepoldsau Customs House and will cooperate closely with the programs offered by the Jewish Museum Hohenems.

Meanwhile, in Bern, the competition for the “Memorial Site” in front of the Federal Palace has been launched, and the decision is expected this summer 2026, with implementation planned for 2028.

Current information can be found here: www.swissmemorial.ch ►

If you are interested, you can also subscribe to a newsletter there. The newsletter provides updates on the project’s progress from time to time in German, French, Italian, or English.

In 2024, the first conference on the “Education Centre on flight” project took place in St. Gallen. The participatory networking event brought together approximately 100 historians, exhibition designers, and cultural professionals from Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Germany. Participants discussed the status of planning for both Swiss memorials and potential issues regarding focus and interpretation. At the same time, the conference offered, for the first time, a comprehensive historical overview of the migration between 1933 and 1945 across all of Switzerland’s borders. The venue was the former Hadwig School in St. Gallen, the first point of arrival for a transport of survivors from Theresienstadt in February 1945 and the site that now houses the city’s University of Teacher Education.

Tagungsdokumentation St. Gallen (Juni 2024) Doppelseiten (pdf in German) ►
Tagungsdokumentation St. Gallen (Juni 2024) Einzelseiten (pdf in German) ►