Jews in Switzerland
Approximately 17'000 Jews are living in Switzerland at present, a good deal of whom are members of the 17 SIG communities. Jews in Switzerland lead a very active religious, cultural and social life, particularly in such urban centres as Zurich, Basel, Bern, Lausanne and Geneva.SIG Factsheet on the subject
Histoire des juifs en Suisse (PDF, 117 KB)*
Other SIG Factsheets on the history of Jews in Switzerland can be found under the heading:
Overview SIG Factshees «Histoire de Juifs en Suisse».*
* Available in French or German. Select your preferred language by clicking the language selection on the top of this site. This will display the content of this page (in either French or German).
The first Jews probably arrived in the area we now call Switzerland along with the Romans. In the Middle Ages, Jews living in many Swiss towns were subject to special discriminatory legislation. By order of the Pope and the urban authorities, they had to wear a special identifying symbol on their clothing and were not allowed to work as merchants or farmers or in any of the trades. Since the levying of interest was regarded as immoral by Christians , the Jews were obliged by the authorities to loan money subject to interest, pledges and guarantees. In many places during the plague years of 1348/1349, they were tortured, driven away or murdered. In the 15th century, however, the church the prohibition on interest for Christians, and so the Jews were no longer needed and expelled from the country. Since that time until the 19th century eased the Jewish population of Switzerland was very low.
Settlements in Lengnau and Endingen
From 1776, Jews were only allowed to settle in Lengnau and Endingen, two communities to the east of Baden in the canton of Aargau. Jews had to buy their right of abode from the local provincial governor. They continued to be barred from working in the trades or agriculture. Although a few worked as cattle and horse traders, most of them eked out a miserable existence as petty traders and pedlars. However, they were free to practice their religion. They were allowed to build synagogues and set up a cemetery. Around 1850, some 1,500 Jews lived in the two villages.
Full equal rights
It wasn’t until 1874 that Jews in Switzerland were granted full equality with civil rights and duties enshrined in the Federal Constitution. Henceforth they were free to choose their abode and profession and were no longer subject to special discriminatory regulations. Jewish cultural communities developed in around 20 locations. By the First World War, the Jewish population had grown to around 20,000 through immigration from the surrounding countries and Eastern Europe. After the First World War, also Jews in Switzerland were under threat from anti-Semitism both at home and abroad and were unsettled by the negative asylum policy pursued by the authorities against Jewish refugees. Despite the protests of churches, politicians and parts of the population, asylum seekers were turned away and deliberately sent to their deaths. The business of warding off anti-Semitism and caring for refugees was, by order of the authorities, for a long time at the sole expense of Jews living in Switzerland. This placed a heavy burden on them between 1933 and 1945.
After the Second World War
The period after the Second World War in Switzerland was generally marked by a strong commercial upswing and major social changes. Against this backdrop which created a more pluralistic Switzerland with greater understanding for different faiths and ways of living, Jews in Switzerland gained acceptance as a well integrated minority.