The Berne Trial (also known under the name of "Zionistenprozess") was a famous court case in

Berne Bern () or Berne; in other Swiss languages, gsw, Bärn ; frp, Bèrna ; it, Berna ; rm, Berna is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city" (in german: Bundesstadt, link=no, french: ville fédérale ...

, Switzerland which took place between 1933 and 1935. Two organisations, the

Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internatio ...

() and the Bernese Jewish Community () sued the far-right Swiss National Front for distributing anti-Jewish propaganda. The trial focussed on the Front's use of the fraudulent anti-semitic text, ''

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...

''. Ultimately decided in favour of the plaintiffs, the Front was ordered to pay a symbolic fine and court costs. However, the trial became significant both for the international coverage and also for the extensive evidence presented, demonstrating the falsehoods contained in ''The Protocols''.

Background

Meeting in Bern's Casino

The plaintiffs, the Schweizerischer Israelitischer Gemeindebund (SIG) and the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Bern, sued the Bund Nationalsozialistischer Eidgenossen (BNSE) (Swiss president: Theodor Fischer at Zurich) which distributed anti-Semitic pamphlets during a meeting of June 13, 1933 organized by the National Front and the Heimatwehr in the Casino of Berne (with former chief of the Swiss General Staff and Frontist Emil Sonderegger as main speaker). The National Front distributed a print "Die zionistischen Protokolle, 13. Aufl. 1933" edited and introduced by the German anti-Semitic writer

Theodor Fritsch Theodor Fritsch (born Emil Theodor Fritsche; 28 October 1852 – 8 September 1933), was a German publisher and journalist. His antisemitic writings did much to influence popular German opinion against Jews in the late 19th and early 20th c ...

. Silvio Schnell, the young man responsible for distribution of publications of the National Front was sued because he sold the print during the meeting. Theodor Fischer (BNSE) was sued as author of the pamphlet and editor of the journal "Der Eidgenosse" (Swiss Confederate) which published an offensive anti-Semitic article written by Alberto Meyer, Zurich, in the manner of

Julius Streicher Julius Streicher (12 February 1885 – 16 October 1946) was a member of the Nazi Party, the ''Gauleiter'' (regional leader) of Franconia and a member of the '' Reichstag'', the national legislature. He was the founder and publisher of the virul ...

"Protocols of the Elders of Zion"

Frontist propaganda declared the

Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...

as authentic, i.e. as a secret program produced by Jewry in order to gain worldwide political power and control by every possible means (e.g. supporting corrupt politicians, bombing in underground-stations, economic measures etc.). Fritsch claimed in his incriminated edition that the

were produced during the

First Zionist Congress The First Zionist Congress ( he, הקונגרס הציוני הראשון) was the inaugural congress of the Zionist Organization (ZO) held in Basel (Basle), from August 29 to August 31, 1897. 208 delegates and 26 press correspondents attende ...

at Basel (1897) and cited Rabbi Mordecai Ehrenpreis (1869–1951) from Stockholm Synagogue, who participated at the Basel Congress 1897, in a misleading manner as a pretended proof for Jewish authorship in the foreword of his incriminated print.

Litigation

Main Court Session, October 29–31, 1934

The trial soon focussed on the plagiarism and forgery of the notorious Protocols of the Elders of Zion. In the Main Session of 1934 witnesses were cited: Participants of the

at Basel (1897), among them Rabbi M. Ehrenpreis; then several Russian witnesses living in exile (mainly at Paris) to tell the judge about a possible Russian origin of the

(as a forgery by the Tsarist police to promote anti-Semitic feelings during the time of Pogroms). The alleged link between

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and Jews was also a point of interest and masonic witnesses were cited. The plaintiffs nominated these witnesses and paid a considerable amount to the Court to make the appearance of those important eyewitnesses possible, among them also

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( he, חיים עזריאל ויצמן ', russian: Хаим Евзорович Вейцман, ''Khaim Evzorovich Veytsman''; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born biochemist, Zionist leader and Israe ...

, the future first president of the state of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. The only witness nominated by the defendants was Alfred Zander, Zurich, who wrote some articles on the

in the newspaper "Der eiserne Besen" (the iron broom) of the National Front.

Witnesses at the Main Session 1934

=First witness

= *

, London

=Witnesses about Russia

= * Count A. M. du Chayla *

Sergei Svatikov Sergei Grigorievich Svatikov (Russian: Серге́й Григо́рьевич Сва́тиков; 1880 – 25 January 1942) was a Russian historian and political figure who presented critical evidence and/or testimony in 1935 in the Berne Trial ...

Vladimir Burtsev Vladimir Lvovich Burtsev (russian: Владимир Львович Бурцев; November 17, 1862August 21, 1942) was a revolutionary activist, scholar, publisher and editor of several Russian language periodicals. He became famous by exposing ...

Boris Nicolaevsky Boris Ivanovich Nicolaevsky (russian: Бори́с Ива́нович Никола́евский) (20 October 1887 – 22 February 1966) was a Russian Marxist activist, archivist, and historian. Nicolaevsky is best remembered as one of the leading ...

* H. Sliosberg (a Jewish lawyer in Russia) * Pavel Milyukov

=Witnesses who participated in the First Zionist Congress at Basel (1897)

= * Mayer Ebner, Cernauti/Romania (1872–1955) * Marcus Ehrenpreis, Stockholm (chief rabbi) * David Farbstein, Zurich (1868–1953) *

Max Bodenheimer Max Isidor Bodenheimer ( he, מקס בודנהיימר; 12 March 1865 in Stuttgart – 19 July, 1940 in Jerusalem) was a lawyer and one of the main figures in German Zionism. An associate of Theodor Herzl, he was the first president of the Zioni ...

, Amsterdam (1865–1940) * Franz Sieber (shorthand writer) * Hermann Dietrich (shorthand writer) * Otto Zoller (editor at the "Basler Nachrichten 1897)

=Witnesses about Freemasonry

= *

Theodor Tobler Theodor Tobler (24 January 1876 – 4 May 1941) was a Swiss chocolatier and businessman, best known as the creator, along with Emil Baumann, of the Swiss chocolate brand Toblerone. Early life Tobler was born on 24 January 1876 in Bern to Johann ...

, Berne (founder of well-known

Toblerone Toblerone ( , ) is a Swiss chocolate brand produced in Bern. Toblerone is known for its distinctive shape, a series of joined triangular prisms and lettering engraved in the chocolate. Since 2012, the brand has been owned by US company Mondele ...

) * Eduard Welti, Berne

=Only witness of the defendants

= * Alfred Zander (Swiss frontlist who wrote articles in the "Eiserner Besen"/the iron broom)(1905–1997)

=Witnesses cited, but not appearing before the court

= *

Philip Graves Philip Perceval Graves (25 February 1876 – 3 June 1953) was an Anglo-Irish journalist and writer. While working as a foreign correspondent of ''The Times'' in Constantinople, he exposed ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' as an antise ...

, London (gave written testimony to the judge) * , Vienna/Jerusalem (cited, but not able to come) * Alberto Meyer, Zurich (author of the incriminated antiSemite article "Schweizermädchen..." in "Der Eidgenosse")

Main Court Session, April 29 – May 13, 1935: Three experts

Carl Albert Loosli - Staatsarchiv Bern FN Jost N 9895

In the Main Session 1935 three experts intervened: (1) C. A. Loosli, Bern-Bümpliz (expert appointed by the judge); (2) Arthur Baumgarten, Basel (expert appointed by the plaintiffs); (3)

Ulrich Fleischhauer Ulrich Fleischhauer (14 July 1876 – 20 October 1960) (Pseudonyms ''Ulrich Bodung'', and ''Israel Fryman'') was a leading publisher of antisemitic books and news articles reporting on a perceived Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory and "nefarious pl ...

, Erfurt/Germany (anti-Semitic expert appointed by the defendants). The appointed experts had to answer four questions by the judge of the case, Walter Meyer: #Was the ''Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' a forgery? #Was it plagiarized? #If it was, what was its source? #Do the ''Protocols'' fall under the term ''Schundliteratur''? Further questions to be answered by the experts were formulated by the plaintiffs. During this session no further witnesses were heard. While the experts Arthur Baumgarten and C. A. Loosli declared the

as a plagiarism and a forgery produced by helpers of the tsarist Russian Okhrana, anti-Semitic expert Ulrich Fleischhauer claimed that they were genuine but of uncertain authorship, possibly composed by the Jewish author Ahad Haam and passed at a secret meeting of Bnai Brith which purportedly took place in 1897 during the

first Zionist Congress The First Zionist Congress ( he, הקונגרס הציוני הראשון) was the inaugural congress of the Zionist Organization (ZO) held in Basel (Basle), from August 29 to August 31, 1897. 208 delegates and 26 press correspondents attende ...

at Basel, Switzerland.

Decision and appeal

Eventually, the defendants Theodor Fischer and Silvio Schnell were sentenced by judge Walter Meyer in his verdict, while three other defendants were acquitted. The penalty was a quite symbolic fine: Fr. 50 (Fischer) and Fr. 20 (Schnell). However, the defendants found guilty would have to pay a larger sum of the costs of the trial and some of the costs of the plaintiffs. Commenting on his verdict in the court, judge Walter Meyer said he was convinced by his evaluation of the testimonies of the witnesses and the statements of the experts that the

are a forgery and "Schundliteratur" that might instigate crimes by agitation against a minority. Theodor Fischer himself and the lawyer of Silvio Schnell (Hans Ruef, Berne) immediately appealed to the Berner Obergericht which acquitted both defendants in 1937 on purely formal legal grounds, arguing that the term "Schundliteratur" of the Bernese Law is not applicable to "political publications" but only to "immoral (obscene) publications". The Berner Obergericht refused the obligation of the private plaintiffs to pay the costs of defence of the acquitted defendants explaining that "the one who circulates such sort of most vulgar instigating articles has to pay himself the costs resulting from them." Fischer had to pay Fr. 100 to the state fees of the trial (Fr. 28'000, paid by the Canton of Berne).

Funding

The defendants sought financing from the German Nazi party but were unsatisfied with the support they received. They also received support from multiple anti-Jewish organizations, especially the society ''Welt-Dienst'' (''World-Service'') of

, the expert appointed by the defendants. Joseph Goebbels' Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda initially promised support but later withdrew it. The plaintiffs and their supporting organizations financed a larger part of the costs of the citation of witnesses and of the pay of the experts C. A. Loosli and A. Baumgarten.

Important archival material, e.g. the so-called Russian Documents transmitted to expert Loosli

The various findings of the court, regarding the series of events leading to the publication of the

, are now regarded as a treasure trove of archival material for scholars and historians. Of special interest are the so-called ''Russian Documents'' transmitted to the expert C. A. Loosli with permission of the Soviet government by the librarian Tager in Moscow for personal use only, copies of authentic material from the tsarist administration, especially on the Russian Okhrana and on the

Russian Jews The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

. ,Boris Lifschitz, 1879-1967, was also a judicial adviser to the Soviet Mission in Berne during the Swiss General Strike 1918; the daughter of the expert C. A. Loosli was employed in Lifschitz' office in Berne. a Swiss lawyer in Berne of Russian-Jewish origin speaking both Russian and German, had contacts to the Soviet administration and played an important role in procuring the ''Russian documents'' and contacting various Russian witnesses to appear at the court in 1934 (who were all opposed to

Bolshevism Bolshevism (from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined party of social revolution, ...

References

External links

Pictures of the Berne Trial
*Som

(copied with kind permission o
Staatsarchiv des Kantons Bern
may be consulted online (in German)
Bern Trial on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion Collection
(AR 34) at the

Leo Baeck Institute, New York The Leo Baeck Institute New York (LBI) is a research institute in New York City dedicated to the study of German-Jewish history and culture, founded in 1955. It is one of three independent research centers founded by a group of German-speaking J ...

includes digitized original documents from the trial