''Grüningers Fall'' is a Swiss documentary film that was produced in 1997 for the Swiss television SRF. The film focuses on the events of late summer, 1938, when Paul Grüninger saved the lives of up to 3,600 Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria by enabling them to migrate 'illegally' to Switzerland by pre-dating their visas.

Background

The documentary focuses on the fates of Jewish refugees who 'illegally' migrated to Switzerland before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In August 1938, Switzerland closed its borders to Jewish refugees who were trying to flee the Nazi regime. The crossing of the '' green border'' into Switzerland by Jews was declared illegal by the Swiss government so refugees had to be sent back to Germany or Austria. Furthermore, hundreds of people without a valid visa tried to cross the green border into Switzerland to be safe from

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, most of them by crossing the border to the Canton of St. Gallen. This "illegal migration" and the background of these border crossings, its support by officials and citizens in Switzerland, came to the attention of the Swiss immigration police. The events of August 1938 and thereafter and the characters base on facts respectively on historical personalities. Paul Grüninger was berated, dismissed from the police service and sentenced to a fine and loss of pension. Paul Grüninger died in 1972, nearly forgotten in Switzerland and without rehabilitation by the Swiss authorities – in 1971, the

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

Holocaust memorial foundation in Israel honored Grüninger as one of the

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

. In 1995 the district court of St. Gallen revoked the judgment against Paul Grünginger, and in 1998 the government of the Canton of St. Gallen paid compensation to his descendants. The Rhine bridge between Diepoldsau (Switzerland) and Hohenems in Austria, which was one of the locations in the film, was named after Paul Grüninger in the summer of 2012.

Production

The shooting took place at the district court of St. Gallen where Paul Grüninger was sentenced by the Swiss authorities in 1940. The contemporary witnesses came from Argentina, Austria, Germany, Belgium, France, and the USA to relate their experiences in Switzerland from 1938 to 1940. The documentary was produced by Lea Produktion GmbH, and based on Stefan Keller's book ''Grüningers Fall. Geschichten von Flucht und Hilfe.''

Cinema and television

''Grüningers Fall'' was produced by the Swiss television ''SRF''. It was premiered in Switzerland on 28 November 1997, at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

on 16 February 1998, in Austria on 20 November 1998, in France on 31 March 1999 and in Argentina on 28 September 2000.

Awards

* 1998: Swiss Film Award for ''Best Documentary'' (Bester Dokumentarfilm) for Richard Dindo

Literature

* Stefan Keller: ''Grüningers Fall. Geschichten von Flucht und Hilfe ''. Rotpunktverlag –

WOZ Die Wochenzeitung ''WOZ Die Wochenzeitung'', (commonly abbreviated as ''WOZ'' or ''Wochenzeitung''), is a Swiss, German-language weekly newspaper published in Zürich. History ''Die WochenZeitung'' (WoZ) first appeared on 1 October 1981. It cost 2 Swiss francs ...

, Zürich 1998, .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gruningers Fall 1997 television films 1997 films Swiss television films 1990s German-language films German-language television shows 1997 documentary films Films shot in Switzerland Documentary films about the Holocaust Documentary films about Switzerland Swiss German-language films