Circular of the Swiss Police Department, 4 October 1938.
Source : Yad Vashem Archive M.63/20. Federal Police and Justice Department Bern, 4 October 1938
To the Police chiefs of the cantons.
Controlling the Entry of German Immigrants. The Federal Government decided in today's meeting that German citizens with German passports who are not Aryan according to German law (German Jews), who arrive at any Swiss border crossing, are to be admitted into Switzerland only if they have confirmed permission to stay in Switzerland or confirmed permission of transit through Switzerland entered into their passports by a Swiss consulate. The latter enables them to travel through Switzerland without sojourning. The requirement of a visa for Austrian passports remains in force… As some time will pass until all German passports of German non-Aryans are marked, and until that time it will be almost impossible for Swiss border police to distinguish German Jews and non-Jews, we demand that you turn back all those who have no confirmation by Swiss Consulates. Those who have come from Germany are to be turned back to Germany. The same should apply to those who have entered from Italy, since Italy refuses to let them enter and France is not feasible because we hope to reach an agreement with France in which they will legally take some of our immigrants…
