Secret files scandal
The so-called Fichenskandal (also Fichenaffäre ) is a scandal of the recent Swiss history in the final phase of the Cold War. Fiche [ fiʃə ] is the French name for the index card. Derived from the word " Fichenstaat " has " sniffer state" formed as a euphemism for one in Switzerland. Approximately 900,000 state security fiche were created 1900-1990, they are now in the Bundesarchiv.
Expiration
To investigate the so-called " If Kopp " Parliament decided on 31 January 1989 to set up a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (PUK ), chaired by the then National Council and later Federal Councillor Moritz Leuenberger. The contract also included a detailed examination of the purpose of the state security operated by the federal data collection activities by so-called fiche ( tabs ) for which did not have the regular audit commission ( GPK ) sufficient powers, although they informed about the existence and number of fiche since May 1988 had.
In the late 1980s had come gradually to light that the federal and the cantonal police authorities had created around 900,000 fiche since 1900. According to official archives more than 700,000 people and organizations were recognized. The first recorded observation activities foreign anarchists, socialists and trade unionists Swiss, unwelcome political refugees and foreigners were expelled. Some cases from the 1930s and '40s dealing with Nazis and Fascist movements. With the advent of anti-communism, especially left- politicians and members were supervised by trade unions. Official goal of Fichierung was to protect the country from controlled foreign subversive activities to destabilize the system and subsequent establishment of a totalitarian ( communist ) dictatorship.
As a predecessor of this government monitoring activities of the Zurich FDP politician Ernst Cincera had created a separate file, which could be consulted by the private sector such as in connection with job applications.
The discovery of the Swiss public Fichenskandals moving strong. The confidence of many citizens in the state was shattered. Numerous citizens submitted applications to achieve the surrender of personal fiche. They were finally awarded copies of their fiche on which the names were covered by third parties in order to keep the identity of informants confidential.
Fight against subversion was a widespread slogan during the Cold War. The PUK brought to light how far this fuzzy concept was understood. As is apparent from the documents of the subgroup News Service and Defense (UNA ) emerged, felt zealous protectors of the state, " Left ", "alternative", "Green", the peace movement, Third World activists, women's movements, foreign workers, supervisors, anti-nuclear movements and religious groups as potentially dangerous because they could infiltrated enemy controlled or manipulated. Above all, the Ficheneinträge proven to be " partly extremely unsystematic and random" (PUK ), because the officers lacked a unified threat picture and was no concrete instructions on fulfilling this delicate preventive state protection order.
In connection with the investigation of Kopp and fiche affair also indications were found on other abnormalities. Thus, a report on the secret organizations P -26 and P -27 was created, but whose content is partially withheld from the public until today. Ambiguities still exist even with respect to the registration of Gypsies. That was an appropriate archive created is no longer in dispute today. However, as previously could (for example, as part of the so-called Bergier Commission, the independent committee of experts that prepared the history of Switzerland during the Second World War ) bring to light all the research of historians only individual documents in scattered archives and the authorities to this topic ausschweigen remains unclear whether this registry was destroyed or still in use.