BERN.- In April 2023, the Federal Council decided to establish a memorial in the centre of Bern for the victims of National Socialism. The Federal Council considers it vital to keep alive the memory of the consequences of National Socialism, as well as the fate of the six million Jews and all other victims of the Nazi regime. On the recommendation of the municipal council of the City of Bern, the Casinoterrasse near the Federal Parliament was selected as the location for the site of remembrance. A call is now being organised to gather proposals for the its creation from multidisciplinary teams in the fields of art, architecture and history.

The FDFA has completed the preparatory work following a close collaboration with the City of Bern and the project's initiators. The location has been chosen, the programme for the call for proposals has been drawn up, and the jury has been appointed. Bern's municipal council has made a site on the Casinoterrasse available for the construction of the memorial, which the project's steering committee has approved.

The Casinoterrasse is a picturesque and historic location in the heart of Bern's old town. It offers an impressive vantage point and lends itself to a range of uses, making it a popular public space, and is also located in the immediate vicinity of the Federal Parliament and museum district. The planned memorial will thus become part of everyday life. It will be free to access, easily reachable on foot, and accessible to people with reduced mobility. It will blend in with the surrounding area in both artistic and spatial terms.

Launch of a call for proposals

The call for proposals is open to all interested applicants. In the first phase the jury will, based on eligibility criteria, select a limited number of multidisciplinary teams with particular expertise in the fields of art, architecture, landscape architecture and history education. The teams will then develop concrete proposals for the realisation of the site of remembrance.

The aim is to select a project that honours the victims of National Socialism, while also encouraging a deeper examination of Swiss history during the Nazi era and the present-day repercussions of the mass crimes committed. The design should be contemporary and aesthetically compelling, and should highlight the memorial's key themes—the persecution suffered, the links between the victims and Switzerland, and the question of historical responsibility. The site of remembrance is intended as a living memorial that creates a space for dialogue and promotes awareness of moral courage, solidarity, human rights and democracy.

The jury consists of six members representing the federal government, the City of Bern and the project's initiators, as well as nine independent members from the fields of art, architecture, history, education and museology. Madeleine Schuppli, an art historian and curator, chairs the jury.

A national project

When the Federal Council approved the creation of a memorial in Bern in 2023, it also announced its support for a cross-border educational centre, based on a recommendation by the Canton of St Gallen. Located in St Gallen's Rhine Valley, on the national border in Diepoldsau, the centre will focus on the history of refugees in the Nazi era, both in Switzerland as a whole and from a local perspective. Starting with the St Gallen educational centre, a nationwide network of memorials is being developed since the beginning of 2025 with the creation of an association funded by the Federal Office of Culture. This network is currently supported by the Canton of St Gallen, the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities, the Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Basel, the Archives of Contemporary History at ETH Zurich, and the City of Bern, which currently represents the newly founded support association.