Switzerland proposes ban on Nazi symbols amid surging antisemitism
Federal ban will include cryptic signs used by Nazi supporters, including ’18,’ the first and eighth letters of alphabet signifying Hitler’s initials and ’88’ for ‘Heil Hitler’
GENEVA — Switzerland is looking to ban the swastika, Hitler salute and other Nazi signs due to a rise in antisemitism, the federal government announced on Friday.
The Federal Council said in a statement that “banning symbols linked to the Third Reich has taken on a particular urgency due to the sharp increase in antisemitic incidents.”
It proposes an immediate ban on “the use of Nazi symbols in public” and imposing a fine of about 200 Swiss francs ($224) on anyone who breaks the law.
The Swiss penal code will be amended to punish anyone who uses “a racist, extremist, Nazi symbol or one that advocates violence in order to propagate the ideology it represents.”
Switzerland also wants to go further than banning the most well-known Nazi symbols, extending it to more cryptic signs of recognition used by supporters of Nazi ideology.
As such, use of the “18” — the first and eighth letter of the alphabet signifying Adolf Hitler’s initials — and “88” — for “Heil Hitler” — will also fall foul of the proposed law.
“The context will play a decisive role in this case,” the Council said.
Exceptions are provided for educational, scientific, artistic or journalistic purposes but “within the limits of what freedom of expression allows,” it added.
Existing religious symbols which are identical or similar to Nazi symbols will not be affected.
Consultation on the proposed ban will run until March 31 next year and includes a separate future outlawing of “other extremist symbols.”
As elsewhere in Europe, antisemitic incidents have surged in Switzerland in recent years and particularly after the start of Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip sparked by the terror group’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Last year, the Intercommunity Coordination Against Anti-Semitism and Defamation recorded 944 antisemitic incidents in French-speaking Switzerland — 70 percent more than in 2022.
“This considerable increase is largely due to the Israel-Hamas conflict which has served and continues to serve as a pretext for the surge in anti-Semitism,” the group said in its annual report.
In German- and Italian-speaking areas of Switzerland, the increase was less marked, increasing from 910 incidents in 2022 to 1,130 last year, according to the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities and the Foundation Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (GRA).
