21 August 2020 – 30 May 2021

Borderlines – Basel 1933–1945

May 2020 marked the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. On this occasion, Basel Historical Museum is to stage a special exhibition about Basel during the era of National Socialism.

The Nazi regime in Germany and the Second World War had a significant impact on life in Basel and the whole border region between 1933 and 1945. The exhibition will inquire into cross-border relationships and ask where the people of Basel, the Swiss authorities and local businesses and institutions stood in relation to National Socialism and the Nazi state.

Refugees and refugee policies, the political climate, economic ties, the challenges faced by Basel’s Jewish population, the campaign to defend Switzerland’s cultural identity and everyday life during the war will be among the themes presented. The show will recount the fortunes of individuals as well as exploring borderline cases of all kinds, whether geographical, personal, legal or moral, providing plenty of food for thought on how we handle the past.

The exhibition will be trilingual (German, French, English) and will provide wheelchair access and be accessible via eGuide.

Download exhibition flyer

Basel Historical Museum

Tie-in publication

Grenzfälle

Basel 1933–1945

The tie-in publication to be published by the Christoph Merian Verlag in German is aimed at a broad readership. Where the people of Basel, the Swiss authorities and local businesses stood in relation to National Socialism and Nazi Germany has long been a subject of in-depth research and discourse and remains a topic of debate to this day. This lavishly illustrated book brings together essays by fourteen authors and provides a compact introduction to what is currently known about Basel’s situation during the Nazi period.

Printed with the kind support of
Berta Hess-Cohn Stiftung, Basel

Book in our online shop

Exhibition

Project Patrons

Rudolf Kappenberger’s jersey for the Swiss national team // ca. 1942 // Private property.

The exhibition is supported by

Stiftung für das Historische Museum Basel
Programme INTERREG Oberrhein
Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne
Freiwillige Akademische Gesellschaft Basel
Sulger-Stiftung, Basel (via Stiftung HMB)
Dr. h.c. Emile Dreyfus-Stiftung, Basel
Isaac Dreyfus-Bernheim Stiftung, Basel
Service for Combating Racism (SCRA)
Freiwilliger Museumsverein Basel
Ruth und Paul Wallach Stiftung, Basel
Dr. Georg und Josi Guggenheim-Stiftung, Zurich

and other patrons who do not wish to be named.