Vernissage: Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland DDS 1995
In the presence of our guest of honor, former Federal Chancellor Walter Thurnherr
Saturday, 3 January 2026, 4:30–6:00 p.m.
UniS, Room S 003, Schanzeneckstrasse 1, 3012 Bern
To register
The vernissage can also be followed via livestream.
President Kaspar Villiger carefully weighed his words in his historic speech at the ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. «Glorification is out of place», he said of Switzerland’s behaviour towards Nazi Germany. «But condemnation from a position of safety is equally inappropriate.» Ultimately, however, from his perspective «there is no doubt that we have incurred guilt precisely because of this policy towards the persecuted Jews» (dodis.ch/70376). Villiger’s speech to parliament marked a turning point in the heated domestic political debate about Switzerland’s role in the Second World War, which was to take on an unexpected foreign policy dimension with the issue of «dormant assets» in the following years.
However, 1995 not only marked the beginning of a deeper engagement with Switzerland’s own history, but also served as preparation for several future key issues, including the country’s key role as chair of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). With a view to its first OSCE presidency in 1996, Swiss diplomacy became involved in conflict areas in the former Soviet Union and in the former Yugoslavia.
Other challenges facing Swiss foreign policy included negotiations with the European Union (EU) on sectoral bilateral agreements, the revision of asylum and immigration legislation, and relations with the emerging economic powers in Latin America and Asia. All of these are part of the Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland 1995, which the Dodis research centre will publish on 1 January 2026.
We would like to celebrate the publication of DDS 1995 with our friends and all interested parties and invite you to the vernissage on 3 January 2026, 4:30–6:00 p.m. at UniS (Room S 003, Schanzeneckstrasse 1, 3012 Bern). We welcome former OSCE diplomat and former Federal Chancellor Walter Thurnherr as guest of honour at the event.
Programm for the vernissage
Begrüssung durch
Prof. em. Dr. Madeleine Herren, Präsidentin der Dodis-Kommission
Prof. Dr. Sacha Zala, Direttore Dodis
Presentazione del nuovo volume
Walter Thurnherr, alt Bundeskanzler
im Gespräch mit
Christa Gall, Bundeshaus-Korrespondentin SRF
Apéro
