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Einzelbestand Franz Zürni (1912-)

Document | Accession Number: 2011.219 | RG Number: RG-58.015

Consists of primary source archival records, photographs, and a recorded television interview pertaining to Franz Zürni’s mission (1945/1946) to transport relief shipments on behalf of the International Commission of the Red Cross (ICRC), as well as Zürni’s personal papers and interviews. Includes photographs taken by Zürni of the Mauthausen and Buchenwald concentration camps shortly after liberation and a television interview (VLC media file) with Franz Zürni broadcast by TeleZüri on 21 July 1998. The television broadcast also features a segment on the conviction for Holocaust denial of publisher Gerhard Förster and his client, Swiss Holocaust revisionist and author Jürgen Graf by a Swiss court.

Alternate Title
Franz Zürni papers
Date
inclusive:  1914-1999
Language
German
Genre/Form
Photographs.
Interviews.
Extent
97 digital images : PDF ; 2.84 GB.

About This Document

Document Creator
Franz Zürni
Biography
Franz Zürni (born 1912) was a chauffeur. Zürni worked as a driver for 40 years for the moving firm Welti-Furrer. From 1939 to 1945 he served in the Swiss compulsory military service (“Aktivdienst”). In the aftermath of World War II, Zürni delivered care shipments by truck on behalf of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to the Prisoner of War (POW) and former concentration camps. Zürni was part of the first relief convoy under Swiss leadership in May 1945 with ca. ten truck drivers who drove via St. Margrethen towards Germany. The convoy arrived in Mauthausen on May 23, 1945 and, after delivering the relief shipment, continued on to Linz. During the nine months of driving for the ICRC, Zürni transported liberated concentration camp prisoners and drove shipments to the former Theresienstadt camp as well as prison camps in Bavaria, Flotow an der Weeser, Bad Oehnhausen and several other prison camps in the British zone. Afterwards, Zürni continued his employment with Welti-Furrer. During the Hungarian crisis in 1956 Zürni again served as driver for the Swiss Red Cross.

Keywords and Subjects

Administrative History

Holder of Originals
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich. Archiv für Zeitgeschichte
Legal Status
Permanent Collection
Provenance
Source of acquisition is the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich. Archiv für Zeitgeschichte (AfZ), Switzerland; the signature: NL Franz Zürni. The AfZ acquired the collection in 1999. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives received the collection via the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s International Archives Project in Nov. 2011.

Rights and Restrictions

Conditions on Access
This material can only be accessed in a Museum reading room or other on-campus viewing stations. Users are required to complete a User Declaration in order to gain access to the collection.
Conditions on Use
No publication and copies of the records and finding aids to the 3rd party users without the written permission from the Archiv für Zeitgeschichte (AfZ). The Museum may not transfer the materials or duplicate records thereof or any of the finding aids to any third party, except as permitted in the Cooperation Contract, Article II paragraph 5 herein or as otherwise permitted in writing by the AfZ. The Museum may not publish the reproduction material or finding aid on the Internet, World Wide Web, or any publicly accessible on-line network without the written permission of the AfZ. Contact afz@history.gess.ethz.ch.

Copyright Holder
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich. Archiv für Zeitgeschichte
 
Record last modified: 2021-05-25 09:18:54
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn44315