About 25 men of different nationalities, wearing symbols of the Third Reich, were stopped while hiking in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland.
As reported by public broadcaster SRF, “from head to toe, from their peaked caps to their hobnailed boots, the men wore Wehrmacht [Hitler’s army] uniforms.”
“There were swastikas and other Nazi-era insignia on some of their uniforms.”
The group hiked through the Wildhorn massif to the communiy of Iffigenalp, where they spent the night in tents.
Other hikers alerted the police, who intercepted the group close to their camping site.
What happened next?
According to SRF; the police instructed the group to remove their jackets bearing Nazi symbols.
“We wanted to prevent any confrontations with third parties,” they said.
This was, however, the full extent of their ‘punishmrent,’
That is because merely wearing Nazi symbols is not currently prohibited in Switzerland, contrary to many other European countries.
In fact, based on the principle of ‘freedom of expression’, it is still legal to display Nazi symbols in Switzerland — though there are moves under way that could finally change the law and bring the country into line with its neighbours.
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What is being done?
In December 2024, after a surge in cases of anti-Semitism in Switzerland —the Federal Council said that Swiss penal code should 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”.
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.
READ ALSO: Switzerland eyes Nazi symbols ban after surge in anti-Semitism
