Swiss town's 1942 Jewish extermination recounted in Jacques Chessex book
Jacques Chessex's book recounts how in 1942, the small Swiss town of Payerne, in the canton of Vaud, practiced on a very modest scale what Nazi Germany would carry out across Europe: the extermination of Jews. The perpetrators—a garage owner, his apprentice, a pastor, ruined farmers, and a farmhand—are portrayed as miserable bunglers of horror compared to the officials of Auschwitz or Birkenau. The book details their instruments of death.
Key facts
- The event took place in 1942 in Payerne, Switzerland.
- Payerne is a small town in the Swiss canton of Vaud.
- The perpetrators included a garage owner, his apprentice, a pastor, ruined farmers, and a farmhand.
- The book is by Jacques Chessex.
- The extermination was on a very modest scale compared to Nazi Germany's.
- The perpetrators are described as miserable bunglers of horror.
- The book details the instruments of death used.
- The article is from artpress, published May 1, 2009.
Entities
Artists
- Jacques Chessex
Institutions
- artpress
Locations
- Payerne
- Switzerland
- Vaud
- Auschwitz
- Birkenau
- Germany
- Europe
Sources
- artpress —