Brief des Historikers und Aktivisten Hans Fässler:
Dear friends on either side of the Black Atlantic,
In the second half of the 18th century the semi-statal Bank Leu of Zurich was involved in a loan for the Danish crown which allowed Denmark to establish itself as a slaving nation in the Caribbean and in a plantation business on the island of St. Croix. But when historian Konrad Kuhn and lecturer Beatrice Ziegler of Zurich University requested access to the bank’s archives on behalf of Zurich City Council to carry out further research, they were refused on grounds of the bank wanting to protect the privacy of their customers.
I have the great pleasure today to inform you on the result of a struggle of nearly three years that, with the kind help and solidarity of many, I have been able to lead against Credit Suisse. Probably under pressure from the media, the threat of a possible entanglement via the City of Chicago and their Slavery Disclosure Act (see my letter to the Mayor on http://www.louverture.ch/KAMPA/KRITIKEN/letter_to_chicago.html) and thanks to the commitment of the present Mayoress of Zurich, Corine Mauch, Bank Leu has consented to transferring their documents relative to the period of 1754-1798 to the cantonal archives on grounds of their not onyl being semi-statal, but statal documents.
Speakers of German will find the official text by Zurich City’s government under: StRB Nr. 0885/2010 – Stadt Zürich
This decision, as communicated in today’s press, opens up the possibility for independent historians to carry out research into the slavery history of that bank. Let me put it this way: It’s a great victory for the little missionary, but only a little victory for the great mission.
Yours sincerely, with gratitude and in solidarity,
Hans Fässler
Historian, activist
Postulat von Alecs Recher und andere betreffend Sklaverei,historische Aufarbeitung des Archivs der früheren Bank Leu & Co., Bericht und Abschreibung