Founder of Swiss alpine botanical garden had links to Nazi Germany

The foundation that runs the park says it has a "duty to remember" and that it is "committed to communicating" on the subject. Keystone-SDA

The foundation that runs the Flore-Alpe botanical garden in Champex-Lac, canton Valais, has discovered sensitive elements linked to the past of its founder Jean-Marcel Aubert. The industrialist and engineer from canton Vaud played an active role in the German war economy between 1940 and 1944.

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These facts were brought to light by research carried out as part of the Alpine park’s centenary celebrations, which take place in 2027, and were presented at a press conference on Thursday. The foundation, which was taken over in 2008 by the municipality of Orsières and the canton of Valais, says that it has a “duty to remember” and that it is “committed to communicating” on the subject.

In addition to publicly and officially acknowledging the historical facts “without minimising or seeking to mitigate” them, the institution has decided to abandon the name Jean-Marcel Aubert in favour of Fondation of Flore-Alpe Botanical Garden.

An initial report dated 2024 documented Aubert’s involvement in France “in the ‘Aryanisation’ of Jewish-owned businesses at the beginning of the war, in particular Galeries Lafayette.” A more detailed report was submitted last May.

Translated from French with DeepL/gw

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