Metadata: Estate of Rolf Bloch
Collection
- Country:
- Switzerland
- Holding institution:
- Archives of Contemporary History at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich
- Holding institution (official language):
- Archiv für Zeitgeschichte der ETH Zürich
- Postal address:
- Hirschengraben 62, CH-8092 Zurich
- Phone number:
- +41 44 632 40 03
- Web address:
- https://www.afz.ethz.ch/
- Email:
- afz@history.gess.ethz.ch
- Reference number:
- NL Rolf Bloch
- Title:
- Estate of Rolf Bloch
- Title (official language):
- Nachlass Rolf Bloch
- Creator/accumulator:
- Bloch, Rolf
- Date(s):
- 1954/2009
- Language:
- German
- Extent:
- 12.5 shelf metres
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Photographic images
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The materials in this collection document Bloch’s activities in Jewish affairs, business and politics, while only a few documents are available on his career. Most of the documents date back to the 1990s and the early 2000s. His commitment to the Jewish sphere is particularly well documented. There are several metres of files on his activities at the SIG (Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities), particularly from the time of his presidency. This makes his estate an important addition to the SIG archive. Since Rolf Bloch, as SIG President, became an important mediator between the World Jewish Congress and the Swiss authorities, this collection is of central importance for dealing with the Swiss World War II debate, especially since his extensive files on the presidency of the Swiss Fund for Needy Victims of the Shoah are available as well. The corresponding business files are in the Swiss Federal Archives.
In addition, the AfZ holds records of Bloch’s teaching activities. His commitment to the promotion of a Jewish-Christian dialogue can be perceived in many documents. Files on the Jewish Community of Bern are scant. The business records of his presidency are in Bern. His economic policy priorities are reflected in his presidency of the ‘Groupe de réflexion: Avenir économique du Jura bernois’ as well as in his mediation work during the collective bargaining dispute of Swissmetal, Reconvilier. The files created in connection with his many years of entrepreneurial activity in the Camille Bloch family business are kept in the company’s archives in Courtelary. The main part of the estate consists of text material. Manuscripts, notes, and correspondence provide insights into his thinking and work. Substantial collections of press articles document the events and discussions that shaped his work. The collection is supplemented by photos as well as audio and film documents of his media appearances.
- Archival history:
- Rolf Bloch handed his collection to the AfZ in 2006, which he supplemented with further smaller deliveries until 2009.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The entrepreneur Rolf Bloch was born in Bern on 24 June 1930 and died there on 27 May 2015. He was a resident of Plainpalais (now Geneva). The son of Camille and Edwige Rosalia, he married Michèle Levy in 1961. Bloch studied law at the University of Bern and graduated in 1954. He spent some time in London and New York before joining his father's chocolate factory, Chocolats Camille Bloch SA, in 1955. In 1960, Bloch became chairman of the Board of Directors and in 1970, after his father's death, he took over the management of the company. Between 1992 and 1998, he handed the company over to his sons Stéphane and Daniel. In 1997, he transferred operational management to Daniel. In 2005, he resigned as chairman of the Board of Directors and withdrew from the family business. From 1975 to 1985, Bloch was chairman of the Jewish Community of Bern. In 1988, he became a member of the SIG management body (Central Committee, Executive Board), from 1992 to 2000, he was chairman of the SIG. In 1997, Bloch was a member of the Swiss delegation to the London Conference on Nazi Gold and from 1997 to 2002, he was chairman of the Swiss Fund for Needy Victims of the Holocaust/Shoa (Holocaust Fund). In 2000/2001, Bloch was vice-president of the European Council of Jewish Communities. He was the founder and president of the Association of Swiss Friends of Yad Vashem from 2001 to 2008, then its vice-president as well as the vice-president of the Society Switzerland – Israel. From 1989 to 1992, Bloch was president of the Swiss-Israeli Chamber of Commerce. In 1998, Bloch became vice-president of FIAL (Fédération de l'industrie Alimentaire) and board member of the Swiss Association of Commerce and Industry. In February 2006, he was appointed mediator in the Swissmetal Industries AG conflict in Reconvilier by Federal Councillor Joseph Deiss. Rolf Bloch was also active in various foundations and organisations. In 1998, Bloch was awarded an honorary doctorate from Babson College in Boston and in 2000 from the Catholic Faculty of the University of Bern.
- Access points: locations:
- Bern
- Switzerland
- Access, restrictions:
- Partially restricted. Subject to application.
- Finding aids:
- An online finding aid is available.
- Links to finding aids:
- http://onlinearchives.ethz.ch/
- Yerusha Network member:
- Jewish Museum Hohenems
- Author of the description:
- Severin Holzknecht; Jewish Museum of Hohenems; 2019
