Leading Jewish figure and chocolatier Rolf Bloch dead

Well-respected: former mediator Rolf Bloch Keystone

Rolf Bloch, the former president of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities, has died at the age of 84, reported the Swiss Jewish weekly Tachles on Wednesday. Bloch was a key figure during the Holocaust asset debates of the late 1990s. 

A lawyer by training, Bloch took over his family chocolate business, Camille Bloch, in 1970. From 1988 to 1992, the Bernese businessman was on the board of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities. He served as the federation’s president from 1992 to 2000. 

During that time, there was a heated international debate on the role of Switzerland during the Second World War. Bloch represented the interests of the Swiss and Jewish communities. 

He was known for his motto, “Justice for Jews and fairness towards Switzerland” – a position he defended at a hearing before a committee of the United States House of Representatives. 

Bloch also served as chairman of the special fund for the victims of the Holocaust, making it his job to ensure that payments were made not only to Jewish victims and their families, but also to Roma gypsies and other victims of the Nazis. 

Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, called Bloch “the towering figure of Swiss Jewry in the past decades and a universally respected leader who will be sorely missed”. 

Lauder added: “Rolf Bloch was always a voice of reason, a thoughtful and witty man who was loath to grandstanding and who knew how to make things happen in his native Switzerland, which he loved dearly. Rolf Bloch was a fine man who always strove for fairness.” 

A memorial service is planned for Sunday in Bern.