Harald Feller – Retter von Verfolgten, Gefangener von Stalin

Reading and discussion with the author Francois Wisard and Eva Koralnik, who was rescued by Feller.

EXPERIENCE | READING

The Swiss diplomat Harald Feller (1913-2003) lived through a very unique period between 1944 and 1946. During the German occupation of Hungary, he repatriated persecuted people to Switzerland and secretly housed Swedish diplomats and Jews. He headed the embassy during the Red Army's nearly three-month military siege of the capital. He was captured by the Soviet secret service and spent a year in Stalin's prisons. During his imprisonment, an investigation was opened against him in Bern, and former colleagues and the press accused him of collaborating with the Nazis or even having a pro-Nazi stance. After his return, he succeeded in proving the unfounded nature of these accusations. But no one was interested in that anymore.

Feller left the diplomatic service, became a public prosecutor in Bern, director and theater actor. It was not until the 1990s that his merits were recognised. However, he never saw himself as a hero, but as a person who only did his duty.

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The book by François Wisard sheds light on the various lives of Harald Feller on the basis of public and private, partly unpublished archives.

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Following the reading, author François Wisard and Eva Koralnik – a Jewish refugee child rescued by Harald Feller – will answer questions from the audience

Price: Reserved tickets must be picked up at least 15 minutes before the start of the event. In case of non-collection, the tickets will be charged.

Regular:
CHF 17.- Numbered seat
Reduced (members KP / Kulturgesellschaft Klosters / guest card):
CHF 15.- Numbered seat
Reduced (young audience up to 18 years / apprentices / students with ID / Kulturlegi):
CHF 10.- Seat numbered
Wheelchair user with accompaniment (regular):
CHF 15.- Numbered seat

Cast
The author Dr. François Wisard was born in law in 1963 and studied political science, history and French at the University of Lausanne. Since 1997, he has worked as a historian at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, including the Task Force "Switzerland – Second World War".
Since his first book in 1988 on the Jura question, he has written several books on Swiss history in the 20th century. Among them is a book about the Swiss Righteous Among the Nations and another about a Swiss officer who joined the Waffen-SS as a volunteer.
His last book about Harald Feller will be published simultaneously in French and German.
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Photo credit: zVg 2025