Grüningers Fall

The film focuses on the events of late summer, 1938, when Paul Grüninger saved the lives of up to 3,600 Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria by enabling them to migrate 'illegally' to Switzerland by pre-dating their visas.

The crossing of the green border into Switzerland by Jews was declared illegal by the Swiss government so refugees had to be sent back to Germany or Austria.

This "illegal migration" and the background of these border crossings, its support by officials and citizens in Switzerland, came to the attention of the Swiss immigration police.

The Rhine bridge between Diepoldsau (Switzerland) and Hohenems in Austria, which was one of the locations in the film, was named after Paul Grüninger in the summer of 2012.

The documentary was produced by Lea Produktion GmbH, and based on Stefan Keller's book Grüningers Fall.