Paul Grüninger

Grüninger attended a teacher preparatory school from 1907 to 1911. He also played football semi-professionally. In 1913 he joined SC Brühl and was part of the squad that won the 1915 Swiss first division title. Following completion of the military service, in 1919 he joined the police corps of the canton of St. Gallen.

Ostracized and forgotten, Grüninger lived for the rest of his life in difficult circumstances. Despite the difficulties, he never regretted his action on behalf of the Jews. In 1954 he explained his motives:

Whoever had the opportunity, like me, to witness those heartbreaking scenes, the victims' collapse, the cries of mothers and children, the suicide threats as well as suicide attempts – that person could no longer comply. I am not ashamed of the court's verdict. On the contrary, I am proud to have saved the lives of hundreds of oppressed people. My assistance to Jews was rooted in my Christian world outlook… It was basically a question of saving human lives threatened with death. How could I then seriously consider bureaucratic schemes and calculations. Sure, I intentionally exceeded the limits of my authority and often with my own hands falsified documents and certificates, but it was done solely in order to afford persecuted people access into the country. My personal well-being, measured against the cruel fate of these thousands, was so insignificant and unimportant that I never even took it into consideration.

In December 1970 as a result of protest in the media, the Swiss government sent Grüninger "a somewhat reserved letter of apology, but refrained from reopening his case and reinstating his pension". He was shunned as a corrupt womanizer and a Nazi for the rest of his life, and never again found a permanent job. He died in 1972, nearly forgotten in Switzerland,…

The stadium of the association football club Brühl St. Gallen is named in his honour. The Rhine bridge between Diepoldsau (Switzerland) and Hohenems in Austria, which was one of the locations in the film Akte Grüninger, was in summer 2012 named after Paul Grüninger. Paul-Grüninger-Weg in Zürich-Oerlikon