John F. Kennedy was never on the Chutzen, yet there is a memorial stone in his honor on the highest point of the Belpberg. Hardly anyone knows about it, nowhere is the story written down. But if you start looking for traces, you will find them.
"Kennedy memorial on the Chutzen", is written in the brochure about sights and local history of the Gantrisch region. A Kennedy memorial on the highest point of the Belpberg? As famous as John F. Kennedy still is after his death, the memorial in his honor on the highest point of the Belpberg is unknown. Why is it there of all places? Why in honor of Kennedy? Because JFK was in Berlin, but never on Chutzen.
Getting information about the memorial is difficult. He knows "very, very little" about it, says Fritz Tschirren, mayor of Belpberg, on the phone. Hardly anyone climbs the Chutzen because of this memorial - "at the most, insiders". Belp's mayor Rudolf Neuenschwander can't help either, "Google" and "Wikipedia" are no help either. There is only one way: You have to search for clues.
The inscription on the granite
Chutzen Belpberg, 892 meters above sea level. The view of the Alps, the Aare valley and the Jura is phenomenal. The large lime tree provides shade, the wooden benches invite you to linger and enjoy. Somewhat off to the side, a little hidden among fir and thorn bushes, stands the memorial. It is about 1.5 meters high and 80 centimeters wide on average. "In honor of the memory of the unforgettable President of the U.S.A. John F. Kennedy," is chiseled into the granite. And, "Dedicated Oct. 23, 1964, Pro Libertate Association." A swarm of flies buzzes around the stone; trash lies around in the bushes.
Mössinger and the Pro Libertate
Further information about this unknown monument can be obtained at the nearby Restaurant Chutzen: Owner Ernst Ulrich is namely a contemporary witness of that time. "Yes, I was there at the inauguration ceremony," says Ulrich, who grew up in the community of Belpberg. He remembers that Max Mössinger, the founder of Pro Libertate, was among those who took part in the celebration. Mössinger had founded the association in 1956, when the Soviet Union crushed the uprising in Hungary, and presided over it for 30 years. The real estate and property expert died a year ago in Gelterfingen.
Belpberg, not Längenberg
In the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, Pro Libertate is described as an "anti-communist, right-wing bourgeois association." When the East-West conflict had lost its power of orientation, Pro Libertate had fallen into a crisis. "The fight against the army abolition initiative in 1989 reactivated Pro Libertate," the encyclopedia says; the association stood "for the self-assertion of Switzerland.
"Chutzen" innkeeper Ernst Ulrich can solve one of the riddles surrounding the Kennedy Stone. Namely, why the monument stands on the highest point of the Belpberg of all places. "Mössinger came from the area here. He was of the opinion that there was already a memorial on the Längenberg with the Tavel monument. So he wanted to erect one on Chutzen as well."
Kennedy - symbol of freedom
So the question remains to be clarified why Pro Libertate honored Kennedy of all people. SVP councillor Thomas Fuchs, newly elected president of Pro Libertate, knows the answer: the association had always celebrated the anniversary with a ceremony in commemoration of the beginning of the Hungarian national uprising on October 23, 1956. "It was about commemorating those peoples who were deprived of freedom at that time," Fox recounts. Less than a year after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Pro Libertate dedicated a memorial on Oct. 23, 1964, in honor of the man who was "a symbol of freedom" at the time. At the dedication ceremony, Council of States member Dewet Buri gave an address, and U.S. Ambassador Henry Cox was also present. A U.S. flag and a Swiss flag were hoisted, and uniforms laid a wreath. According to a "Bund" article of October 21, 1964, referring to the ceremony, the Belp Music Society also performed. A feature on the occasion was broadcast soon after on Swiss television's " Swiss Film Newsreel ".
Book about forgotten monuments
What began at the time with a notable and respected celebration has largely faded away today. "This memorial plays no role up here," says Wirt Ulrich, confirming what Belpberg's community president Tschirren had already alluded to. But perhaps this will change - be it with this newspaper article or with the book by Fritz von Gunten. The director of the Kulturmühle Lützelflüh wants to write a book with the title "Denk mal, ein Denkmal". Forgotten and unknown sights are to be the subject of it. The "Bund" asks Fritz von Gunten what triggered this project. His answer is somehow not surprising: "The Kennedy monument on the Chutzen."
Source: Der Bund, Christoph Bussard
JFK Denkmal Belpberg
