School abuse scandal taints Swiss chocolate maker

Abuse allegations at a private religious school founded by the former head of Laderach are taking their toll on the celebrated Swiss chocolate maker, with the Zurich Film Festival this weekend severing ties.

The Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) announced late Saturday that it had agreed with Laderach to end a partnership, adding that a documentary aired days earlier on the abuse allegations had "shaken everyone".

"We want to ensure that the festival remains centred on the pleasure of cinema alone," said the statement from ZFF, which will kick off its annual 11-day festival next week.

The announcement came after a documentary aired by Swiss public broadcaster SRF last week alleged that children at the Evangelical school in Kaltbrunn, in the eastern canton of St. Gallen, had been systematically beaten.

The school was founded in 1995 by Jurg Laderach, the former head of the chocolate maker, and according to the documentary, he stands accused of administering beatings, something he flatly denies.

His son, Johannes Laderach, took over the helm of the company in 2018, and ZFF acknowledged that no accusations had been made towards the current leadership.

But, it said, "the suffering of the presumed victims is nonetheless associated with the name of the family and the business".

A family legacy

The chocolate maker was founded over 60 years ago by Jurg's father Rudolf, and today it has more than 1,000 employees and over 100 stores across some 15 countries.

In an interview with the Tages-Anzeiger daily, Johannes Laderach said he himself had attended the school, and while he was never beaten, said "I experienced the climate of fear myself".

He insisted that the new generation was intent on shining a light on any abuse that may have happened and had several years ago ordered an external investigation.

A report following that probe described "a theology of fear" and a "culture of denunciation, manipulation and threats," according to the documentary.