Robert Tobler

Robert Tobler (December 23, 1901-June 17, 1962) was a Swiss far right politician.

Born in Zürich, he followed his father by studying law at University of Zurich and working as a lawyer.^[1] Initially attracted to liberalism, he came into contact with Hans Oehler and soon helped to found the New Front in 1930.^[1] As chairman of the new group he was heavily influenced by Othmar Spann, although fascism quickly became more important for the Front.^[1]

He served as Gaufuehrer for Zürich in the National Front and ran the party paper Die Front, which was funded by Nazi Germany.^[1] Tobler was elected to the Swiss parliament in 1935, becoming the only member of the National Front (or indeed any pro-Nazi group) to hold a parliamentary seat in the country.^[2] He took over as Front leader in 1938, leading to his predecessor Rolf Henne splitting the movement.^[1] Tobler attempted to find a common ground with the government, although by this time it was too late as the movement already had a reputation as firmly pro-Nazi.^[1] He was imprisoned in 1940 as a fifth columnist and the Front fell into decay.^[1] After his release he led the Eidgenössiche Sammlung and Schaffhausen Nationale Gemeinschaft, although both these groups were outlawed in 1943 as part of a wider ban on the National Front and its offshoots.^[1] Tobler took no further role in politics and died in his home town.

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