In 1950, the Rockefeller Foundation awarded a fellowship to Jacques Freymond, a professor of history in Lausanne, Switzerland, in order to visit various universities in the United States. This year abroad represented a turning point in his professional career. In the following years, the professor’s career accelerated, and in 1955 he became director of the prestigious Graduate Institute of International Studies (Institut universitaire de hautes études internationales, IUHEI) in Geneva. The rest of his career did not depend solely on this fellowship, but what it gave him facilitated a certain sequence of activities and duties.
One of the aims of the Foundation’s fellowships and scholarships was to create a worldview among foreign national elites that was aligned with, or at least in empathy, with the principles underpinning the functioning of American society and American geopolitical conceptions. In this respect – and from the Foundation’s point of view –, Freymond’s trajectory, reconstructed in the database “Élites suisses” (Swiss elites), can be considered a perfect success.
Born into a wealthy family in the Swiss canton of Vaud, Freymond studied history at the University of Lausanne, defending his doctoral thesis1 in 1939, at the age of 28. He was still working as a secondary school teacher when he turned to journalism in 1942, writing foreign policy columns for the Tribune de Lausanne and then the Gazette de Lausanne, two newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland. Through these publications, he made a name for himself as an expert on international current affairs. During the war, he also became involved in a cultural association, the Nouvelle Société Helvétique (NSH), like his father before him. Founded by Swiss intellectuals, this organization aimed to strengthen the cohesion of citizens around the nation by promoting Swiss arts. The association gathered artists, intellectuals, politicians, etc., and operated as an exclusive social circle for the elite.
After several years of involvement with this society, the historian began his academic career, becoming Professor of History at the University of Lausanne in 1943. Prior to his scholarship, Freymond enjoyed a reputation as an expert in international relations, both as a journalist and as a professor of history. Additionally, his active participation in associative and patriotic activities anchored him within Swiss society. These are precisely the qualities sought by the Rockefeller Foundation, since fellowship recipients were always selected based on their ability to influence local power networks.
The Graduate Institute of International Studies (Institut universitaire de hautes études internationales, IUHEI, figure 1) was founded in Geneva in 1927 with the aim of training staff for the League of Nations. The Rockefeller Foundation contributed to its funding and supported various activities in International Geneva in general. This was part of an effort to maintain a U.S. presence on the continent and foster connections with the League of Nations, despite the U.S. Congress’s refusal to join. The establishment was ran by Professor William Rappard, a Swiss economist, famous for his efforts at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference to have Geneva chosen as the headquarters of the League of Nations.
Figure 1: Villa Barton, the emblematic residence of the Institute from 1938 to 2013, captured here in the 1940s, before the first major renovations in the early 1960s.

Source: IUHEI archives, série 1.1.2. Photos, dossier 2520.1 Villa Barton 1927-1971.
© Geneva Graduate Institute, reproduced with permission.
After 20 years as head of the institution, Rappard began looking for his successor. At the same time, he recommended Freymond for a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship through Norman Buchanan, a Foundation officer touring Europe in the winter of 1949. Buchanan then travelled to Lausanne to meet the potential candidate.2 Rappard was probably already thinking of recruiting Freymond as a professor at the IUHEI. He may even have been considering Freymond as his successor. Nevertheless, the historian was missing one crucial requirement: he had no command of English, the Institute’s official language along with French, and no knowledge of the United States, where many students originated and numerous collaborating institutes and universities were situated.3 The fellowship seemed designed to remedy these weaknesses, and Freymond’s application set out a program of study that took him to the main centers of international relations study in the USA (figure 2).4
Figure 2: The “study plans” written by Jacques Freymond in 1949 to complete his application file addressed to the Rockefeller Foundation .

Source: Personal History and Application for a Fellowship reçu le 27 juin 1949, Rockefeller Foundation records : SG 10.1 : Subseries 803.E Box 478, Rockefeller Archive Center, New York © Rockefeller Archive Center, reproduced with permission.
The year he spent visiting various universities and research institutes in the USA to catch up on the “latest developments” (figure 3) not only provided him with the resources he needed to join, and then take over, the direction of the IUHEI. It also paved the way for his entire career and strengthened his integration into the national elite, by expanding his international network.
Figure 3: Jacques Freymond’s fellowship recorder card opened in 1949 following his application.


Source: Fellowship recorder card for Jacques Freymond. Rockefeller Foundation records, R.G.10.2.
© Courtesy of Rockefeller Archive Center.
Upon his return, Freymond took care to share his American experience on numerous occasions, delivering lectures at the NSH and at the Swiss Liberal Party. He wrote several journalistic columns on American society and politics, ensuring to portray a positive image of the superpower.5 In an interview conducted in the 1990s, he emphasized that America’s intentions did not revolve around global dominance:
I came back full of confidence, at the time of the Korean War, to find myself writing articles for the Gazette de Lausanne that were not understood in Switzerland, because I was explaining the American position in a positive way, and not in the negative way we were doing at the height of the Cold War here.6
After his trip, the professor spoke up for America in Swiss society, playing the expected role of a fellowship recipient. His renown and established networks within the nation enhance the effectiveness of his soft power endeavors. His experience as a fellow also enabled him to expand his network in academic circles both in Switzerland – he became professor of international history at the Institute in 1951 – and abroad. His integration into the academic elite and his expertise on current international affairs led to his recruitment to Pro Helvetia in 1951. Established by the Federal Council in the 1930s, this foundation promoted Swiss culture and arts in various fields such as music, theater, film, literature, etc., and aimed to foster “national identity”.
In 1955, he succeeded William Rappard as head of the IUHEI, where he “plan[ned] to introduce […], with caution, some techniques or experiments made in the United States.”7 In particular, he intended to set up a scholarship program, and to develop area studies. These ideas were suggested to him during a second trip he made in the United States thanks to an “other grant” from the Rockefeller Foundation, a few weeks before taking over as director of the Institute. Subsequently, his contacts with the federal administration and diplomacy grew considerably, as did his connections with the Swiss private sector, boosting his power and network in Switzerland.
For instance, he was invited to serve on a federal commission tasked with defining the criteria for recruiting diplomatic staff and determining candidate admissions. From 1959 onwards, diplomats were required to take a semester of specially designed courses at the Institute to further their training. Being part of this committee allowed Freymond to contribute to positioning the IUHEI within the framework of institutionalization and professionalization of diplomatic careers in Switzerland. He was dedicated to spreading American methodologies, particularly emphasizing the significance of political science in Swiss diplomat training.
Freymond also developed close links with the private sector, for example when he joined Nestlé’s Board of Directors in 1959. From then on, he used his contacts with business leaders to encourage the company to develop philanthropic activities on a Swiss scale. He believed that the business sector had a role to play in education and a responsibility to society. Here too, Freymond sought to disseminate American cultural and intellectual models in Switzerland, in particular the so-called philanthropic action, of which the existence of the Rockefeller Foundation itself is the product. American foundations originate from the fortunes of entrepreneurial families and seek to influence society in order to bring about changes in line with their founders’ visions. In this way, Freymond played an active role in the transfer of professional practices and cultural models produced on the other side of the Atlantic, in order to familiarize local elites with their American counterparts, in the private sector, administration and academia. His trajectory is closely linked to the objectives pursued by the Rockefeller Foundation in the distribution of its fellowships, particularly within academia and in the field of international relations at the time of the Cold War.
Further reading
This article is based on my Ph.D thesis : “L’Institut universitaire de hautes études internationales: l’empreinte de Jacques Freymond sur la formation des élites à Genève (1955-1978)”, University of Basel, 2023 (supervisor: Madeleine Herren-Oesch, co-supervisor: Thomas David).
- R. Ruffieux, « Jacques Freymond, chroniqueur de politique internationale, variations sur la guerre et la révolution (1941-1947) », in : S. Friedländer, H. Kapur, A. Reszler, L’historien et les relations internationales : recueil d’études en hommage à Jacques Freymond, Genève, Institut universitaire des hautes études internationales, 1981.
- C. Guanzini, Les origines de la Nouvelle société helvétique (1911-1914), Genève, Cahiers d’histoire contemporaine, 1989, p. 24-43.
- L. Tournès, Les États-Unis et la Société des Nations (1914-1946) : le système international face à l’émergence d’une superpuissance, Lausanne, Peter Lang, 2016.
- V. Monnier, William E. Rappard, Défenseur des libertés, serviteur de son pays et de la Communauté internationale, Genève, Slatkine, 2009.
- T. Kadelbach, « “Swiss made”: Pro Helvetia et l’image de la Suisse à l’étranger (1945-1990) », Neuchâtel, Alphil, 2013.
- F. Attal, « Reconstruire l’Europe intellectuelle : les sciences sociales en Italie (1945-1970) », in : L. Tournès, L’argent de l’influence. Les fondations américaines et leurs réseaux européens, Paris, Autrement, 2010.
- J. Freymond, La politique de François 1er à l’égard de la Savoie, Lausanne, V. Porchet & Oe, 1939. [↩]
- Rockefeller Foundation records, RG 12 (Diaries), Buchanan diary, vol.1947-1950, January 29-February 2 1949. [↩]
- Rockefeller Foundation records, SG 1.1, subseries 100.S, box 103, letter from William Rappard to JHW (member of the Rockefeller family), September 21, 1951. [↩]
- Rockefeller Foundation records, SG 10.1, subseries 803.E, box 478, document « Personal History and Application for a Fellowship » by Jacques Freymond, received June 27, 1949. [↩]
- For example, J. Freymond, “Poussée de fièvre : la campagne anticommuniste aux Etats-Unis est une réaction de défense dont les outrances ne sont que trop visibles”, Gazette de Lausanne, nᵒ 283, November 30, 1950. On the subject of the witch-hunt, the journalist moderates his criticism and considers it a “defensive reaction”, admittedly somewhat disproportionate, but responding to a real threat. Indeed, it was necessary to “prevent the destruction of the democratic institutions of which Americans are so proud”. [↩]
- J. Mayerat, B. Galland, « Jacques Freymond. Professeur et historien », Plans-Fixes, 27 janvier, 1993, see video at 27:53 (https://www.plansfixes.ch/films/jacques-freymond/), my translation. [↩]
- Geneva, IHEID, collection IUHEI, series 1.2. Conseil de fondation, file 289.4 CE – 14 novembre 1955, séance du Conseil exécutif de l’Institut universitaire de hautes études internationales tenue le 14 novembre 1955, my translation [↩]
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Charlotte Roy (June 15, 2024). Jacques Freymond, historian and actor of Americanization in Switzerland during the Cold War. Rockefeller fellows. Retrieved March 10, 2026 from https://doi.org/10.58079/11tzv