Switzerland during the World Wars
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| History of Switzerland | |
|---|---|
| Early history | (before 1291) |
| Old Swiss Confederacy | |
| Growth | (1291–1516) |
| Reformation | (1516–1648) |
| Ancien Régime | (1648–1798) |
| Transitional period | |
| Napoleonic era | (1798–1814) |
| Restauration | (1814–1847) |
| Switzerland | |
| Federal state | (1848–1914) |
| World Wars | (1914–1945) |
| Modern history | (1945–present) |
| Topical | |
| Military history | |
During both World War I and World War II, Switzerland managed to keep a stance of armed neutrality, and was not involved militarily. It was, however, precisely because of its neutral status, of considerable interest to all parties involved, as the scene for diplomacy, espionage, commerce, and as safe haven for refugees.
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[edit] World War I
Switzerland had had an outpost and a hotel (which was destroyed as it was used by the Austrians) on the Dreisprachen Piz (The Three Languages Peak near the Stelvio Pass. Languages being Italian, Rumantsch and German). During the war, fierce battles were fought in the ice and snow of the area, with gun fire even crossing into Swiss areas at times. The three nations made an agreement not to fire over Swiss territory which jutted out in between Austria (to the north) and Italy (to the south). Instead they could fire down the pass, as Swiss territory was up and around the Peak.
The 1917 Dada movement of Zürich was essentially a cultural reaction to the war, initiated by exiles. Lenin was also exiled in Zürich, from where he travelled directly to Petrograd to lead the Russian Revolution.
[edit] Intra-War Years
One potential result of World War I was an expansion of Switzerland itself. In a referendum held in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg on 11 May 1919 over 80% of those voting supported a proposal that the state should join the Swiss Confederation. However, this was prevented by the opposition of the Austrian Government, the Allies, Swiss liberals, the Swiss-Italians and the Swiss-French.[1]
In 1920, Switzerland joined the League of Nations.
[edit] World War II
At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Switzerland immediately began to mobilize for a possible invasion. The entire country was fully mobilized in only three days. The Swiss government began to fortify positions throughout the country. The army and mobilized militias total strength grew to over 500,000.
Nazi Germany drew up plans to invade Switzerland, most notably 'Operation Tannenbaum', but the invasions were never carried out. The Swiss Army under Henri Guisan had prepared, in the event of an invasion, a plan for yielding parts of the Swiss plateau to the Germans, and for retreating to fortresses (the réduit) in the Alps, from there offering continued armed resistance, while the population in the occupied territory would have been instructed to resist passively and through acts of sabotage.
Nazi Germany never did attack Switzerland although they repeatedly violated Swiss airspace. During the Invasion of France German aircraft violated Swiss airspace no fewer than 197 times.[citation needed] In several air incidents the Swiss (using 10 Bf-109 D, 80 Bf-109 E fighters bought from Germany and some Morane-Saulnier M.S.406s built under license in Switzerland) shot down 11 Luftwaffe planes between 10 May 1940 and 17 June 1940.[citation needed] Germany intervened diplomatically on 5 June 1940 and with a second note on 19 June 1940 which contained clear threats.[citation needed] On 20 June 1940 the Swiss air force was ordered no longer to intercept planes violating Swiss airspace. Swiss fighters began to back down; instead choosing to force intruding aircraft to land at Swiss airfields. Anti-aircraft units still operated. Later Hitler unsuccessfully sent saboteurs to destroy airfields.[citation needed]
Allied aircraft also interfered with Swiss airspace during the war, mostly Allied bombers returning from raids over Italy and Germany. Over a hundred Allied aircraft and their crews were interned in Switzerland during the war.[citation needed] Switzerland, surrounded by Axis controlled territory, also suffered from Allied bombings during the war; most notably the accidental bombing of Schaffhausen by American planes on April 1, 1944. The Swiss town was mistaken for a nearby German town and over 50 buildings were destroyed.[citation needed]
[edit] Controversy over financial relationships with Nazi Germany
During World War Two, the Swiss franc was the only remaining major freely convertible currency in the world, and both the Allies and the Germans sold large amounts of gold to the Swiss National Bank. Between 1940 and 1945, the German Reichsbank sold 1.3 billion francs worth of gold to Swiss Banks in exchange for Swiss francs and other foreign currency.[2] Hundreds of millions of francs worth of this gold was monetary gold plundered from the central banks of occupied countries. 581,000 francs of "Melmer" gold taken from Holocaust victims in eastern Europe was sold to Swiss banks.[3] In total, trade between Germany and Switzerland contributed about 0.5% to the German war effort but did not significantly lengthen the war.[4]
In the 1990s, controversy over a class-action lawsuit brought in Brooklyn, New York over Jewish assets in Holocaust-era bank accounts prompted the Swiss government to commission the most recent and authoritative study of Switzerland's interaction with the Nazi regime. The final report by this independent panel of international scholars, known as the Bergier Commission,[5] was issued in 2002.
[edit] External links
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://c2d.unige.ch/int/voteres.php?entit=10&vote=101&lang=
- ^ The Bergier Commission Final Report, page 238 http://www.uek.ch/en/.
- ^ The Bergier Commission Final Report, page 249 http://www.uek.ch/en/.
- ^ The Bergier Commission Final Report, page 518 http://www.uek.ch/en/.
- ^ http://www.uek.ch/en/
