Prisoner of the swiss

Switzerland’s dark WWII history revealed

Author Daniel Culler and Rob Morris Publisher Casemate Price £20 Released Out now

Once a nation of mercenaries, Switzerland cemented its infamous position as a neutral state during the Napoleonic Wars. In fact, such was its desire to remain impartial that it rigidly enforced the 1907 Hague Convention requirement that all foreign troops entering the country would be interned in camps during World War II, resulting in the imprisonment of 1,517 US airmen that sought asylum there during the struggle to liberate Europe. Daniel Culler was one of them.

Feeling honour-bound to sign up in the wake of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Culler became the first flight engineer in a bombing crew that flew 24 successful missions over Germany. But his luck wouldn’t last — his plane was shot down during a bombing raid in what would have been his final mission.

Having avoided landing in Germany, the crew aimed for Switzerland, a place that should have offered them refuge. Instead, Culler found himself first interned in an old ski resort before eventually being sent to the dreaded ‘Black

Hole of Wauwilermoos’, a camp run by Andre Beguin, a fervent Nazi.

Abandoned by the US and the Swiss, Culler endured nothing short of hell. Forced to stand for days on end and given barely enough to eat, he contracted tuberculosis. What makes his tale even more horrifying is the fact that upon his eventual escape, he was forced to remain quiet for fear of upsetting American-swiss relations.

Mocked for decades by his own military, Culler’s perseverance led to official apologies from the Swiss and the US. But, far more importantly, he has shone a searing light on Switzerland’s treatment of its prisoners during the war, a crime that would otherwise have been covered by the snow of the Alps and the sands of time.