Dangerous neutrality?
Despite its location in central Europe, Switzerland managed to remain neutral through two horrendous conflicts, although it did not totally avoid wartime controversies
Switzerland’s determination to remain neutral in the face of two world wars was fraught with risk
In 1914 Switzerland had been officially neutral for almost 100 years and its army had last fought during a short civil war in 1847. Compared to its surrounding neighbours’ armed forces the Swiss army was small and numbered 450,000 civilian conscripts. Half of these men were reservists, and the only full-time soldiers were 240 officer instructors and 100 fortification engineers.
When war broke out it was feared that
France or Germany would invade Switzerland to outflank their opponents. The Western Front itself literally ended on the Swiss border in an area called ‘Kilometre Zero’. A series of bunkers and observation posts were built that were marked with the Swiss flag to ensure that belligerent soldiers would not fire at them. There were other defences, such as trenches, barbed wire and supporting artillery, but relations between the Swiss and fighting troops remained good.
The fear of invasion eventually wore off and the Swiss initially benefitted from trade with fighting nations, but by 1916 the war was causing shortages. Once Italy entered the war on the Allied side Switzerland was surrounded by warring countries. 40 per cent of food was imported and 80 per cent of that came from Allied countries, so Switzerland’s neutrality was compromised by reactionary German economic pressure. Rationing was introduced and civil unrest became a problem.
Pro-german and pro-french supporters were often divided by language, and the government had to suspend or caution newspapers for un-neutral attitudes. Two Swiss army colonels were sacked after passing intelligence reports to German and Austrian military attachés.
The country also became a haven for political exiles, the most famous being Vladimir Lenin. Switzerland inadvertently contributed to the Russian Revolution when the ‘Sealed Train’ that transported Lenin and other Bolsheviks back to Russia in 1917 began its journey from Zurich.
There was also a humanitarian aspect to Switzerland’s neutrality. The International
Red Cross provided substantial assistance to prisoners of war on both sides. This took the form of regular inspections of prison camps, mass mail deliveries and interning seriously ill or wounded POWS in Switzerland itself.
“A pimple on the face of Europe”
Switzerland’s successful neutrality during WWI enabled the Swiss to learn valuable lessons. But they would endure a greater test during WWII. The politics of Europe had poisoned during the interwar period and by 1939 Switzerland was bordered by Nazi Germany, Anschluss Austria and Fascist Italy. Despite deep German connections, Adolf Hitler mockingly referred to his Alpine neighbour as “a pimple on the face of Europe” and drew up invasion plans known as ‘Operation Tannenbaum’.
The Swiss responded by mobilising their defence forces three days before Germany invaded Poland on 28 August 1939, and the country remained on high alert until 1945. 11 German aircraft were actually shot down in 1940 by the Swiss air force when they violated neutral airspace. By the end of the year Switzerland was completely surrounded by Axis forces, including occupied France. The Swiss remained defiant and even planned to fight a guerrilla war in the Alps. The borders were also reinforced with concrete bunkers and tank traps.
Unlike WWI, most Swiss newspapers supported the Allies and support for Nazism among the general population was low. Switzerland sheltered over 180,000 civilian refugees during the war, but it was not free from Nazi connections. Thousands of Jewish refugees were refused entry and the country was tainted by several financial scandals, the most famous being the accusation of buying ‘Nazi Gold’. This was Jewish gold that had been stolen by the Nazis and then bought by amoral Swiss financiers.
Interned POWS were also not safe from controversy. Captain André Béguin ran a notorious internment camp at Wauwilermoos where POWS were held in filthy huts. Béguin was a Nazi sympathiser who withheld Red Cross parcels from prisoners, and the living conditions included cold barracks, poor food and primitive toilets. This was ironically a direct contravention of the Geneva Convention, and Béguin was belatedly punished in 1946.
Despite these dark episodes, the Swiss largely distanced themselves from the repressive regimes that surrounded them. Their own far-right party, the National Front, was banned in 1940, and the Red Cross provided care and assistance to POWS worldwide on an even bigger scale than it had in WWI. By 1945, the country had managed to maintain its neutrality despite the carnage that raged beyond its borders.
“THOUSANDS OF JEWISH REFUGEES WERE REFUSED ENTRY AND THE COUNTRY WAS TAINTED BY SEVERAL FINANCIAL SCANDALS WITH THE MOST FAMOUS BEING THE ACCUSATION OF BUYING “NAZI GOLD”