The History of Switzerland's Neutrality
World War Two
Leading up to the start of WWII, Switzerland spent much of the 20's strengthening it's government and economy. In 1934 Switzerland passed the Swiss Bank Act, which allows for completely anonymous numbered bank accounts to be opened. This new law made Swiss banks very popular and they quickly saw an increase of accounts opened, especially by German citizens who wanted to avoid having their assets taken by the ever growing Nazi regime.
With the start of WWII in 1939, Switzerland once again began the mobilization of it's troops to defend the eastern borders and fortify any potential weaknesses in its borders. The declaration of neutrality was followed up by the threat that any invading force would be met with the full resistance of the Swiss army. Rather then the static border defense used during WWI, Swiss generals organized a strategy that heavily fortified the Alps and other mountain ranges on their borders. This tactic meant that any land invasion attempted by the Nazis would result in a loss of troops too high to risk. The risk of attack was also too high to the German economy, as the main form of transportation of goods between Italy and Germany cut through the Alps in the form of railways. Regardless of Hitler's hunger for domination, he left Switzerland alone to act as the lone neutral country in an ever-changing Europe.
Despite Switzerland's neutrality, it still was a vital part of the war and was referred to as the "Protecting Power". Switzerland monitored the provisions of the Geneva Conventions, protected civilians in enemy countries, guarded embassies, acted as a neutral territory for diplomacy, and took care of POW's. Switzerland also granted asylum to 55,000 refugees, many of whom were Jews escaping Nazi prosecution, although thousands more were refused entrance at the border. Many Swiss officials were instrumental in negotiating the safe return of Allied POW's as well as mediating any dispute over unclaimed territories.
Both the Allied and Axis powers violated Swiss airspace numerous times during the war. During the Invasion of France, Nazi Luftwaffe crossed Swiss airspace 197 times. Within a month of the start of the invasion, Swiss aircraft had downed 11 German planes. Once Hitler made his fury clear, the Swiss Air Force were ordered stopped taking down planes that violated their airspace. Despite these orders, the Swiss military still forced incoming aircraft to land with the use of strategically placed anti-aircraft units dispersed throughout Switzerland. Allied aircraft also violated Swiss airspace and like the Axis powers, many pilots were forced to land and subsequently became internment at various camps throughout Switzerland. Due to Switzerland's geographically location, they became victims of accidental Allied bombing attacks. After 50+ civilian casualties were reported after one of these accidental bombings, Switzerland issued a statement declaring that any planes, Allied or Axis, flying in a bombing formation would be seen as an immediate threat and Swiss airmen had the right to intercept them.
The Messerschmitt Bf-109 was a popular model used by the Swiss Air Force to intercept incoming planes.
Picture of Swiss troops patrolling along the Alps. During the war Switzerland purchased equipment from both the Allied and Axis powers.
To ensure that the economic troubles the Swiss faced during the First World War didn't happen again, the Swiss government quickly took control of their economy and began a rationing program and increased the agriculture within Switzerland in order to reach a point where Switzerland, if need be could be self-sustaining. Unlike during the First World War, the Hague Conventions allowed Switzerland to trade freely with any country it wished to in times of war. Because of this, Switzerland felt pressure from both sides to not trade with the other. During the war, Switzerland mainly relied on exports from the Axis powers due to their close proximity to Switzerland, however once the Allied powers gained back belligerent countries, Switzerland began trading more with the Allied power. Both the Allied and Axis powers sold a lot of gold to Swiss banks over the course of the war. These Swiss banks have faced a great deal of controversy after the war for accepting money and gold from the Nazi regime, some of which was taken from Jewish victims. That being said, the banking interaction between Germany and Switzerland only contributed to .05% of the German war effort.
Swiss border guards in the Alps during 1940
When the war finally ended in 1945, Switzerland was more than happy to help with post war recovery. Over the course of the next three years, the Swiss government and people donated 250 million Swiss Francs to the Swiss National Fund for the Relief of War Victims, which equally divided its proceeds among countries affected by the war.
With the creation of the United Nations, Switzerland sought out a postion on the Council, however neutral countries were not invited to join. This decision by the UN was reversed and in 2002 Switzerland voted in favor of joining the UN.
The Red Cross Central Prisoners of War Agency, located in Geneva, Switzerland