was switzerland neutral in ww2

But why is that exactly? Although most of the Allied incursions into Swiss airspace were seen as accidents due to the many mistake bombings of civilians in Switzerland, some still perished due to this breach of sovereignty. This was meant to discourage American internees from leaving, getting caught, and ending up at a punishment campan even worse situation. The Lucerne art dealer Theodor Fischer, for example, who held two auctions (in June and August 1939) of modern art purged from German state museums, corresponded directly with Martin Bormann in the party Chancellery, Joseph Goebbels in the Propaganda Ministry, and Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, among other important individuals. neutrality includes some central contingencies like the internment of foreign troops, warfaring nations. 34. Jonathan Petropoulos is professor of history at Claremont-McKenna College, in California. S. Lane Faison, Consolidated Interrogation Report No. Thats Switzerland in a nutshell: Lets you and him fight and while you are doing so Ill steal you both blind. During World War II, neutral countries were charged with interning all Allied and Axis military, including people from nonbelligerent countries. Yet he kept Spain out of the war, while pursuing a program of self-interested collaboration. 12. if this would have had severe consequences for their military strategy. The Swedish economy was, for a number of years, almost fully integrated into the Nazis' New Order; the country supplied Germany with high-grade iron ore (30 percent of that used by the German armaments industry), as well as ball bearings, foodstuffs, wood, and many other raw materials. Switzerland had asked for international confirmation of it's neutrality in 1920 before becoming a Although the neutral countries often cited fear of German reprisals as their motivation for maintaining trade with Germany, the report found that many continued well into 1944, while Switzerland continued to trade until the end of the war in 1945. In 2014 the Pentagon recognized 143 airmen as prisoners of war. are not an encouraging sign for the 21st century. It does not preclude involvement in international affairs, or even partisanship. Switzerland has an impressive record of being the worlds longest standing neutral nation and has not taken a part in a war since 1505. They serve as an acknowledgment of the tolerance and understanding that have long been part of the fabric of Swiss society. 9. As a neutral player in World War II, starting in 1940, the Swiss selected the once-isolated town of Adelboden and converted tourist chalets and hotels to house internees. The Legation actively, albeit covertly and narrowly within the boundaries of international law,aided American airmen escaping internment and from punishment camps. Hitler's unwillingness to agree -- he didn't want to alienate Vichy France and lose its resources, including the French fleet -- strongly motivated Franco's ultimate decision not to allow the Spanish armed forces to fight for the Axis. So though the Second World War was a gigantic. How did Switzerland stay neutral during World War II? One transaction, in 1942, involved Gring and his agent Hofer, and the Swiss dealer Hans Wendland. And despite the paucity of support for the idea of joining Hitler's Reich, there were many Swiss who envisioned some kind of role for Switzerland in the Nazi New Order.10. Salazar provided shipments of tungsten to the Third Reich that were important for the German armaments industry, and allowed German espionage agents to operate in his country. As the report concludes, There was, in short, no such thing as uniform or absolute neutrality during World War II.. Switzerland exploited the former definition of neutrality to justify its lack of confrontational involvement in World War II, by side-stepping the war and the atrocities and unofficially providing aid for one side or the other. Due to pressure from Berlin, Switzerland began being more lenient towards Axis aircraft which encroached on Swiss soil, leading them away from Swiss air space rather than shooting them down.Swiss Bf-109. Even though Switzerland is technically neutral, there were times when it had to use its armed forces, most notably during the Second World War, when the neutral country engaged in combat against both Axis and Allied troops to protect its sovereignty. 15. December 12th, 2002, p. 3, translated from German), Independent Commission of Experts Knew nothing of this history. Alan Cowell, "Swiss Begin to Question Heroism in War," the New York Times (February 8, 1997). In dungeon at La Chaux de Fonds day and , in concentra[tion] camp 6 wks at Wauehl [sic] (nr Luzerne) never admitted you were escaping. How did the Partition of India happen and what were the consequences? The continuing efforts of the 4. Jewish refugees in Malmo, Sweden in October 1943, after their escape from Denmark in small boats. They knew Swiss authorities worked to block internees escape attempts and interfere with the Legations officers meeting and communicating with internees. 17 Lebenslufe und Todesurteile, 1942-1944 (Stuttgart: Huber, 1980). portalId: 20973928, by: Jonathan Petropoulos | January 01, 1997. As it turns out, this is wrong. This made Hitler angry as he was wasting German equipment against a country that he wasnt meant to be fighting against. Finally, Switzerland, as it was completely surrounded by Nazi held territory, had no choice but to cooperate with German trade policies. The Swiss did not want the Germans in Geneva but did not have. What has also come into question, but had not received any recognition until the 1990s, was the Swiss treatment and management of American internees. "36 Implicit in this assertion is the suggestion that Switzerland could not, would not, have acted less than admirably during the war. The Spanish, then, were much like the Swiss when it came to assisting refugees: while they attempted to discourage those seeking asylum, in the end they did save a number of lives. 26. How vigorous? "37 And still another journalist has described Switzerland's conception of itself: "a proud neutral country -- founder of the Red Cross, defender of democratic values, oasis of peace and multiethnic harmony."38. These conflicts materialized mostly out of confusion but nevertheless led to the unfortunate death of many Swiss and Axis soldiers. These aircraft were used by the Swiss Airforce to shoot down enemyaircraft. Important ranges remained however excluded, in particular the whole In matters of finance, the Swedes cooperated with Germany by providing credit, which allowed the delivery of vast quantities of military equipment to the Wehrmacht. Sweden, like Switzerland, was also deeply concerned about possible German aggression (especially after the occupation of Denmark and Norway, and Finland's entry into the war on the side of the Axis). Despite these conflicting actions, the neutral countries offered refuge to 250,000 Jews fleeing the Holocaust, though each countrys response was unique. "17), Because of the Germans' need for foreign currency and their hostility toward modern art, they were eager to dispatch impressionist and expressionist paintings to Switzerland. As for economic and financial collaboration: Spain played a role within the Nazi New Order, but retained a certain autonomy and prevented the Germans from completely exploiting Spanish resources. 23. Explore the Best Universities to Study History Abroad, Karolina Olsson: The Woman Who Slept For 32 Years. Late in the war, when the outcome of the conflict looked increasingly bleak for the Axis, Gring, Bormann, and other Nazi leaders dispatched assets, including works of art, to Spain, hoping to preserve them for future use. @media(min-width:0px){#div-gpt-ad-historyofyesterday_com-box-3-0-asloaded{max-width:728px!important;max-height:90px!important}}if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[728,90],'historyofyesterday_com-box-3','ezslot_8',113,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-historyofyesterday_com-box-3-0');witzerland is known for its neutrality during the 20th and 21st centuries. It is now time for those four nations to acknowledge that they were part of the Nazis' New Order and that they bear some responsibility for the tragic history of the Thirties and Forties. Perhaps it went into another direction than he had The Swiss counterpart of Wallenberg was Carl Lutz, who also worked as a diplomat in Budapest during the war and saved Jewish lives by providing protective passports; but Lutz was reprimanded by his government "for having overstepped his authority. The Swiss later expanded internment locations to accommodate greater numbers of American airmen arriving as a result of the bombing raids in France and Germany between 1944 and 1945. Yet, by 1940, Switzerland was completely surrounded by Axis powers and Nazi occupied land. My father was interned in Adelboden. What Were The Last Words Of The Titanic's Captain? This has been true ever since and during both World Wars Switzerland managed to remain neutral. - WW2 Special World War Two 795K subscribers Subscribe 271K views 2 years ago After the fall of France in June 1940, the neutral Swiss. These transactions, as with so many business deals involving Switzerland and the Reich, put Swiss businessmen in direct contact with prominent Nazis. In these reports, airmen mention that the cause and duration of imprisonment was unknown, and the ability to speak at their own trial was revoked. Switzerland has been a neutral country since 1815, with its legal framework ensuring it does not send weapons directly or indirectly to belligerent states. (Important Nazis used German officials stationed in Switzerland to transfer funds and transport objects in the diplomatic pouch. David Sanger, "Swiss Envoy to U.S. WW2 was a different beast altogether with Switzerland not banking on Hitler respecting their long-held neutral stance in European conflicts. Karl Lnd, Spionage und Landesverrat in der Schweiz (Zurich: Ringier, 1977), and Peter Noll, Landesverrter. 2022 History of Yesterday | All Rights Reserved. Here are 8 things! Because the Swiss feared that the appearance of "softness" with respect to its borders adjoining Nazi Germany would be an incentive for Hitler to attack (to undertake "Operation Tannenbaum"), they were highly vigilant in guarding against those attempting to cross those borders into Switzerland without the appropriate visas. Throughout the duration of the war, multiple skirmishes on the Swiss-Italian border between a mix of German and Italian troops took place. first report It can thus be argued that Switzerland was not truly neutral during World War II. This scheme, if in fact true, involved using Spain as part of the pipeline.32 The smuggling of assets is difficult to document with any precision. })}); World War II Internees and POWs in Switzerland. The Swiss were strongarmed into acting favorably towards the Allies, especially near the end of the Second World War, when bombing campaigns across the Alps were more active. research that has been done and published]. An "eternal peace" was signed between France and Switzerland as a direct result of Marignano. Finally, Turkey, which borders Europe and was also neutral until March 1, 1945, falls outside the scope of this article. Christian Zentner and Friedemann Bedrftig, The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich (Macmillan, 1991), 939. Ironically, assistance is exactly what they provided by laundering German plunder. The main reason why Switzerland was able to remain neutral was thanks to the non-invasion of Hitlers army. It didnt. The whole production capacity of continental Europe, an area having more than 50 times the The great powers of Europe wanted to ensure that Switzerland would not be influenced by any one power, and neutrality was guaranteed. 7. 7. No heat in winter quarters, inadequate and spoiled rations, food poisoning with no medical care left him emaciated and with gastrointestinal problems the rest of his life, and frequent violent nightmares. The fact that the coast of Norway straddled the North Sea made it an area of critical importance to both Great Britain and Germany, says Dr. David Woolner, Marist college professor and author of The Last 100 Days: FDR at War and Peace. Switzerland, a small and beautiful country situated within the Alps has been in a state of perpetual neutrality since the major European powers decided so during the 1815 Congress of Vienna which concluded the Napoleonic Wars. When World War II broke . Recap from the National Declassification Centers Public Forum, Case Files of American Airmen Interned In Neutral or Allied Countries, 194344, Escape and Evasion files at the National Archives, World War II Escape and Evasion Reports are now available online, Case Files of Interned American Airmen , 1943 1944, Card List of American Airmen Interned In Neutral or Allied Countries, 1943 1946, National archives and records administration. The infamously neutral Swiss bank were beneficial to the Nazis. During World War II, Switzerland was a neutral . Your email address will not be published. Moreover, the authoritarian Portuguese dictator, Antnio de Oliveira Salazar, was sympathetic to the Axis powers (especially after siding with Franco in the Spanish Civil War). Thank-you. It was like a German Concentration Camp. On December 22, 1939, Spain and Germany signed a treaty in which Franco "agreed to reserve the greater part of [his nation's] exports for Germany, in particular iron ore, zinc, lead, mercury, wolfram, wool, and hides. Since the Second World War, Switzerland has not engaged in direct combat on its soil. Hopefully, there will be more opportunities to digitize this series and make it available in the National Archives Catalog in the future. For most of 2020 and 2021, the National Archives at College Park, Maryland, was closed. At the Lucerne auction of June 1939, the institution's director, Georg Schmidt, purchased eight works banished from German museums.14 Showing support for this sordid Nazi venture, and profiting from it, evinced a certain mindset. PAIR (Pre-ADRRES [Archival Declassification Review & Redaction System] Indexing Review) is one of the tracks the National Declassification Center (NDC) employs to review classified records and manage declassification. Switzerland became a neutral country in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars. All Rights Reserved. Their brief accounts express their frustration, disgust, endurance, and relief. Swiss neutrality also had value (and the costs of invasion would be high), and the same went for Sweden in both wars. In this video, we delve into World War II Switzerland, f. The Swedes believed, at least for the first years of the war, that cooperation with Germany was necessary to preserve a precarious neutrality. Swiss rail officials cooperated completely with the Nazi government: "[T]hrough the transalpine lifeline of Switzerland's St. Gotthard rail tunnel flowed supplies between the Axis partners Germany and Italy. The country has been committed to its policy of neutrality so much that it still refuses to join the EU or NATO to this day. Some turned in internees attempting to cross borders while others gave them civilian clothing to wear over uniforms. The Kunstmuseum Basel, for example, took advantage of the favorable deals engendered by the Nazis' sale of state-owned modern art. American internees were held months without trial and were overall denied due process under the Swiss legal system. How To Open a Swiss Bank Account Swiss Etiquette: How to Be Polite in Switzerland 9 Reasons Why Switzerland Is the Best Country In the World Swiss Culture and Traditions Airmen either wrote their own statements or it was captured for them. It must be stressed that in Switzerland -- and in the other neutral continental countries -- there were many who opposed the Third Reich and acted in a humane -- even self-sacrificing -- manner. Robert Whealey, Hitler and Spain: The Nazi Role in the Spanish Civil War (University of Kentucky, 1989), 72-74. Independent Commission of Experts Reportedly, approximately 10,276,000 tons of coal was transported from Germany to Switzerland between 1939 and 1945. This, naturally, did not mean that Hitler had no intention of invading Switzerland, but rather that the cons outweighed the pros. The networks created with the help of the American Consul were a patchwork of contacts with safe houses and guides who could provide food, clothing, money, and transportation. formId: "4952e145-18a8-4185-b1de-03f7b39bda22", This accidental bombing resulted in the death of over 40 Swiss residents and the destruction of over 50 buildings, some of which were factories producing war supplies such as the German Bf-109 fighter plane. 5. International Law on Neutrality In 1920 all major nations confirmed, that Switzerland's neutrality towards warfaring nations as fixed on the 1815 Vienna Conference on post-Napoleon international relations would still be respected. Thanks for this valuable historical lesson. As a result, between 1943 and 1945, nine Allied aircraft were shot down either by flak or Swiss fighters leading to the death of over 30 Allied airmen. Many internees found their guides and contacts independently. 24. For a critical treatment of the Swiss and the International Red Cross in Budapest, see Arieh Ben-Tov, Facing the Holocaust in Budapest: The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Jews in Hungary (Geneva: Henry Dunant Institute, 1988). Ibid. Since then, Switzerland has been recognized as a neutral country by various treaties and has maintained an efficient military. Lost 30 pounds. target: "#hbspt-form-1688223398000-6296610860", Read more to find out all about how did Switzerland stay neutral. of the year 1997. member of the League of Nations (the predecessor to the United Nations Organization). Further, the American Legation had little insight into the whereabouts of internees. American airmen slept in offices in the American Legation, consulate employees homes, or in the woods and traveled on foot or by canoe across Lake Geneva to the French border. It can thus be argued that Switzerland was not truly neutral during World War II. Despite a concerted effort on the part of Hitler (most noticeably in a meeting between the two dictators and various ministers in October 1940) to persuade Franco to provide full-scale military support to the Axis side, the Spanish dictator refused to do so. Depending on their routes and missions, Allied air forces would land in Switzerland, Sweden, or Portugalall of them neutral countriesa preferred option to landing in Axis territories and becoming a prisoner of war. Ibid. On other instances, Jewish refugees were completely denied entry. 4. 17. Like Salazar, however, he refrained from completely crossing that line. This was just a small window into personal experience, however brief. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Thomas Sancton, "A Painful History," Time (February 24, 1997), 41. It is said that the American Army section in Bern warned the Swiss foreign minister about the mistreatment of US POWs, saying: The mistreatment inflicted on US aviators could lead to navigation errors during bombing raids overGermany. Overall, the records document their arrival at Dubendorf and eventual return to the Eighth Army Air Force station in London, England. Another description of Switzerland's sense of its own national identity was provided by the New York Times journalist Roger Cohen: "The neutral state stood in the middle between the globe's conflicting forces. 32. Walked past guards (in mtns) caught next morning nr La Chaux de Fonds, 2 kilometers fr frontier. Despite the apparent precision of these legal terms, neutrality for Switzerland during World War II, as well as for the other continental European countries that claimed neutral status during that period -- Portugal, Sweden, Spain, and the Vatican -- can best be summed up by the phrase, self-interested noncombatant. While German-speaking people in Switzerland generally favored the central powers, the. See Detlev F. Vagts, Switzerland, International Law and World War II, 91 AM. Contact: aneculaeseicg@gmail.com, P-51 Mustang shot down in Switzerland. Officially Switzerland maintains a policy of "Aggressive Neutrality" meaning that although it actively avoids taking part in conflicts, as evidenced by their air-force activities during WW2, it will defend its own interests with vigour. Conquering the small nation would not have been an easy feat. Your email address will not be published. Despite his ties to the Axis nations, Salazar also, at times, cooperated with the Allies. It would have allowed them to open a new front for the British, or given a staging post to invade UK. At the outset of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, the Nazis, through Gring and his agent Johannes Bernhardt, had established a trading company in Spain called the Sociedad Hispano-Marroqui de Transportes (HISMA), which coordinated trade in a manner advantageous to the Germans.29 In return for German arms, Franco eventually provided valuable mineral resources and other raw materials to the Reich. According to international law, there are varying kinds of neutrality. Switzerland's geographical location made each of the warring parties try to convince the country to join them. Some of its policies toward the Reich are open to criticism, but the Swedes acted commendably by providing a safe haven for Danish Jews, and they gradually extricated themselves from Germany's political and economic network after 1943. They were interned, with some sent to punishment camps, in Switzerland between March and September 1944 and through 1945. The Swiss did establish a series of internment camps during the war to provide sanctuary for a precious few: 200,000 refugees of whom 20,000 were Jews.3 The Swiss Jewish community and other organizations were then charged a head tax to support them.4 Many others who were fleeing the Nazis were turned away by the Swiss -- 30,000 Jews in 1942 alone were denied entry.5 Very often, those who sought sanctuary were apprehended by Swiss authorities and then delivered either to the Germans themselves, or, in the case of refugees trying to enter Switzerland from France, to officials of the collaborationist Vichy government. 2023 Anti-Defamation League. being neutral would call for a spirit of neutrality that was the prohibition of their passage or the prohibition of national supplies of war material to He was part of the 455th bomber group. OSS investigators, for example, found that Consul Rieckman of the German legation in Bern "received funds and pictures from Berlin for delivery to Hofer in Bern. How come? If you want to find out all the details about how Switzerland managed to stay neutral in World War 2, do. Recognition of American internees experiences, especially those sent to punishment camps, has been long overdue. But even those states that managed to stay out of the war, such as Sweden and Switzerland, found their ability to maintain strict neutrality hampered by the intensity of the conflict, Woolner says. stricter internal legislation on the export of war material and does take part in It was a diplomatic and legal tightrope. In an interview he even repeats Furthermore, Fischer often dealt with the German art dealers who catered to the Nazi leaders, such as the Berliner Karl Haberstock. Only 14 countries remained officially neutral throughout the entire war. Border control After the Nazis gained power in Germany, many racial minorities attempted to flee to avoid persecution. Even with this title being attributed to the Allied troops, it wouldnt stop the Swiss from defending their sovereignty against those who unlawfully encroached on their territory. Stephanie Barron, "The Galerie Fischer Auction," in Stephanie Barron, ed., Degenerate Art: The Fate of the Avant-Garde in Nazi Germany (Abrams, 1991), 138. "23), However, when it came to trade with the Nazi regime, the Swedes, for a period of time, accommodated themselves to the Reich to an even greater extent than the Swiss did. The Treaty of Novara ended hostilities between France and Switzerland, reaffirming the neutrality of Switzerland. Switzerland has used its state of neutrality to remain withdrawn from warfare for a long time. Unlike the Allies, the Swiss also had skirmishes on the ground against the Axis. and Other Assets Stolen or Hidden by Germany During World War II. Switzerland's reputation as a neutral safe-haven during World War 11 has been badly tarnished by recent revelations about its wartime transactions with Germany. For more on contemporary Swiss anti-Semitism, see Cathryn Prince, "In the Birthplace of Zionism, Jews Still Face Anti-Semitism," Christian Science Monitor (February 19, 1997), 6. As is well known, our commission has not After reaching France, many were transported by C-47 aircraft to London, to the Eighth Army Air Force Headquarters. Her latest book is Be Free or Die: The Amazing Story of Robert Smalls' Escape from Slavery to Union Hero. Paintings belonging to the dealer Paul Rosenberg, as well as to such prominent families as the Rothschilds, Levy-Benzions, Kanns, and Lindenbaums, were traded to Swiss dealers for more ideologically acceptable old masters and German nineteenth-century paintings. Obviously, accepting gold from both sides does not impede a countrys neutrality. Some of these airmen were sent to prison camps. that delivered a detailed study on Switzerland's role in World War II, Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Kept in small enclosure extra week bec[ause] of Amer bombing in Schaffhausen. Yet, at a time of war, the notion of neutrality is arguably as relative as the notion of virtue itself.
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