With the mass call up in 1939 though, the retirement age was temporarily pushed back to 60, and new inductees now underwent a four month course, and those who had been called up began training on a full time basis. Why were there no Hitler statues in Nazi Germany? When looking into troop placement, the mountains were an incredible asset for the Swiss. To this day, Swiss children are still taught the myth of the Guisan Plan: namely that it was thanks to Hitlers fear of a protracted war where the Swiss were fighting from an Alpine bastion that kept the country safe. Both countries had access to the North Sea, and their economies were more or less aligned with the Reich. As a result, Germany was able to buy strategic raw materials from Spain and Portugal. Military spending was increased in a multi-year plan costing hundreds of millions of Swiss Francs. rev2023.6.29.43520. Why did Hitler not claim the German-majority areas of Schleswig? However, the Swiss Confederation decided to remain neutral but at the same time maintained a posture of armed . You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. @KorvinStarmast: Over the many years I have delved into WWII history, I found there is a significant reluctance to give the Nazis any credit for actually having. What was Adolf Hitlers supposed charisma? During World War II, Switzerland's position was of great interest to the Germans and other countries involved in the War. Operation Tannenbaum Operation Tannenbaum ("Fir Tree"), known earlier as Operation Grn ("Green"), [1] was a planned but cancelled invasion of Switzerland and Liechtenstein by the Axis Powers during World War II . Why was Switzerland not attacked during the two World Wars? Teen builds a spaceship and gets stuck on Mars; "Girl Next Door" uses his prototype to rescue him and also gets stuck on Mars. You can see how strategically the country is located and also understand why Switzerland has 3 official languages! But dont worry, the Swiss speak great English too. Hitler is usually criticized for invading more countries than he could control. As I said, you can find partisans of either position still, and I dont know how to give true finality to the matter. Switzerland as a nation was immensely important to the German military machine and economic planning. anyway. Why is Switzerland not invaded in ww2? - Wise-Advices All over the world German merchant ships tried to hide in neutral ports to no avail as Britain and the United States found any means to coerce the country involved to hand the ship over to them. Just be grateful that sometimes he saw a country that he didn't invade. Let us know what topics you would like to discuss with fellow SWI readers. Its not that the Fhrer did not have a plan. The so-called Swiss neutrality was "a prime example of hypocrisy." Starting the Prompt Design Site: A New Home in our Stack Exchange Neighborhood. @PieterGeerkens They did it by air and by sea. Had he been given the choice, he'd rather have done without all this. Sweden was a vital source of iron ores to Germany, an important strategic resource for her war effort. In fact, "Operation Tannenbaum" was the name of the planned, but eventually canceled, invasion of Switzerland by Nazi Germany during World War II. They were happy to co-exist with other countries that were friendly, such as Sweden. But saying that "Britain started two world wars" is ridiculous. Throughout the war air men also found themselves in Switzerland for various reasons, which Ill cover later. The most important part of their force were 89 Bf 109-Es, and several 109-Ds (The MS 406 was being built in Switzerland under license, but production only began in late 1939, so few were ready, and it was inferior to the Messerschmitt anyways). I also explain about how Switzerland's economy was one factor, and what are the secrets behind their military strategy. What were electric eels called before electricity? The allied plans to occupy Sweden was cancelled so that reason disappeared. After the invasion of France, the most notable instance of this policy in action occurred during the test flight of a new Bf 110 nightfighter, equipped with Germanys state of the art radar system, and the new slanted music system of upward firing cannons. Why didn't Hitler invade Switzerland in World War 2? They agreed to look into the matter, but only if they could do the audit themselves. They are extremely different propositions, it seems to me. One of the first steps towards this was to demobilize 2/3 of the Swiss Army on Pilet-Golazs orders, with little secret that it was in order to not antagonize Germany needlessly. Switzerland has the oldest policy of military neutrality in the world; it has not participated in a foreign war since its . The geography of the Alps might protect the heart of Switzerland from a direct invasion, to a degree, but the Swiss Plateau is considerably more usable for military operations, especially if your end goal is entering France. Is it usual and/or healthy for Ph.D. students to do part-time jobs outside academia? -12. Had Switzerland been strategically useful or part of the Nazi ideology, as stated in Mein Kampf, then Adolf Hitler would have had no qualms in breaking his promise, just as he broke the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact with the invasion of the Soviet Union. Tax rules for multinationals, carbon neutrality, Covid prevention measures: it was a clear yes to all three issues on the ballot on June 18. In the event of invasion, 100,000 border troops were to fight a delaying action, blowing up everything they could as they fell back, while civilians were evacuated southwards, and the bulk of the Swiss forces moved into the highly defensible National Redoubt high in the Alps, where Swiss planners believed they could hold off German attacks indefinitely. Soon after that, the Germans set their sights on the UK and later the Soviet Union. The Swiss Army follows in line with Swiss culture and always have been well-maintained, high-quality, and efficient. How Switzerland do it and should we learn from them? It stopped in 1943 or so. Was Switzerland neutral or a Nazi ally in World War Two? History is For example, just to trade with Turkey was very awkward and required all kinds of wierd barter arrangements, even though Turkey was completely out of the Allied sphere of influence. Also, you should realize that the Germans were not just a bunch of frenzied madmen attacking everybody. The Allies of course put pressure on the Swiss to reduce trade with the Germans, but it wasnt until 1943-1944 that they were in a position to actually see this happen. Even if there was seen to be a reason to attack Sweden, it would have been greatly outweighed by the competing military need to hit France and Russia as soon and as strongly as possible, to prevent them from building up defensive positions or going on the offensive themselves. france&britan) in the first place. The Bergier Commission report is available for free online, in English. A few more maybe. Germany held the whip hand over Sweden, as over Switzerland, since both depended on Germany for their supplies of coal." First and foremost it is crucial to understand exactly where Switzerland is located. Lets start with the French & German ceasefire. Switzerland is full of rivers and lakes, which also added to the list of the countrys deterrents. SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR. The Solothurn region, for instance, was considered an important base for the production of armaments.While the occupation of Switzerland was not one of Hitler's primary objectives in the campaign against France, its location between the Third Reich and its ally, Italy, made it likely that the Nazis would eventually annex Switzerland.Had this been the case, concludes Schfer, Hitler would have successfully rounded off his campaign in Western Europe.swissinfo. Uber in Germany (esp. By Today I Found Out Updated on Oct 22, 2020 1 minute read SUMMARY The tiny mountainous country of Switzerland has been in a state of "perpetual neutrality" since the major European powers of the time declared it as such during the Congress of Vienna after the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815. He attacked France because France didn't want let him attack the east, which was always Hitler's goal. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. In one occasion, upset about the production rate at a factory supplying ball-bearings to the Germans, the British dropped a load of bombs nearby to send a message. Why did Hitler not invade Switzerland? - History QA According to in-depth research, the Swiss Confederation did supply the Nazis with weapons in the early 1940s. When confronted after the war, the Swiss only would admit to 58 million of French and Belgian gold, which they compensated the respective national banks for. The plan would of course mean turning over much of the country to the invader, and laying waste to it as well denying use of infrastructure by the occupier, but also crippling the Swiss themselves were they to retake the land but at least, they hoped, they could cost whoever chose to violate their neutrality dearly. The Swiss bankers should understand that there are many forms of bankruptcy and the moral one is the worst of them all, was the headline in the US magazine Time. This article in the NY Times declares that the trade of weapons between 1940 1944 between Switzerland and Nazi Germany was worth 600 million Swiss Francs (150 million USD). How did Switzerland not get invaded? Adolf Hitler's plans for a surprise attack and occupation of Switzerland, which were due to take place at the start of 1941, have been brought to light by a German historian. A common criticism of what Germany did was their effort to help Italy in Africa, which delayed the invasion of Russia. There was nothing to be gained from invading Sweden, and the German forces did not have the resources to spare anyway. Hitler's target -- "the plan", as early as 1925 -- was the Soviet Union. For some, including President Pilet-Golaz, this meant Erneuerung and Anpassung (Renewal and adaptation), or that is to say, coming to terms with the new European order and attempting to find Switzerlands place in it. To this day, the myth still abounds in this small Alpine nation that the Swiss Army would have repelled the Nazi invader had they attacked. @DevSolar Before invading Poland (which immediately caused England and France to declare war), ok. Service in the army is compulsory, and recruitment for some duties can start as early as 16 years old for some. VDOM DHTML tml>. Now, there are multiple reasons, lets discuss them in further detail. Even though the Fhrer was aware of some of these numbers, he still did nothing. Even worse, it was suggested that the concentration camp barracks had the mark made in Switzerland upon them. What next? Why was Switzerland not invaded in ww2? - Your Sage Tip Something went wrong. Things might have been different had the invasion of France taken longer. Europe: Was Switzerland Really Neutral During World War II? At the end of the war, the planes that were in working order were returned to US, and the Swiss sent the American government a bill for $100,000 to cover the maintenance, and the room and board for the crew. As demanded by the Swiss, they also paid interest on the settlement for the time it took to reach it. He attacked Belgium because it was on the way to France. Swiss business with Nazi Germany is well documented, and at many times quite unsavory, but must of course be tempered in judgement by the reality of their position not that it excuses many of the things they did. However, right-wing extremists only got less than ten percent of the votes in the elections. None of this would have been possible without the help of the local Swiss population who willingly assisted those people in need. The answer has unsubstantiated claims. The Swiss continued to trade certain things to the Allies with full knowledge of the Germans who agreed not to stop it, since they also needed Swiss goods. Fearful of being overloaded, very strict quotas were set, and entry was refused to many with the infamous explanation that the lifeboat is full. I consent to the use of my data for the SWI swissinfo.ch newsletter. For one, Swiss officials were present when the decision was made to include a red-colored J in Jewish peoples German passports. World War II by country - Wikipedia We now know that the truth was different. In the case of a German attack, the Swiss army (numbering 800,000 men after full conscription) and all those people who were able would withdraw to the so-called Reduite National, the natural defense of the Alps. Simply looking at the map won't tell you anything. There might be a reason to invade Sweden to stop Swedish export to the UK (most importantly ball bearings). Intelligence that they had collected pointed to a German plan to launch a complimentary attack just as they had feared, to be initiated on May 15th. In hindsight, we can also see that Switzerland was far from a neutral bystander during the Second World War. Despite the fact that Switzerland was located within striking distance of both France and Germany, it never came under attack during World War II. As a neutral power, Switzerland was entitled to trade with the Allies, and still did, but only at a trickle. That figure is a far cry from the historically tolerant country that was the preferred destination for Huguenots fleeing the aftermath of Louis XIVs edicts about 300 years earlier. I know there is sort of a propaganda cult about how American big business "conspired" with Nazi Germany, but the reality is that Germany and Italy's trade with the entire world other than Europe was curtailed by the British blockade which included wheat and coffee as "contraband". Also, Switzeland is ringed by mountains, and the Swiss had a very good, well-trained army. They would be interned by the Swiss for a few months, until an agreement was reached for their repatriation to France in early 1941. When France fell a year later and Switzerland was virtually surrounded, Guisan upped the conscription age to 60 and explained his plan. - Quora. Anyways though, just what sort of trading are we talking about of course? That's where his whole screwed "Lebensraum" vision played out: land, slaves, and resources. The reason for attacking Denmark and Norway was to be able to defend the coast against invasion, while Sweden offers no invadable coast if Denmark and Norway are held. Swiss companies produced armaments for Hitlers war economy. Roosevelt was able to minimize the effect of this on the war effort by getting public buy-in by the. The Swiss themselves went through some serious reevaluation of their wartime role in the past two decades, with the creation of the Bergier commission in 1996, and the final report, published in 2002, was quite critical of many aspects of Swiss conduct in the period, especially compared to the Swiss-self image in the decades after. As for the Jewish banking, it is a slightly different beast. What? The second set was not originally part of "the plan". I'm pretty sure hitler was to blame for world war 2 and Austria was to blame for world war 1. The only way that choice makes sense to me is if you could find a way be sure to never have to fight Russia at all, which would have been better, but probably wouldn't involve attacking Sweden to achieve it (though it might involve letting Stalin invade Finland). Those actions, while reprehensible at times, dont exactly make Switzerland into not a neutral country either. How was Sweden going to trade with the UK through the. Switzerlands mountains have played a huge part in the lives of Swiss people in many, many ways. The Swiss sociologist and politician Jean Ziegler holds an entirely different view on why the Fhrer never invaded Switzerland: "Hitler was crazy, but not so crazy as to attack his own banker." In Ziegler's view, Switzerland was Hitler's willing helper. Sweden was already surrounded by Germany's friends and wasn't posing any threat, so there was no reason to attack. The fact is that, by the end of the Second World War, over 50,000 refugees had reached a safe haven in the Alps. A password reset e-mail has been sent to your address. It is hard to doubt the conviction of the Swiss Army to defend their country to the bitter end in the event of an invasion, but this ignores the larger question of whether an invasion ever would have happened. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Stack Exchange network consists of 182 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Hitler left das Kleine Stachelschwein or the little porcupine as Switzerland was known in Nazi jargon, in peace because the country was more useful to him as a neutral island in the midst of a subjugated continent. Why did Hitler not invade Sweden? - History Stack Exchange Sweden was neutral while doing business with Germany, exactly the same as Switzerland. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? As for why Sweden vs. Russia, Hitler and Stalin both anticipated eventual war with each other, and Sweden had no plan to fight Germany, and massively fewer resources with which to do it. So now he had to fortify France, fought the Battle of Britain (crippling the Luftwaffe), and had to help his ally Italy in North Africa, and handle the situation on the Balkans -- to deny England access and secure the supply of Romanian oil. Small but fierce, the Swiss Air Force quickly proved to be a thorn in Germanys side, and after one encounter which saw ten German aircraft go down in flames for the loss of only two Swiss machines, Hitler rather threateningly insisted that the Swiss cease their interceptions or else. It took the United States freezing about one billion dollars of Swiss assets in American banks for the Swiss to cave and make an exception. How did they play a part? For a small country, Switzerland army has always packed a relative punch; why? When it comes to a military deterrent for invading forces, the mountain ranges contributed to Hitler thinking twice. And not even all the raids were accidents. The Official History of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Volume III. Why? He goes on to mention that Sweden's government had declared their cooperative intentions to Hitler, so invasion wouldn't have made sense. Hitler thought the Swedes were good Aryans so the Nazis expected Sweden to become an ally after the war. Medical supplies to (I think) forces fighting in Narvik, one division (with weapons in sealed carriages I believe) from Norway to Finland before Barbarossa. But why did they do it, and what did Switzerland get out of it? Although you could say that Operation Sea Lion was (at least) as much an attempt to scare Britain into an armistice as a credible threat. For one thing, it would have been far too costly in terms of manpower and materials to conquer the mountainous region.
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