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Switzerland’s small size, diverse population, and strategic location led to its declaration of neutrality to maintain internal cohesion and national security. The country’s four official languages reflect its historical diversity. After being reduced to a vassal state, Switzerland was declared neutral by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and reaffirmed in 1920. Despite its involvement with multilateral institutions, Switzerland remains neutral today. However, there are allegations of Swiss banks and war material producers aiding the Axis powers during WWII.
Due to its geographical location, the ethnic composition of its population and its relatively small territory, Switzerland had to obtain neutral status in order to maintain its internal cohesion. The Swiss Alps serve to connect Germany and France across the Italian peninsula, and throughout the country’s history, its home territory has been coveted by surrounding powers. Declaring neutrality and being prepared to enforce it has been and continues to be the best means by which Switzerland can maintain national security.
The Swiss population consists of speakers of French, German, Italian and Romansh. These are the four official languages of the country and represent the diversity that has existed within its borders for much of its history. Indeed, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the nation was reduced to a vassal state due to internal turmoil. It was Napoleon Bonaparte who, in the 18th, restored order.
With Napoleon’s defeat, however, the Swiss were determined never to suffer an invasion again. In 1815 the Congress of Vienna, made up of the major European powers who had met to discuss international relations in the post-Napoleonic era, deemed Switzerland a neutral country. This neutrality was reaffirmed in 1920 by a number of countries. Once it joined the League of Nations, in the 1920s and 1930s, it was willing to assume the duties of member nations, thus nullifying its neutral status. In the 1930s, however, the country regained its neutral status once it was relieved of these duties.
During World War II, the country adhered to its neutral status having never been officially involved in warfare. Its status was also a result of its small geographic territory, measuring a total of 15,940 square miles (41,285 square kilometers). While the Swiss army was fully mobilized in the event of a German invasion, it was understood that the nation would fall.
Neutrality was not fully implemented by the Swiss. There is reason to believe that Swiss national and private banks helped Nazi officials launder goods stolen during the Holocaust. War material producers are also known to have aided the Axis powers. Recent findings, recorded in a report known as the 1997 Eizenstat report, however, indicate that such activities cannot be proven. Furthermore, Switzerland also allowed the Allies to gather intelligence on the activities of the Axis powers.
Today, Switzerland officially remains a neutral nation for the same reasons it always has, despite its involvement with multilateral institutions. It joined the United Nations in 2002, but has not been part of the European Union since 2013.
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