Switzerland’s military neutrality is legendary, but it has been accused of aiding other countries while maintaining neutrality. The country remains neutral due to vulnerability to invasion by powerful neighbors. Switzerland’s conflicts have been mostly internal, but its policies during World War II raised concerns about its neutrality. Nazi Germany maintained an economic relationship with Switzerland throughout the war, and Swiss bankers established secret accounts for Nazi officers. Some historians suggest that Swiss support helped prolong the war.
Switzerland’s military neutrality has become legendary and it is true that the country has not been involved in any external conflict since 1815. This does not mean, however, that the country has been completely impartial or objective when it comes to the war economy. He has been accused of aiding or abetting other countries, such as Germany, while maintaining a semblance of neutrality.
Under a number of agreements, neutral countries still have certain legal and moral obligations during wartime, and Switzerland has largely succeeded in meeting those obligations, although some have questioned the country’s interpretation of neutrality.
Switzerland remains militarily neutral largely because the country itself is particularly vulnerable to invasion by one of its powerful neighbors, especially France, Italy, Austria or Germany. Political neutrality for a small country with limited military capability is generally preferable to a hostile takeover by a belligerent neighbor. As long as the country is officially recognized as neutral, no country can legally form plans to invade it or use it as a base of operations. A neutral country may accept refugees or political prisoners, but is not obligated to participate in peacekeeping missions after the end of the conflict.
The country has not always been conflict-free, but most of its conflicts have been internal. Fighting between Catholic and Protestant factions throughout the 19th century created major rifts in Swiss government, but these issues were eventually defused internally. The government did not join Woodrow Wilson’s proposed League of Nations until its official policy of neutrality was recognized by all other members.
During World War I, Switzerland offered no significant military assistance to Germany or France, but other governments did not always respect the nation’s borders or airspace. This fact did not escape the attention of the Swiss government, which regularly complained to both the League of Nations and its successor, the United Nations.
The country’s policies and practices during World War II, however, raised a number of concerns about its neutrality among allied countries. Nazi Germany maintained an economic relationship with Switzerland throughout the war. Swiss bankers were painfully willing to establish secret accounts for Nazi officers seeking safe storage of money and other valuables plundered from countries captured by the German war machine. While Swiss diplomats also provided safe passage for victims of Nazi oppression, the government often came dangerously close to appearing politically allied with Germany.
Some historians suggest that the nation’s eagerness to work with Nazi Germany and their reserves of money and art helped prolong the war itself. The German war machine was militarily at the losing end of the conflict several times, but the influx of cash and other support from supposedly neutral Swiss banks helped Nazi Germany regain its footing and continue fighting the war. Formal allegations of Swiss financial assistance and political empathy for Nazi Germany have been made several times over the years, but to date the country has never accused of violating its neutrality policy.
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