WW2 From the Swiss Perspective | Animated History

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Sources:
Davies, Norman. No Simple Victory. London: Pan Books, 2007.

Halbrook, Stephen P. Target Switzerland: Swiss Armed Neutrality in World War II. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo, 2004.

‌Lukacs, John. The Last European War: September 1939-December 1941. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1977.

Roberts, Andrew. The Storm of War : A New History of the Second World War. New York: Harper Perennial, 2012.

Schelbert, Leo. Switzerland under Siege 1939 - 1945; a Neutral Nation's Struggle for Survival. Rockport, Me: Picton Press, 2000.

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[TheArmchairHistorian]

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[Artur_M.]

A little known fact is that in 1940, over 13 thousand Polish troops fighting in France (the 2nd Rifle Division, to be precise) got interned in Switzerland. They were put to doing various construction work, and there was a quiet agreement between the Polish Government in Exile and the Swiss that the Polish soldiers would be rearmed and take part in the defense of Switzerland, in the event of German invasion.

[blindoutlaw]

Allied pilot: “hey which way is Germany?”
Swiss AA gunner: “it’s back the way you came, boy!”

[maxmiller]

Fun fact: Konstanz is one of the few German cities not to be bombed by the Allies, because of a clever trick. While Germany had enforced a nocturnal lights-out policy, Switzerland hadn't. Konstanz, being so close in proximity to Switzerland, kept their lights on, making it seem like they were a Swiss city, thus eluding bombing.

[svenix]

As a swiss my self i still remember what they told us in the Army; Its not about winning, its about inflicting as much damage and taking as many of the invaders with you as possible before dying. We cannot win a War. But we will make the Enemy bleed for every meter they take.

[TrashMetal]

An interesting anecdote from the aerial fight on Switzerland's northern border:
During a bombing run in Southern Germany, a British B-17 was critically hit and eventually managed to land in a field next to my hometown near Basel. Before the Swiss military police arrived to intern the crew, several people from the village had already investigated the downed plane and even started dismantling some of the weapons system. The Swiss army eventually took possession of the aircraft (if I am not mistaken, it is now in a museum in Dübendorf), but one of the stationary machine guns was nowhere to be found.
Fast forward to the 70s (when my Dad grew up there) and upon the death of one of the people who had been there that night, the machine gun was finally recovered from his attic and put into a local museum.

[PrussianPoe]

I really like how Switzerland took advantage of its geography and made a their entire country into a fortress.

[notroll]

You could have mentioned that the appointment of Henri Guisan in 1939 was quite significant.
In Switzerland, "general" is a military rank only awarded to the army commander in wartime. So, appointing a general was an important signal to the world that Switzerland, while being at peace itself, was very aware that there was a war going on and that Switzerland was ready to fight when attacked.

[HeisenbergFam]

It blows my mind Switzerland has +374k bunkers, they went full defensive mode, no wonder they weren't invaded in WW2

[pingu]

During WW2, my grandfather had to defend the swiss/Italian border just above his home in the alps. They had a long trade history between them since far before the war so everybody knew each other. During the war, they traded some food and goods and also party together. When the high command knew about this, they were send at the other side of the country. My grandfather was always laughing about how stupid the situation was. Thanks for the video ! Amazing work !

[peterrudenko]

I love how Swiss army tried to immediatly eliminate anything not swiss in their air territory.

[marcello]

Considering how respectful of the concept of neutrality was Germany when it came to Belgium and the Netherlands, no wonder why the already defensive Swiss went into full fortress mode.

[HermanosLuDi]

This topic isn't something talked in deep about Switzerland and it's neutrality during the largest conflict. The animation helps us to understand better with the narration. Overall, feels great that people like you covers history from a perspective that most of us can understand.

[siriannn]

Even now 10 years ago when my grandparents retired and built a home they still made sure to install an air raid shelter in their cellar (basement). Growing up outside of Switzerland, it still amazes me that it is so normalized in my country something like this in your home. If someone in the US or anywhere else installed a bunker/airraid shelter in their basement you would think they're crazy.

[lomis]

Kaiser Wilhelm II: "So, you have an army of 500, 000 men. What will your small army do if I invade with 1, 000, 000 men?"
The Swiss: "Shoot twice and go home."

[dcthepro]

I had the luck to serve in the swiss military at the foot of the gotthard which was at the time the only passage through the alps. We slept in an Old fort. The whole mountain is basically hollowed out like a swiss cheese with bunkers and every meter covered by guns, simply marvelous what my country built in such a short period of time

[duchessnoor]

“I’m going to be late for work!” As someone living in Switzerland I can confirm that sentiment.

[sussyyoutuber]

Ya know switzerland isnt realy looked at in ww2 but some stuff actually happend there and its pretty good so its nice to see a video about it

[pablopeter]

Being neutral and surrounded by axis powers was such an near impossible task Switzerland had to manage during WW II. Great job Mr. Johnson, thanks for your video.

[RadioStationRail]

The swiss looked at everyone around them and said "I'm surrounded by idiots and I will not stand for it."