Editing History of Switzerland (section)

=== World Wars (1914–1945) ===
{{main|Switzerland during the World Wars}}
The major powers respected Switzerland's neutrality during [[World War I]]. In the [[Grimm–Hoffmann Affair]], the Allies denounced a proposal by one politician to negotiate peace on the Eastern Front; they wanted the war there to continue to tie Germany down.

{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Swiss Confederacy
| common_name            = Switzerland
| native_name            = {{collapsible list
|titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:center;line-height:normal;
|title = {{resize|1.0 em|Five official names}}
|{{center|
{{smalldiv|{{ubl|{{native name|de|{{nowrap|Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft}}}}|{{native name|fr|Confédération suisse}}|{{native name|it|Confederazione Svizzera}}|{{native name|rm|Confederaziun svizra}}|''Confoederatio helvetica'' ([[Latin]])}}}}
 }}
}}
| image_flag             = Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg
| image_coat             = Coat of Arms of Switzerland (Pantone).svg
| national_anthem        = "[[Rufst du, mein Vaterland]]"<br/>{{center|[[File:Rufst du, mein Vaterland (1938).oga]]}}
| image_map              =
| capital                = None
| largest_city           = Zurich
| year_end               = 1939
| year_start             = 1848
| title_leader           = [[President of Switzerland|President]]
| year_leader1           = 1848-1849
| leader1                = [[Jonas Furrer]]
| year_leader2           = 1939
| leader2                = [[Philipp Etter]]
| event_start            = End of the [[Restoration and Regeneration in Switzerland]]
| event_end              = Start of [[World War II]]
| p1                     = Restoration and Regeneration in Switzerland{{!}}Switzerland
| s1                     = Switzerland
| flag_p1                = Flag of Switzerland 2-3.svg
| flag_s1                = Flag of Switzerland 2-3.svg
}}

While the industrial sector began to grow in the mid-19th century, Switzerland's emergence as one of the most prosperous nations in Europe—the "Swiss miracle"—was a development of the [[short 20th century]], among other things tied to the role of [[Switzerland during the World Wars]].<ref>Roman Studer, ''"When Did the Swiss Get so Rich?" Comparing Living Standards in Switzerland and Europe, 1800–1913'', ''Journal of European economic history'' (2008), 37#2, pp. 405–452. [http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/32448/ online] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807234101/http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/32448/ |date=August 7, 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-02454, Genf, Schlusssitzung des Völkerbundrates.jpg|thumb|[[League of Nations]] conference in Geneva (1926)]]

Germany [[Operation Tannenbaum|considered invading]] Switzerland during [[World War II]] but never attacked.<ref>''Let's Swallow Switzerland'' by Klaus Urner (Lexington Books, 2002).</ref> Under General [[Henri Guisan]], the Swiss army prepared for the mass mobilization of [[militia]] forces against invasion and prepared strong, well-stockpiled positions high in the Alps known as the ''[[National Redoubt (Switzerland)|Réduit]]''. Switzerland remained independent and neutral through a combination of military deterrence, economic concessions to Germany, and good fortune, as larger events during the war delayed an invasion.

Attempts by Switzerland's small Nazi party to cause an ''[[Anschluss]]'' with Germany failed miserably, largely due to Switzerland's multicultural heritage, a strong sense of national identity, and long tradition of direct democracy and civil liberties. The Swiss press vigorously criticized the Third Reich,<ref>Georges André Chevallaz, ''The Challenge of Neutrality: Diplomacy and the Defense of Switzerland'' (2001), pp. 120. [https://books.google.com/books?id=-MtdoOfwQqUC&dq=The+Swiss+press+criticized+the+Third+Reich&pg=PA120] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116133308/https://books.google.com/books?id=-MtdoOfwQqUC&lpg=PA120&ots=1O5RfEPPzN&dq=The%20Swiss%20press%20criticized%20the%20Third%20Reich&pg=PA120#v=onepage&q=The%20Swiss%20press%20criticized%20the%20Third%20Reich&f=false|date=January 16, 2023}}</ref> often infuriating German leaders. Switzerland was an important base for espionage by both sides in the conflict, and it often mediated communications between the Axis and Allied powers.

Switzerland's trade was blockaded by both the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] and the [[Axis Powers|Axis]]. Both sides openly exerted pressure on Switzerland not to trade with the other. Economic cooperation and extension of credit to the Third Reich varied according to the perceived likelihood of invasion, and the availability of other trading partners. Concessions reached their zenith after a crucial rail link through [[Vichy France]] was severed in 1942, leaving Switzerland surrounded by the Axis. Switzerland relied on trade for half of its food and essentially all of its fuel, but controlled vital trans-alpine rail tunnels between Germany and Italy.

Switzerland's most important exports during the war were precision machine tools, watches, jewel bearings (used in bombsights), electricity, and dairy products. During World War Two, the [[Swiss franc]] was the only remaining major freely convertible currency in the world, and both the Allies and the Germans sold large amounts of gold to the [[Swiss National Bank]]. Between 1940 and 1945, the German [[Reichsbank]] sold 1.3 billion francs worth of gold to Swiss Banks in exchange for Swiss francs and other foreign currency.<ref>The Bergier Commission Final Report, page 238 http://www.uek.ch/en/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311054503/http://www.uek.ch/en/ |date=March 11, 2007 }}.</ref>

Hundreds of millions of francs worth of this gold was [[Gold standard|monetary gold]] plundered from the [[central bank]]s of occupied countries. 581,000 francs of "Melmer" gold taken from [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]] victims in eastern Europe was sold to Swiss banks.<ref>The Bergier Commission Final Report, page 249 http://www.uek.ch/en/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311054503/http://www.uek.ch/en/ |date=March 11, 2007 }}.</ref> In total, trade between Germany and Switzerland contributed about 0.5% to the German war effort but did not significantly lengthen the war.<ref>The Bergier Commission Final Report, page 518 http://www.uek.ch/en/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311054503/http://www.uek.ch/en/ |date=March 11, 2007 }}.</ref>

Over the course of the war, Switzerland interned 300,000 refugees.<ref>{{HDS|10374|Asylum}}</ref> 104,000 of these were foreign troops interned according to the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers outlined in the [[Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907)|Hague Conventions]]. The rest were foreign civilians and were either interned or granted tolerance or residence permits by the cantonal authorities. Refugees were not allowed to hold jobs. 60,000 of the refugees were civilians escaping persecution by the Nazis. Of these, 26,000 to 27,000 were Jews.<ref>The Bergier Commission Final Report, page 117 http://www.uek.ch/en/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311054503/http://www.uek.ch/en/ |date=March 11, 2007 }}.</ref> Between 10,000 and 25,000 civilian refugees were refused entry.<ref>{{HDS|10374|Asylum}} states 24,000</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Imre |last=Karacs |title=Switzerland refused to help 24,500 Jews in war |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/switzerland-refused-to-help-24500-jews-in-war-1131689.html |newspaper=The Independent |date=December 11, 1999 |access-date=February 4, 2009 |archive-date=May 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120529150828/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/switzerland-refused-to-help-24500-jews-in-war-1131689.html |url-status=live }}</ref> At the beginning of the war, Switzerland had a Jewish population of between 18,000<ref>[http://www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%206062.pdf Switzerland from the Shoah Resource Foundation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226114620/http://www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%206062.pdf |date=February 26, 2009 }} accessed Feb 4, 2009</ref> and 28,000<ref>{{HDS|8927<!--Section 1-5-->|Second World War-Refugees}} states 28,000</ref> and a total population of about 4 million.

Within Switzerland at the time of the conflict, there was moderate polarization. Some were pacifists. Some took sides according to international capitalism or international communism. Others leaned more towards their language group, with some in French-speaking areas more pro-Allied, and some in Swiss-German areas more pro-Axis. The government attempted to thwart the activities of any individual, party, or faction in Switzerland that acted with extremism or attempted to break the unity of the nation. The Swiss-German speaking areas moved linguistically further away from the standard (high) German spoken in Germany, with more emphasis on local Swiss dialects.

In the 1960s, significant controversy arose among historians regarding the nation's relations with Nazi Germany.<ref>Hadrien Buclin, "'Surmonter le passé?': les intellectuels de gauche et le débat des années soixante sur la deuxième guerre mondiale," ["Overcoming the Past?": Intellectuals on the Left and the Debate of the 1960s About the Second World War] ''Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Geschichte'' (2013), 63#2, pp. 233–249.</ref>

By the 1990s the controversies included a [[World Jewish Congress lawsuit against Swiss Banks|class-action lawsuit]] brought in New York over Jewish assets in Holocaust-era bank accounts. The government commissioned an authoritative study of Switzerland's interaction with the Nazi regime. The final report by this independent panel of international scholars, known as the [[Bergier Commission]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uek.ch/en/|title=Independent Commission of Experts Switzerland – Second World War ICE|website=www.uek.ch|access-date=August 6, 2021|archive-date=August 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806204012/https://www.uek.ch/en/|url-status=live}}</ref> was issued in 2002.