Main article: Switzerland during the World Wars
Switzerland intended to be a neutral power during the war, but Axis threats and military mobilizations towards its borders prompted the Swiss military to prepare for war. Following the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, this country was completely mobilized within three days. An invasion of Switzerland, codenamed Operation Tannenbaum was planned for 1940, but Hitler decided it would be a waste of resources. Unlike the Netherlands, Belgium, and other western European nations that had easily fallen under German maneuver warfare, Switzerland had a strong military and mountainous terrain offering defenders the traditional value of high ground in mountain warfare.
Despite its neutrality, Switzerland was not free of hostilities. Early in the war, Swiss fighters shot down several German aircraft for violating Swiss air space. Hundreds of aircraft on both sides landed in Switzerland, such as those with battle damage, and were interned at Swiss airports and their crews held until the end of the war. Allied airmen were interned, in some cases, contrary to Swiss law, and some were reportedly subjected to abuse in internment camps. Several Swiss cities were accidentally bombed by both sides. In time, Switzerland was unofficially proclaimed its own side in the war because of its defensive and hostile nature towards both sides. Although the Swiss government was anti-Nazi, Swiss troops did not directly intervene in the European conflict. After the war, controversies arose over assets of the victims and perpetrators of the Holocaust kept in Swiss banks.
Switzerland intended to be a neutral power during the war, but Axis threats and military mobilizations towards its borders prompted the Swiss military to prepare for war. Following the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, this country was completely mobilized within three days. An invasion of Switzerland, codenamed Operation Tannenbaum was planned for 1940, but Hitler decided it would be a waste of resources. Unlike the Netherlands, Belgium, and other western European nations that had easily fallen under German maneuver warfare, Switzerland had a strong military and mountainous terrain offering defenders the traditional value of high ground in mountain warfare.
Despite its neutrality, Switzerland was not free of hostilities. Early in the war, Swiss fighters shot down several German aircraft for violating Swiss air space. Hundreds of aircraft on both sides landed in Switzerland, such as those with battle damage, and were interned at Swiss airports and their crews held until the end of the war. Allied airmen were interned, in some cases, contrary to Swiss law, and some were reportedly subjected to abuse in internment camps. Several Swiss cities were accidentally bombed by both sides. In time, Switzerland was unofficially proclaimed its own side in the war because of its defensive and hostile nature towards both sides. Although the Swiss government was anti-Nazi, Swiss troops did not directly intervene in the European conflict. After the war, controversies arose over assets of the victims and perpetrators of the Holocaust kept in Swiss banks.