Let's Swallow Switzerland!: Hitler's Plans Against the Swiss Confederation

Klaus Urner, Ge N. Alexander M. Haig

Lexington Books, 2001 - History - 200 pages

Why was Switzerland spared a German attack during World War II? Was its existence actually endangered at any time? In Let's Swallow Switzerland, historian Klaus Urner reveals new data uncovered about the actual threats Switzerland faced during the war. Extensive archival research into the events at the Führer's headquarters discloses that Hitler, in cooperation with Mussolini, initiated a surprise pincer operation against Switzerland during the final phase of the French campaign. On June 24, 1940, Army Corps C received orders to prepare for the Special Task Switzerland. In early July, the 12th Army, with nine divisions, was deployed near the Western border of Switzerland. Urner proves that German operational plans were not fictitious designs worked out by a bored staff, as has been claimed, but in fact were serious preparatory measures for an attack. The second half of this fascinating exposé provides a discussion of German economic warfare against Switzerland, revealing that Germany's goal was to control every interaction between Switzerland and the Allies--such attempts continued until the total occupation of France on November 11, 1942. Numerous original documents attesting to Hitler's plans, historic photographs, and a detailed bibliography make this book a fundamental work for understanding Switzerland's difficult predicament during World War II.

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User Review  - jcbrunner - LibraryThing

Instead of Ranke's telling how it was, the history and involvement of Switzerland in the Second World War is politicized, especially by a group of left-wing historians who now dominate the local ...

Contents

• Overlooked German Plans for Invading Switzerland: 3
• German Hostility toward the Swiss: 15
• Total Encirclement of Switzerland: 25
• Hitlers Orders of June 231940 A Surprise Occupation of Switzerland: 37
• Evening of June 241940 Angry Outburst in the Fuhrers Headquarters: 45
• Readying the 12th Army for Special Task Switzerland: 53
• Status of Swiss Security before the Spring of 1941: 63
• GERMAN ECONOMIC WARFARE TO CLOSE THE GAP BETWEEN GENEVA AND ST GINGOLPH: 75
• Last Escape Hatch between Switzerland and the Allies: 77
• After the Armistice: 81
• Loopholes in German Export Prohibitions: 85
• Extortion against Switzerland: 93
• Partial German Success Due to French and Swiss Concessions: 99
• Importance of the Gap until the Agreement of July 181941: 105
• Semilegal and Illegal Attempts to Break through the Counterblockade: 109
• The Little Border Traffic Hidden Door to the West: 115
• The Special Emigrant Railroad Car of the Swiss Alien Police: 123
• The Final Phase Contacts with the Resistance and Final Rescue Attempts: 127
• Documents: 133
• Bibliography: 177
• Index: 191

About the author

Klaus Urner is Professor and Head of the Archives for Contemporary History at the Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich. He is the author of numerous studies that deal primarily with twentieth-century history, including Die Deutschen in der Schweiz [Germans in Switzerland] (1976) and Der Schweizer Hitler-Attentäter [The Attempt of a Swiss to Assassinate Hitler] (1980).

Bibliographic information

• Title: Let's Swallow Switzerland!: Hitler's Plans Against the Swiss Confederation; G - Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series; History/World War II
• Authors: Klaus Urner, Ge N. Alexander M. Haig
• Translated by: Lotti N. Eichhorn
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Lexington Books, 2001
• ISBN: 0739102559, 9780739102558
• Length: 200 pages
• Subjects: History / Europe / General; History / Europe / Germany; History / Europe / Western; History / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / General