Switzerland, National Socialism and the Second World War: Final Report of the Independent Commission of Experts Book

In recent years, the stereotype of Switzerland as a neutral country during the Second World War has been challenged by evidence of its economic complicity in Nazi crimes. As a response to this, the Swiss Parliament and Government set up, at the end of 1996, an internationally composed Independent Commission of Experts whose five-year assignment was to investigate these allegations in their historical and legal context. Thanks to the unique privilege of access to archives, it was possible for the first time to overcome the obstacle of Swiss banking secrecy - believed to be insurmountable until then - and to extend the research to the archives of banks and other companies. A crucial document on 20th-centruy European history, this volume presents the full and final report of the Commission, illustrating Switzerland's predicament as a country not only with strong economic, but also close cultural ties to Germany, the neighbour that threatened the country's very survival. A multifaceted picture emerges of the challenges of those dark years - challenges that Switzerland met with varying degrees of success.Read More