Hitler and Switzerland: why did he leave it alone?

[wycombeite]

Can anyone tell me why did Hitler not invade Switzerland when it was on his doorstep? I know it was a neutral country but that can't have stopped him. Any ideas?

[dot.hawkes]

it was the wrong way.

[waimarie]

Remember, not only Switzerland was neutral but Sweden also, it is very useful to have a non-belligerent close by or even next door. Business, banking, diplomacy and commerce can be conducted there. Other neutrals can come and go for business purposes without danger or hindrance from either side, remember even the hostile nations have to trade in order to survive. It's a very useful place to stash all your ill gotten loot as well. At the end of hostilities your bank accounts and safety deposit boxes can sit there safely for years without being confistcated by the winning side. I believe even now there are many unclaimed accounts still existing in Swiss institutions left over from WWII Very nice business for the Swiss, you might say.

Quite apart from that, why would Hitler invade Switzerland, what benefits would he gain? It would be of no territorial or strategic advantage and involve much man power and materiel to maintain an occupation. Also remember the Swiss are possibly the most heavily armed nation in Europe with every adult male expected to carry out military service throughout their adult years and, Hitler's armour would be of little value in a mountainous country .

[jno]

cuckoo clocks are German, not Swiss, despite what you may have heard Orson Welles say in The Third Man

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckoo_clock

[berniecuddles]

he liked their choccy

[Harry Nuttal]

Waimarie was spot on. Ignore the jokers; there wasn't anything amusing about it. Switzerland acted as Hitler's bank and superstore. Something like Barclays or Tesco. Neutral? Not really.

[NapoleonSolo]

Hitler was quoted to have said after conquering Europe he would send the Berlin Fire Brigade to conquer Switzerland.

[Crapeau]

Also, The Swiss have always threatened to blow up the mountain passes and tunnels should they ever be at risk from invasion. It would have been more trouble than it was worth. There's a fairly high population of German-Swiss who were friendly to the regime, and trade would have been quite important too.

[C_Watson_123]

Aside from Switzerland acting as bank for the Nazi party and concealing an inordinate amount of wealth including an abundant amount of Jewish wealth which has been subject of legal proceedings ever since, Hitler made a crucial mistake in battling too many frontiers.

A country acting in a proactive beneficial role would have been last to be invaded and I�m sure Hitler was already loosing or had learnt his lesson from being over zealous.