Bombings of Switzerland in WWII.

[Rockthekazbah12]

Bombings of Switzerland in World War II consisted of initially sporadic bombing events that became more frequent during the later stage of World War II (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II).[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombings_of_Switzerland_in_World_War_II#cite_note-helmreich-0)


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

Interesting actions by the Swiss Air Force in WWII.

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

[Alpheus]

Damn, you do learn something new everyday.

[TheKiwi]

Yeah, the Swiss and Swedes both ended up with quite a sizable force of B-17's, B-24 and Lancasters by the end of the war from crews that chose internment (or were lost).

[LineDoggie]

17 February 1950

War Claims Commission
Washington, D.C.

Dear Sir,
As an internee of Switzerland, I was in the same category as a Prisoner of War. As an internee, I didn’t enjoy the same rights as my fellow internees. Letters received by me indicated “Prisoner of War” in the upper left hand corner of envelopes and of stationary.
As stated in question No. 10 (c) a full report was given to the Army Intelligence Office in England soon after my repatriation concerning all pertinent data requested. High military personnel indicated at the time no additional information was to be given by me other than to cross reference that report.
The story is a long one, but I will briefly give you some of the details as to my treatment and abuses given me during my 13 months of internment in that country.
To begin with, several attempts to escape after a few weeks in the country were made in order that I might get back to my lines and fight for my country. I was willing to jeopardize my life by crossing enemy lines to get back to my outfit. The several attempts that I tried to escape I was always caught, and I was taken prisoner under guard. I was taken to various civilian prisons, and one concentration camp named Wauwilermoos. Here I had to subject myself to eat and sleep with enemy soldiers. Here I was compelled to sleep on straw which was contaminated with lice and as a result my body was infected with scabies which took me six months to get rid of. Here also I was thrown into solitary confinement for 5 days in a room - total darkness – measuring 2 x 3 feet which was next to a horse stable. The straw I slept on was saturated with horse urine as well as the evacuation of the horse’s bowels, which passed from the next room where the horses slept. The 2 x 3 ft. room had a porthole on the top of the roof where they handed me my food. The food here and in the various civilian prisons wasn’t adequate enough to keep a man going. My weight when I got out was 140 pounds compared to the weight of 195 lbs. when I went into these prison camps.
Not only was I reduced physically, but I was also in a very bad state of mind. My morale was very low. To top this all, the Swiss Government had threatened me repeatedly with an International Court-Martial due to the various attempts to get out of the country, thereby lengthening my stay in these prisons.
General Legge of the Military Attaché in Bern, Switzerland, can very well verify these statements.

Joseph A. D'Atri

[TheKiwi]

Sounds like the Swiss weren't very charitably inclined towards folks that were bombing them when they were supposedly at peace.

[Euroamerican]

Thanks, Casbahrocker, for posting those links.

I knew previously about the Schaffhausen bombings and read about some bombers escaping into Switzerland after raids.


That story Linedoggie posted was pretty grim.

[Marmot1]

On contrary they treated Polish soldiers quite good. There were several thousand of Polish soldiers who ended in Switzerland after collapse of France (one division entered Switzerland as organized force escaping Germans and Italians. Most of them were kept together and used as construction battalions by Swiss. There was even secret agreement that in case of war with Germany Polish soldiers will be rearmed and will join the fight on Swiss side. After all getting 30 thousand trained soldiers with combat experience and hating your enemy was not so bad idea ;-)

[Euroamerican]

I wonder if Mister D'Atri was classified as a military criminal after having attempted to escape? It would be interesting to know more about that story.

[Steak-Sauce]

Interesting, didn't know that Switzerland was also bombed in the war.

If I remember right, Switzerland was also the no. 1 destination of British Colditz inmates - and I guess of most other Stalag /Oflag inmates throughout Germany.

[LineDoggie]

Thanks, Casbahrocker, for posting those links.

I knew previously about the Schaffhausen bombings and read about some bombers escaping into Switzerland after raids.


That story Linedoggie posted was pretty grim.There is a Much Worse story out there.

A USAAF enlisted man thrown into a penitentiary camp(because of Escapes) beaten & gang raped for weeks by the Soviet Prisoner/Internees. I'll see If I can find it.

[[WDW]Megaraptor]

Sounds like the Swiss weren't very charitably inclined towards folks that were bombing them when they were supposedly at peace.

Not all interned allied aircrew actually bombed Switzerland. Some made forced landings in battle damaged aircraft that were hit over Germany.

The Swiss interned them all for the duration of the war, and I can't figure out why? To avoid offending the Germans? In the name of being paranoid pricks? Beats me...

[makavelli]

interesting read...!

[NowhereMan]

Megaraptor;5017348']The Swiss interned them all for the duration of the war, and I can't figure out why?The Hague Convention demands it.

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hague05.asp

[Flummox]

There is a Much Worse story out there.

A USAAF enlisted man thrown into a penitentiary camp(because of Escapes) beaten & gang raped for weeks by the Soviet Prisoner/Internees. I'll see If I can find it.

Most pilots who didn't try to escape were in empty resorts (not many tourists at that time...) I've never heard what happened to those who got caught escaping, quite stupid to treat those people like this as they were no enemies.

My grandmother helped French prisoners to escape across the border to join the resistance, did 50km by bicycle to the border and came back with the 2 bicycles. Don't know how many times she did that, but some came back to thank her after the war. But it was probably easier for French prisoners to escape since they were in the French speaking region of Switzerland.
And about the polish, not all were forced to work. Those who were students in Poland were allowed to study in Switzerland.

[Breakfast in Vegas]

Have read about some of this before.

* accidental bombings happen, very unfortunate but hardly malicious or intentional all things considered

* prisoners should not have tried to escape. It doesn't excuse any beatings etc., but they were in a neutral country and should have sat out the war. If they did try and were caught, its no wonder the guards were pissed.

* surprised Switzerland produced some parts for the Germans... kind of "un-neutral"...

[Hutz]

Going by the numbers, Switzerland traded much more with the Allies than with the Nazi. Interesting considering how many years they were surrounded by Hitler's forces compared to being in contact with liberating forces.

[hatchet_harry]

Going by the numbers, Switzerland traded much more with the Allies than with the Nazi. Interesting considering how many years they were surrounded by Hitler's forces compared to being in contact with liberating forces.
while that's true for financial transactions it's certainly not true for arms, ammunition and parts for weapons. switzerland was neutral, which allowed it to trade with both parties. obviously, after the fall of france there wasn't much arms trade with the allies anymore and having no natural ressources and not enough farming output, switzerland depended on nazi germany.

one example for swiss arms trade was the oerlikon 20mm, which was used by both sides in the war (similar to the swedish bofors). it was one of the most used guns in the us navy. interesting story:
Just a few weeks before the Fall of France, the Oerlikon factory approved manufacture of their gun in the United Kingdom, under license. The Royal Navy managed to smuggle out the necessary drawings and documents from Zürich (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C3%BCrich). The production of the first British-made Oerlikon guns started in Ruislip (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruislip), London (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London), at the end of 1940; and the first guns were delivered to the Royal Navy in March or April, 1941.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oerlikon_20_mm_cannon

another interesting sidenote: the swiss air force flew messerschmidts. there were incidents where american planes opened fire on the swiss, because they thaught they were being attacked by germans. not that surprisingly, it's almost impossible to identify the plane when it's heading straight for your position. after the invasion the swiss air force began painting it's planes with invasion stripes, like the allies used them, just in red white red and with an added, huge swiss cross on the wings and the fuselage... only to be mistaken for allies by german fighters... (i believe they abandonded that paint scheme therefore, the crosses stayed though).

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/6785/bf109e3swiss1.png


about un-neutral things, questions like prolonging the war and the like... you're opening a can of worms... the swiss had a very critical look at their ww2 past, maybe more thoroughly than every other nation (well, except the germans). an independent comission of experts made a report about the ww2 past (also known as the bergier report) which contains a lot of details (hopefully, did cost 22 millions after all). it's a gold mine for historic research and, in my oppinion, rather weighted. unfortunately, people tend to cite only parts of it, to prove whatever their point is.

http://www.uek.ch/en/schlussbericht/synthesis/ueke.pdf

also some parts about internees. i've never heard of a story like linedoggie described it, but at the time internees where not always welcome. had more to do with "handsome young polish internees stealing our wimmenz" though ;-)

[Hutz]

Funny story about Swiss Me-109s. A german night fighter had to land with all it's state of the art electronics, so the Swiss extorted the Germans for a few 109s in order to keep their baby safe.

[Connaught Ranger]

Megaraptor;5017348']

The Swiss interned them all for the duration of the war, and I can't figure out why? To avoid offending the Germans? In the name of being paranoid pricks? Beats me...

Read up on Neutrality, The Irish Free State also interned R.A.F and German Crews, at the Curragh Camp in Kildare, Ireland

when some RAF crews were "allowed" to escape to Northen Ireland, Churchil ordered them sent back to preserve the Status Quo.

Connaught Ranger.

[Nanuk]

Found a clip about the bombardment of Schaffhausen on April 1st 1944. Extremely epic and dramatic! A tragic and brutal event for those who were hit by the bombs and lost relatives or their work. But it was a singular mishap. Nothing to compare with other European cities that were literally leveled

URL for Clip: http://ideesuisse.ch/201.0.html&usg=__gyOxC2pZ79GwcQNhkgLATlNxGwk=&h=67&w=70&sz=3&hl=de&start=7&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=Y7wgkcw_e3T1ZM:&tbnh=65&tbnw=68&prev=/images%3Fq%3DBombardierung%2Bschaffhausen%26um%3D1%26hl%3Dde%26client%3Dopera%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Dde%26tbs%3Disch:1