The Swiss National Redoubt is a defensive plan developed by the Swiss government beginning in the 1880s to respond to foreign invasion. In the opening years of the Second World War the plan was expand
Camouflaged cannon beside the Lago di Lucendro. It has a 105 mm calibre and fires up to range of 17 kilometres (11 mi).
Instructions to the Swiss population in case of war. Point 7 tells people to stay where they live. 8: Only minor evacuations would ever take place. 9: Announces the use of deadly force if any refugees clog roads and paths – presumably those leading to the alpine redoubt.
Camouflaged infantry fortification in Sufers (machine gun bastion left, antitank gun right, housing, and connecting tunnel)
Fort Airolo
During World War I and World War II, Switzerland maintained armed neutrality and was not invaded by its neighbors, in part because of its heavily mountainous terrain. Switzerland built up its defence
National Redoubt (Switzerland)
…with many fortifications decommissioned by the early 21st century. The concept of "réduit" is a recurring theme in Swiss defence theory. Having stayed neutral during World War II, Switzerland retained the concept for its plans of resistance against a potential Soviet invasion during the Cold War, when it became a strong influence…
Replica of a balloon observer of the Swiss Army in World War I
Plaque on Lenin's house at Spiegelgasse 14 in Zürich
Cabaret Voltaire in Zürich, as it appeared in 2006
Ella Maillart's article about Jewish refugees in Switzerland, 1938, in the collection of the Jewish Museum of Switzerland