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
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
During World War II, the neutral country of Switzerland underwent initially sporadic bombing and aerial combat events that became more frequent during the later stages of the war.
Switzerland during World War I and World War II
…aviators could lead to 'navigation errors' during bombing raids over Germany". Switzerland, surrounded by Axis-controlled territory, also suffered from Allied bombings during the war; most notably from the accidental bombing of Schaffhausen by American aircraft on 1 April 1944. It was mistaken for Ludwigshafen am…
Swiss Army officers standing over debris after an Allied bombing in Oberstrass, Zurich, on 4 March 1945
A Swiss Messerschmitt Bf 109, which served as the backbone of the Swiss Air Force during World War II. Swiss Bf 109s were regularly used by the Swiss Air Force to intercept Allied bombers flying over Switzerland
Letter from OSS director William J. Donovan regarding bombings of Swiss towns.