Switzerland’s WWII Story: Remaining Neutral in a Divided Europe | Jakob Tanner PT2

Jakob Tanner, professor emeritus of modern history at the University of Zurich, joins me to explore Switzerland’s role in World War II and what it really meant to be a “neutral” country surrounded by Nazi-occupied Europe.

Expect to learn what daily life looked like for Swiss citizens during the war, how the country balanced fear of invasion with domestic stability, and why the Reduit strategy focused on retreating into the Alps. Jakob also breaks down Switzerland’s trade and financial ties with Nazi Germany, including gold transfers and the country’s role as a safe haven for German assets.

If you’re curious about Swiss wartime diplomacy, military preparedness, or the controversies that followed, this conversation offers rare historical insight.

CONTACT Jakob

https://www.hist.uzh.ch/de/fachbereiche/neuzeit/emeritiert/tanner.html

CONTACT MIKE

https://howitticks.ch/contact-page/

TRANSCRIPT

https://howitticks.ch/podcast/switzerland-ww2-history-jakob-tanner/

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Refugee policies and Switzerland’s stance toward Jewish asylum seekers

06:00 The limits of direct democracy and why women didn’t get the vote until 1971

12:00 German invasion plans: Operation Tannenbaum and strategic miscalculations

18:00 Would the Reduit defense plan have worked? What was actually built?

24:00 Cultural and agricultural resistance within Switzerland during wartime

30:00 Post-war relations with Germany and the long road to historical reflection