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Europe in 1910 with World War I alliances highlighted. Switzerland (yellow) found itself surrounded by members of opposing alliances. During the First World War, Switzerland sustained its policy of neutrality despite sharing land borders with two of the Central Powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary) and two of the Allied Powers (France and Italy).
In 1917 Switzerland's neutrality came into question when the Grimm–Hoffmann Affair erupted. Robert Grimm , a Swiss socialist politician, travelled to Russia as an activist to negotiate a separate peace between Russia and Germany, in order to end the war on the Eastern Front in the interests of socialism and pacifism .
Before the outbreak of the Second World War, Adolf Hitler made repeated assurances that Germany would respect Swiss neutrality in the event of a conflict in Europe. [2] In February 1937, he assured the Swiss Federal Councillor Edmund Schulthess that "at all times, whatever happens, we will respect the inviolability and neutrality of Switzerland", reiterating this promise shortly before the ...
Robert Grimm. The Grimm–Hoffmann affair was a short-lived scandal that threatened Switzerland's neutrality during World War I. Robert Grimm, a socialist politician, travelled to the Russian Republic as an activist to negotiate a separate peace between Russia and the German Empire, in order to end the war on the Eastern Front in the interests of socialism.
The military history of Switzerland comprises centuries of armed actions, and the role of the Swiss military in conflicts and peacekeeping worldwide. Despite maintaining neutrality since its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499, [1] Switzerland has been involved in military operations dating back to the hiring of Swiss mercenaries by foreign nations, including the Papal States.
An example of a permanently neutral power is Switzerland. The concept of neutrality in war is narrowly defined and puts specific constraints on the neutral party in return for the internationally recognized right to remain neutral. Neutralism or a "neutralist policy" is a foreign policy position wherein a state intends to remain neutral in ...
An initiative to enshrine neutrality in the Swiss constitution garnered enough signatures to get a vote as debate over the policy has sharpened in recent years.
On 5 November 1918 the Federal Council, Switzerland's executive, deployed two infantry regiments and two cavalry brigades to Zürich.It claimed that economic and political instability could give radicals, particularly foreigners in Zürich, the opportunity to cause disturbances and to attempt a revolution and that the soldiers were needed to maintain order. [7]