Demonstration against the atomic bomb in Lausanne, 1959.
Swiss National Museum / ASL

Anti-communism unleashed a dangerous megalomania among some Swiss army leaders. The deployment of nuclear weapons on Switzerland’s own territory would have had devastating consequences for the population of such a small and densely populated country. On 11 July 1958, the Federal Council also issued a statement that explicitly advocated equipping the country with atomic bombs. “In keeping with our centuries-old tradition of military defensiveness, the Federal Council holds the view that the army must be provided with the most effective weapons in order to preserve our independence and protect our neutrality. This includes nuclear weapons”. Pacifists protested against the atomic craze, but Swiss voters rejected a ban on nuclear weapons in 1962.

With the Mirage Affair of 1964, the high-flying dreams for a Swiss atomic bomb were unable to take off. Due to pressure from the superpowers, Switzerland was obliged to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 1969. Nevertheless, the secret nuclear weapons programme continued and was not officially shut down until 1988. The Swiss atomic bomb was just a paper tiger up until the end of the Cold War, as the numerous trials never progressed beyond the “theoretical possibility” stage. The lack of uranium, technological backwardness, the shortage of qualified scientists and limited financial resources prevented Switzerland’s dream of having its own atomic bomb from coming true.

Michael Fischer

The Swiss atomic bomb