Concordance is a model of democracy that promotes consensus and ensures internal peace, and it is a hallmark of Switzerland’s political system. The system came into being at the beginning of the 20th century.
On 10 September 1898, Luigi Lucheni murdered the Austrian Empress Sisi in Geneva. After his arrest, he asked to be beheaded. The Swiss judiciary refused his request. In the end, though, the anarchist did lose his head…
For decades, the communist regime in East Germany made great efforts to establish closer relations with Switzerland. Three weeks after a GDR prime minister visited Bern for the first time, the East German state ceased to exist.
I learned late that my grandmother, whom I never met, was a staunch Nazi. After reading hundreds of letters, I realised with horror how much guilt she had incurred.
More than 100,000 soldiers from foreign armies were interned in Switzerland during World War II. Reminders of their presence can still be found today – in the Töss Valley in the Zurich Oberland, for instance.
The Castles of Bellinzona count among the most outstanding examples of heavy military architecture in the Alpine region. Because they safeguarded access to the Alpine passes, these late-medieval castles were of considerable value to the Duchy of Milan and coveted by the Old Swiss Confederation.
Jakob Leonhard spied for the Nazis. When they realised that the information he was feeding them had been rubber-stamped by Switzerland, his life hung by a thread.
