War/battle

Children’s trains in the service of neutrality

Carmen Bortolin 12.02.2026 During the Second World War, the Swiss Red Cross brought thousands of war-stricken children to Switzerland from France. Intended to provide humanitarian assistance, this initiative also served political purposes – and not all children were welcome.
French and Monegasque children arriving in Geneva on board an evacuee train, 16 June 1942.

English ‘regicides’ seek exile in Switzerland

Maximilian Spitz 05.02.2026 When Charles II from the House of Stuart acceded to the English throne in May 1660, a number of Englishmen, including Edmund Ludlow, John Lisle and William Cawley, were forced to hastily pack their belongings and flee the British Isles for continental Europe. These gentlemen were prominent political figures who preferred exile over death. The end of their journey on the continent was the Swiss Confederacy.
Even in exile in the Swiss Confederation, those who had signed the king's death warrant had to be on their guard. Illustration by Marco Heer.

The smuggling king of Chur

Noah Businger 13.01.2026 Unlike today, wars were almost constantly raging on the borders of the Old Swiss Confederacy in the 17th and 18th centuries. As well as representing the culmination of ongoing conflicts, this warfare opened up lucrative new lines of business for people like Thomas Massner.
Around 1700, the Splügen, San Bernardino, Septimer and Julier passes were some of the main Alpine crossings, making them strategically important to the warring powers of the time. This image shows the Splügen Pass circa 1810.

Marcel Beck and his thoughts on the post-war order

Jakob Tanner 18.12.2025 Marcel Beck was making the case for domestic reform as early as 1940. In 1942, his diary was full of discussions on restructuring Switzerland along democratic lines.
Marcel Beck worked in the National Library in Bern. That is where he formulated his thoughts and did his work during the war.

Hammer and sickle on the Gotthard

Jakob Tanner 16.12.2025 Medievalist Marcel Beck kept a diary throughout his military service. It reveals a different, rarely seen side of active service during the Second World War.
Letter-writing was part of everyday life during the Second World War, as depicted in this photo from 1942. Some people, like Marcel Beck, also wrote diaries.

Defending Switzerland against attacks that never happened

Juri Jaquemet 09.12.2025 In the early 19th century, Switzerland was traumatised by the French invasion of 1798 and there were fears that France would attack again. In Switzerland’s defence planning, Aarberg was a strategic military location as French armies could potentially cross the River Aare there. An obstacle was therefore needed.
Work was still ongoing in Aarberg long after Napoleon had been defeated and the threat of a French attack had been averted. Illustration by Marco Heer.

The bombing of the Sihl plain

Adi Kälin 27.11.2025 The damming up of Lake Sihl to create a reservoir started on 30 April 1937. A few days later, the Swiss air force bombed two vacated farmhouses in the area designated for the lake as part of a training exercise. The media interest was huge. Hundreds of people who had been evacuated from their homes to make way for the reservoir also followed the spectacle.
The Sihl plain near Einsiedeln was cleared in the 1930s to make way for a reservoir. The Swiss military conducted tests with aerial bombs before the water came. Picture from a report in the Zürcher Illustrierte.

The right to privacy, except during wartime

Nadja Ackermann 25.11.2025 During times of political unrest – especially during the two world wars – state censors monitored private as well as military correspondence. They made no attempt to hide their actions.
The postal service reads your mail. From the 20th century onwards, it mainly searched for messages written in invisible ink. Illustration by Marco Heer.