In 1815, Europe’s powers gathered in Vienna, Austria, in an attempt to draw long-standing, mutually agreed upon political borders which had blurred due to decades if not centuries of warfare.  This group, called the Congress of Vienna, ended up agreeing to an act which not only rearranged Europe’s borders and territorial rights, but also did a few other things, such as condemn the trade of slaves and ensure the neutrality of Switzerland.  Switzerland has not been at war since. If Adolf Hitler had has his way, that would not have been the case. Hitler was not one to care much about treaties and agreements, and his aspirations — total control of Europe, if not the world — simply did not jibe with the idea of a neighbor, neutral, sitting on Germany’s border.  While Hitler’s pre-World War II statements assured the Swiss that their neutrality would not be compromised, his tune changed as the war matured.  Even though the Swiss stance of neutrality benefited Germany in some regards — for example, by providing financial services to Nazis — Hitler wanted to own Switzerland. Taking Switzerland, however, was a fool’s errand.  The Swiss topology is not very conducive to invasion by tanks, … Continue reading Hitler’s Plan to Invade Switzerland