61340 Vorabseiten_e - Unabhängige Expertenkommission Schweiz

more, Adolf Hitler sided with the more moderate ministries. He said something
to the effect that
«he thought it desirable in principle to be tough towards Switzerland; but
one must not go too far, as one had to assume that if we were to wage an
open trade war, Switzerland would find alternatives in other countries via
Italy. The Führer therefore considers it right that we do not block all further
opportunities for negotiation, in case Switzerland does not give in to our
demands.» 28
This order continued to guide German foreign trade policy towards Switzerland
until the end of the war. On the one hand, Hitler had no confidence in the
willingness of Italy, an Axis partner, to co-operate, and on the other hand he
wanted to avoid a complete stop of Swiss supplies. After summer 1943, the
Swiss government restricted exports, especially as regards military equipment,
and this made the Swiss supplies of goods less significant in the eyes of the
Armaments Ministry.
«Whereas imports from Sweden, Spain etc. give a clear picture as a result
of the large quantities of important raw materials, the structure of imports
from Switzerland is completely different, since all kinds of goods are
involved, and above all finished products. He must state with regard to
these imports that all imports from Switzerland are mostly of no interest
to Germany, especially when set against the export of important German
goods to Switzerland.» 29
After that, German interests were concentrated more strongly on Switzerland’s
other services, the transiting of goods through the country and, most importantly,
currency trading. In this regard in particular, Switzerland appears to have
played a more influential role for the German war economy. Its unrestricted
capital market could be used for various transactions such as the sale of gold and
securities, and the franc played a unique role in European trade in this
connection after 1941. According to the Reichsbank, gold and currency transactions
in Switzerland were «of vital importance to the war», since the franc was
the only freely convertible currency both for Germany and for its partner
countries. 30 Whilst it is true that fewer than 10% of German international
payment transactions took place using foreign currency, after 1943 in particular,
especially sought-after raw materials and goods could only be bought from the
neutral and partner states in return for foreign currency, or had to be smuggled.
Several examples show that without francs Nazi Germany would have been able
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