61340 Vorabseiten_e - Unabhängige Expertenkommission Schweiz

a day passed through the Gotthard Tunnel, and around 12 through the Simplon
Tunnel. Right up to the final weeks of the war, when this traffic collapsed as a
result of the destruction of the infrastructure in Germany, Switzerland did
nothing to put an end to it. It is also worth noting that Switzerland refrained
completely from using this service as a trump card in economic negotiations.
The Swiss authorities never classified coal as «war material», not even when a
certain degree of caution began to be exercised in 1943 in respect to «dual-use»
goods (usable for military and civilian purposes). Of course, the transportation
through Germany and Italy (from the port of Genoa) of raw materials, fuel and
foodstuffs destined for Switzerland was the counterpart to transit through
Switzerland. Tolerating coal transit also appeared to safeguard the delivery of
coal destined for Switzerland. However, there was no direct link between the
coal transit tolerated by Switzerland and the deliveries destined for Swiss use.
The latter were constantly used as a means of applying pressure by Germany and
often suffered major delays. On the Swiss side, it was considered inadvisable to
exercise pressure by questioning the free transportation of coal and thus risk
opening conflict with Switzerland’s more powerful neighbour.
Rhine shipping and coal transportation
With its access to seaports and also to the various canal systems on both sides
of the river, Rhine shipping made up a large proportion of Swiss foreign trade
in the 1930s. In 1937/38, goods transported on the Rhine via Basel represented,
with a handling of around 2.8 million tons, about a third of total
foreign trade volumes, about 90% of which was upstream traffic (imports)
and 10% downstream traffic (exports). 2 In 1937, the German government
repealed the Mannheim Acts (Mannheimer Akte) of 1864 which had
guaranteed free international travel by ship, but the new situation had no
direct consequences for Swiss shipping. From September 1939 to March
1941, this traffic ceased completely as a result of the war. After March 1941,
Switzerland was the only country apart from Germany which was able to
resume free shipping movements. Peak volumes were reached in 1942/43
with imports of 1 million tons and exports still at about 10% (0.1 million t),
representing a quarter of all Swiss foreign trade. Whilst the interruption of
overseas traffic did result in a shortage of goods (especially grain), the
waterways into Switzerland remained important because of coal imports: in
1941 (April onwards), 0.29 million tons of solid fuel were imported, and in
1942 the figure was 0.63 million tons, with 0.62 million tons in 1943, and
0.52 million tonnes in the period up to October 1944. Between January 1942
and October 1944, about 40% of coal imports entered Switzerland via the
Rhine. 3 Hostilities halted this water traffic once again in October 1944. The
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