61340 Vorabseiten_e - Unabhängige Expertenkommission Schweiz

transportation of goods was not resumed until 1946, and then only to a
limited extent. The Swiss Rhine fleet suffered considerable losses during the
war years (out of 191 ships, 36 became temporarily unusable, and 21 were
lost completely), but these losses were much smaller than those of the international
Rhine fleet as a whole. As with the railway companies and the
airline, an important strategic objective was to maintain or create good
starting conditions for the period after the war.
In contrast to the Rhine shipping, the small Swiss deep-sea fleet, whose
establishment from 1938 onwards was seen as an exotic and fascinating
phenomenon for this small land-locked country, has already been the subject
of several studies. 4 An important link between overseas traffic and the rail
supply route was provided by the shuttle service between the ports of Lisbon
and Genoa.
Weapons transport (north-south)
Is it true, as a persistent rumour still maintains to this day, that weapons were
secretly transported through Switzerland during the war, concealed underneath
coal or in sealed wagons? No such deliveries have been tracked down and
divulged. Deliveries of weapons, munitions, and of all kinds of war equipment
to the warring parties, could take place by way of neutral territory only if they
were conducted by private operators. The Hague Convention of 1907 left it to
the neutral state to decide for itself whether or not it wanted to prevent what
was seen in the first instance as purely commercial trade. Switzerland initially
decided not to demand any prior authorisation from the Germans, even though
a German Africa corps under Rommel’s command had been waging war in
Libya with their Italian allies since February 1941, and transit heading south
had therefore taken on a new significance. As late as 1942, an official from the
Federal Political Department (Eidgenössisches Politisches Departement, EPD) was
able to remark that consignments with military relevance «very rarely» passed
through Switzerland, since the Germans preferred the Brenner route. 5 Nevertheless,
the idea of introducing an authorization requirement was already being
considered in the summer of 1941. This was introduced in October 1941, but
the permits were easy to obtain. Even in summer 1942, Switzerland did not
want to commit itself to a doctrine: «We have the honour of informing you that
we prefer not to express an absolute theoretical view on the matter raised.» 6
These were the words of Pierre Bonna, Head of the Division for Foreign Affairs
(Abteilung für Auswärtige Angelegenheiten) and therefore the highest-ranking
Swiss diplomat, when asked whether the transportation of catapults to assist
take-offs on aircraft carriers should be approved.
From summer 1942 on, however, officials began to be more careful, and permits
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