61340 Vorabseiten_e - Unabhängige Expertenkommission Schweiz

The small state of Switzerland
The Swiss people’s self-image as a small state results from the country’s
geographical size. It has a total area of 41,000 km 2 , equivalent to just 7.5%
of French, 11% of German or 14% of Italian territory. Its four neighbours
(France, Germany, Austria and Italy) constituted a fairly balanced
environment until the 1930s; however, this balance was destroyed with the
«Anschluss» (annexation) of Austria in March 1938 and the armistice between
Germany and France in June 1940. For the first time in the history of the
modern Confederation, a single bloc of powers surrounded Switzerland. This
situation also emerged because Switzerland is a landlocked country with no
access to the sea. The Rhine was its most important link to the sea, but during
the war, this waterway could only be utilised to a limited extent. Chartering
ships of its own on international waters during the expansion of the war
economy towards the end of the 1930s was a poor substitute. On its own
territory, Switzerland had important Alpine passes (Gotthard and Lötschberg-
Simplon); during the war, these efficient north-south links were a great
advantage in its dealings with the Axis powers, but a burden in its relations
with the Allies.
In 1941, around 4.3 million people lived in Switzerland; just 5.2% of them
were foreigners – an all-time low for the 20 th century. 3 On the other hand,
more than 260,000 Swiss lived abroad in 1940, including 150,000 in neighbouring
countries. The 223,554 foreign nationals living in Switzerland
included 96,000 Italians (45,800 males), 78,300 Germans (29,800 males) and
24,400 French (9,200 males). The Austrians were no longer recorded as a
separate group after 1941. As regards religion, in 1941, 57.6% stated that
they were Protestant, and 41.4% were Roman Catholic; 0.7% were Old
Catholics and around 19,500 people were Jewish, amounting to 0.5% of the
total population. Due to the obstacles to naturalisation, the proportion of
foreign nationals in the Jewish community was especially high, amounting to
around 50%. 72.6% of the population spoke German as their mother tongue;
20.7% spoke French, 5.2% Italian, and 1.1% Romansh.
Economically, Switzerland – with its high degree of openness and intensive
external relations – was integrated into the global economy, over whose
framework conditions, however, it exerted little influence on account of its
small size. In terms of its employment structure, around 20% of the population
depended on the primary sector, 45% on the secondary sector and 35% on the
tertiary sector. Swiss industrial companies were present throughout the world,
specialising in products with high added-value. At home, it had an efficient rail,
postal and telegraph system, and many mountain regions had hydroelectric
55