61340 Vorabseiten_e - Unabhängige Expertenkommission Schweiz

«Richtlinienbewegung» 58 (Movement of Guiding Principles) initiated by the
publishers of the newspaper «Die Nation», provided a common forum for the
converging left and right wing groups to test rapprochement solutions: the
Radicals (Freisinnige) moved away from the principle of pure economic liberalism
and gave their limited approval to welfare state reforms. On the Left, the
trade unions began to say goodbye to the class struggle back in the 1920s (the
relevant article was deleted from the statutes in 1927). In 1933, the SPS
declared that the defence of democracy was its chief objective. Subsequently, in
1935, the party took the path towards co-operation on a national basis (by
supporting national defence and redefining itself as a «people’s party»). 59 Too,
the so-called peace agreement in the clock and watchmaking, metal, and
machine industries in the summer of 1937 was a sign that the disputes on the
labour market were easing. 60
The convergence of positions led to the «Geistige Landesverteidigung» movement,
which emerged out of a complex combination of factors and served different and
sometimes conflicting ends. 61 The «Geistige Landesverteidigung» aimed to
emphasise Swiss individuality and thereby strengthen the desire for political
independence and military national defence. It thereby fulfilled a desire (and
the necessity) to demarcate itself from the outside world, in particular from the
Third Reich, and also promoted internal social stability. Springing from a
process of social self-mobilisation it was at the same time engineered by state
and private elitists, as reflected, for example, in the postage stamps of the time
or in children’s books. 62 Although it took its cue to a large degree from traditional
values and tended towards anti-modernism, propagating a conservative
view of women, it also promoted domestic political stability and increased the
readiness of the middle class to accommodate the labour movement’s demands
for social reform. There is no doubt that the overwhelming majority of the Swiss
population rejected the National Socialist ideology. This rejection was also very
apparent amongst certain academic groups such as constitutional law
specialists. 63 There were also calls from influential voices in scientific circles,
churches and humanitarian groups, the media and politics for Switzerland to
take a long-term share of responsibility for international events.
Both of the large churches in the country, the Reformed Evangelical (or
Protestant) Church and the Roman Catholic Church, took part in the intellectual
defence movement by way of a so-called «spiritual» defence of the
country. 64 Church and state moved closer together, which was particularly
beneficial for the Roman Catholic side. 65 This church profited more from the
anti-Enlightenment mood of the time than did the more heterogeneous
Reformed Evangelical Church, and was able to portray itself as the oldest power
in the country at a time when many parts of Switzerland wanted to return to
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