Between the Alps and a Hard Place: Switzerland in World War II and Moral Blackmail Today

by Angelo M. Codevilla

Book Overview

In Between the Alps and a Hard Place , Professor Angelo M. Codevilla reveals how the true history of the Swiss in World War II has been buried beneath a modern campaign of moral blackmail that has... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 089526238X
• ISBN13: 9780895262387
• Release Date: November 2000
• Publisher: Regnery History
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 1.17 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Yet another shameful Clinton episode

After nearly two centuries of honoring her as a noble "sister republic," the United States suddenly turned on Switzerland in the late 1990s and all but named the Swiss the last surviving remnant of Hitler's Third Reich. Though the episode has largely passed from view today, the stench of "collaborated with the Nazis" still attaches to Switzerland's name in key parts of American media and culture. Angelo M. Codevilla gets to the bottom of this shameful episode in American history, and reveals what was really at stake and who stood to gain from it all.As Codevilla shows, the anti-Swiss spasm in Congress and the media wasn't generated by any new facts or sudden revelations (despite what then-Senator Al D'Amato claimed at the time), but rather by domestic US political concerns and the Clinton Administration's typical desire to pay off wealthy campaign contributors. I suppose that, as a taxpayer, I should be relieved that for once, the money-grubbers set their sights on someone other than working Americans to be their easy-money cash cow. Like D'Amato, this whole sordid story makes me ashamed of my country -- but not for the same reason he gave.Codevilla gives us chapter-and-verse of how the Clinton Administration put itself to work supporting campaign contributors' efforts to extort money, not from Swiss banks to give to Holocaust survivors, but rather from Swiss taxpayers to pour into their own tax-exempt foundations. He details the anti-Swiss game plan: dig up old and discredited arguments, rejected policy recommendations, and propaganda from American and Swiss left-wingers; clothe yourself in moral righteousness; wave the bloody shirt (Codevilla quotes one, "I speak to you today on behalf of the Jewish people. With reverence, I also speak to you on behalf of the six million who cannot speak for themselves."); employ sympathetic media and politicians to recycle your theories into "history" and your accusations into "proof;" and then watch the money pour in from the victims of your moral blackmail.At the same time, this title is a fine work of history, as Codevilla reveals what was really going on in Switzerland during the war. Political, military, and economic strategies are all analyzed, and the reader is drawn into Switzerland's wartime dilemma: how to stand up to evil while at the same time preserving its own freedom. D'Amato and others might have preferred that the Swiss allow themselves to be overrun by the Nazis rather than make the (relatively few) compromises they did in order to keep the wolf on the other side of the door. But certainly, it's easier to argue that today than it was sixty years ago. In all, as Codevilla makes amply clear, Switzerland acted far more honorably in the desperate 1940s than America did in the cushy and comfortable 1990s. We owe the Swiss nation and people an apology.

Brillant, most informative

The book is brillant. It does provide outstanding, clear but still concise explanations on 3 subjects:1. The very nature of the Swiss nation2. Swiss neutrality during World War 23. The so-called "Jewish Funds Affair" which deeply affected US-Swiss relations in the late 1990'sHaving closely followed the "Jewish Funds Affair" in the 1990', an affair which I considered to be a disaster as it affected relations between two countries which shared a long and intesive friendship before the "Affair", I did not expect to learn much from the book. However, I did find a wealth of informations, and an outstanding synthesis of the all "Affair", its consequences on the US-Swiss relations, and, most interestingly, the most accurate description of the Swiss nation I had ever read. Switzerland seems peculiar to most non-Europeans: while it is sorrounded by mono-ethnical nations such as Italy and Germany, it seems difficult to understand how this small multi-ethnical nation did not break up in the course of the 2 last centuries. Well, the book by Prof. Codevilla explains very accurately why, and explains what is peculiar about Switzerland, and why the Swiss Italian and French ethnical minorities never joined the neighbouring non-ethnical nations. In short, the book is a must for all those who want to learn about Switzerland, its nature and its history during the 20th century.

Extortion of the Swiss by Morally bankrupt U.S.

Likely one of the most important works ever written on survival of a small nation surrounded by enemies for over seven years; surviving first by absolute dedication of the Swiss populace which democratically chose to "fight to the last man" as lead by General Guisan during WWII. By not abdicating their individual rights and refusing to abrogate their lives to bureaucrats this single action convinced their enemies that it was far better to deal in a businesslike mode than to conquer . Finally, the selling out of the highest offices of the U.S. to special interests by extorting a payment for the right to continue business here by Swiss banks in the name of victims of the holocaust is a shame on the history of our country. Although this sad chapter in the nation's history will never be told universally it is important that concerned citizens understand the real story. There are many lessons to be learned by concerned citizens in the U.S. who see the majority in this republic refusing to take responsibility for their democratic inactions - not realizing the portent of their neglect.A clear refutation of the indictment of Switzerland as a collaborateur of Nazism and to the contrary defining its role as banker of the War providing the only trade negotiable currency for both the allies and axis and a commonality for settlements in a post war Europe requiring a point of stability from which a rebuilt Common Market could eventually germinate and thrive. Dr. Codevilla's historical and world wide perspective is a basic course in power politics and negotiations. It should be required reading in every business and civilization course in the country. To know Machiaevelli's concepts is one thing but to understand them in a historical period of fifty years of power politics is quite another. A must read!

Switzerland in WWII, a gratifying correction

Codevilla's writing is excellent and fluent and full of insight. He gives an excellent capsule history of Switzerland in WWII. I very much liked his approach of looking at several aspects: power, politics, economics and the military. Some of it I already knew more or less but it was very interesting to have everything together. He does give an objective view of the Swiss at the time: neither all heroes or cowards, nor all virtuous or villain, but by determination, cleverness and a generous amount of good luck managed to avoid a German invasion. He gives a very good picture of the unsatisfactory state of the Swiss army at the beginning of the war. Rightly he emphasizes the crucial role of General Guisan in uniting the people in their resistance. His role cannot be overemphasized. He was immensely popular; his picture hanging in almost all public places, inns and in many homes. Yet after the war he made no use of his popularity; having done his duty he became an ordinary citizen again.The recent political machinations of US pressure groups to extract money from Swiss banks are very revealing. I suspected something along these lines, but the details of it are very interesting, how monetary contributions to the Democratic party bought the power to extort much more money from the Swiss banks. As to the consequences Codevilla again is very insightful: the image of America abroad suffered. What the author only covers lightly (out of politeness?) are the role of the Swiss government, Swiss press and the Swiss Left. By ineptitude or intention they all contributed to the success of the American operation. Codevilla also correctly states that all this contributed to the success of Christoph Blochers (extreme?)right wing party.I very much liked Codevilla's references to Roman quotations and excerpts from Machiavelli. The rules of politics both in war and in peace have stayed much the same.The only critique I have concerns a number of misspellings of "Schweiz", "Schweizer" and "Schweizerisch" in the reference list.

Well Worth Your Time

Lively and extremely readable, this is also a first-rate work of history, spanning two time periods-the Second World War and the Clinton Administration. Dr. Codevilla brilliantly analyzes the genuine crisis faced by Swiss politicians and military leaders during the Second World War-how to deter an invasion by Hitler's seemingly invincible Wehrmacht, which by 1940 had left the tiny country completely surrounded. How also to import enough food and coal to keep the Swiss population alive for the duration of the war? How to manage both of these tasks, without surrendering Swiss independence to the hated Nazi regime-which had been threatening invasion and calling for the liquidation of Switzerland since at least 1937? Using original sources, Codavilla answers these questions, and adds important historical perspective and moral nuance to the picture which Americans gained of Switzerland and her citizens during the late 1990s. He also addresses forthrightly the behavior of Swiss banks regarding unclaimed assets of Jews murdered by the Nazis, and the involvement of the Clinton Administration in the politicization of Holocaust accounts.