The First World War and Switzerland

21 June 2018

The association Switzerland in the First World War (La Suisse dans la Première Guerre mondiale/Die Schweiz im Ersten Weltkrieg) was founded during the centenary of the First World War in 1914.

It aims to analyse the history of Switzerland during this period and make it understandable to the public. The war also strongly influenced and changed neutral Switzerland.

Tensions between the social classes, French and German-speaking Switzerland, workers and peasants, officers and soldiers increased sharply during the four years of war. They culminated in the general strike of November 1918.

The exhibition shows these growing tensions in thematic chapters – economy, society, army and politics- using a visual scenography.

Hundreds of photographs, documents, films and objects tell the story of a Switzerland that, although spared from war, faced major political, economic and social challenges.

(Source and further information: www.grandeguerre.ch and  www.14-18.ch).