German-Swiss relations

German-Swiss relations

Switzerland	Germany

In the context of German-Swiss relations, there are over 200 agreements between Switzerland and Germany . The common border between the two neighboring states is over 300 kilometers in length.

Political and Economic Relations

Two German federal states and six Swiss cantons are members of the International Lake Constance Conference .

Switzerland has an embassy in Berlin , a German embassy in Bern and a representation at the United Nations office in Geneva .

Around 80,000 Swiss live in Germany and around 300,000 Germans in Switzerland . Almost 60,000 German cross-border commuters had their jobs in Switzerland at the end of 2014. Germany is Switzerland's most important trading partner.

history

On July 24, 1945, the Swiss Federal Council implemented the resolution that it had been preparing from May 1st and taken on May 8th: Switzerland ended the recognition of the German government. The state remained in existence for Switzerland, but was unable to act due to the lack of a government.

Due to anti-democratic activities, many Germans were expelled from the country and National Socialist organizations were banned. After the closure of all offices in Switzerland took over under the leadership of Hans Zurlinden and later Berlin's former ambassador Frölicher in trust the German advocacy (DIV) in Switzerland, a kind of management for a coming rightful German state. The whole thing happened under the eagle eyes of the Allies, who wanted to collect private German assets and take over the German files now under the sovereignty of the Swiss Foreign Ministry. While the files somewhat “managed” by the Swiss were handed over later, the Allies gave way to private assets in the wake of the emerging Cold War .

In 1951 the Federal Republic recognized the debts from the Nazi era and Switzerland released the blocked German state assets. German authorities gradually took over the tasks of the DIV so that it could be dissolved in 1953.

The Swiss donation to the war victims and the recreational leave of the Children's Aid of the Swiss Red Cross , which Germany only claimed at the end of the war, promoted friendly neighborly relations in the early post-war period.

See also

• Aircraft noise dispute between Switzerland and Germany
• Tax agreement between Germany and Switzerland
• Chamber of Commerce Germany-Switzerland

Web links

Commons : German-Swiss relations  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Bilateral relations between Switzerland and Germany ( Federal Department of Foreign Affairs )
• Relations with Germany ( Federal Foreign Office )

Individual evidence

1. ^ Antoine Fleury, Horst Möller, Hans-Peter Schwarz (eds.): Switzerland and Germany 1945–1961 , series of the quarterly books for contemporary history, special issue, Oldenbourg Verlag, 2004, ISBN 978-3-486-59373-0 , page 125
2. ↑ After 1945, Switzerland was faced with a sensitive question: What about Germany? , NZZ, July 16, 2018