Soldiers book
The soldiers' book was a handbook that was given to all members of the Swiss army from 1958 to 1974 . It conveyed on 384 richly illustrated pages and in memorable, simple language:
- Basic civic knowledge (e.g. "Citizens and Soldiers", "Thoughts when going to the polls", "Our neutrality")
- Military training and education content (eg: "Keep yourself fit for battle", "The enemy is everywhere", "We go into close combat")
- Information about the structure of the army, the types of service and branches of service, etc.
- Song texts and important Swiss texts (e.g .: oath of flags , federal letter of 1291 , national anthem )
When the book was out of print in 1974 , the military department decided not to reprint it. Much of the content of the book has since been conveyed to the troops in individual regulations, brochures and in other forms.
As recently as 1986, the Federal Council rejected a parliamentary initiative to reintroduce a soldier's book that was intended to "strengthen Swiss awareness of home, intellectual national defense and readiness for the military". The book had "triggered different reactions at the time", it would have to be redesigned at great expense and intellectual national defense was not a matter for the army.
Web links
- Richard Merz, Albert Bachmann: Soldiers' Book: It's up to you! , 1959
- Richard Merz, Albert Bachmann: Le livre du soldat: sois vigilant et fort; ton pays sera libre! , 1958