Swiss Trade with the Allies and the Axis Powers during the Second World War
-
Eric Golson
Abstract
This paper shows that in order to maintain its position the Swiss government offered Germany concessions on merchandise trade when necessary, but Switzerland was far from being under German control during the Second World War. Germany provided Switzerland with excess imports to exports while paying higher prices for Swiss goods. Although the levels of trade were considerably smaller due to geographic restrictions, Switzerland gave the Allies favourable terms of merchandise trade, in particular after 1943, in exchange for the continued recognition of Swiss independence. This is consistent with, but not necessarily explicit in the current literature. As a result of these findings, this paper concludes, from a merchandise trade perspective, Swiss neutrality was a policy of pragmatic self-preservation.
© 2014 Akademie Verlag GmbH, Markgrafenstr. 12-14, 10969 Berlin.
Articles in the same Issue
- Titelei
- Abhandlungen und Studien
- Historical Economics of Wars in the 20th Century
- Health on the Home Front: Infant Deaths and Industrial Accidents during Mobilization for World War II
- Productivity Change and Mine Dynamics: The Coal Industry in Japan during World War II
- Democracy at a Disadvantage? British Rearmament, the Shadow Factory Scheme and the Coming of War, 1936-40
- Swiss Trade with the Allies and the Axis Powers during the Second World War
- The Enemy on the Farm: The Economic Contribution of German and Italian POW Employment in Britain and the British Dominions during and after the Second World War
- The Wartime Origins of the Wirtschaftswunder: The Growth of West German Industry, 1938-55
- How did the Capital Market Evaluate Germany’s Prospects for Winning World War I? Evidence from the Amsterdam Market for Government Bonds
- II. Dokumentation
- An Input-Output Table for Germany in 1936: A Documentation of Results, Sources and Research Strategy
Articles in the same Issue
- Titelei
- Abhandlungen und Studien
- Historical Economics of Wars in the 20th Century
- Health on the Home Front: Infant Deaths and Industrial Accidents during Mobilization for World War II
- Productivity Change and Mine Dynamics: The Coal Industry in Japan during World War II
- Democracy at a Disadvantage? British Rearmament, the Shadow Factory Scheme and the Coming of War, 1936-40
- Swiss Trade with the Allies and the Axis Powers during the Second World War
- The Enemy on the Farm: The Economic Contribution of German and Italian POW Employment in Britain and the British Dominions during and after the Second World War
- The Wartime Origins of the Wirtschaftswunder: The Growth of West German Industry, 1938-55
- How did the Capital Market Evaluate Germany’s Prospects for Winning World War I? Evidence from the Amsterdam Market for Government Bonds
- II. Dokumentation
- An Input-Output Table for Germany in 1936: A Documentation of Results, Sources and Research Strategy
