There are many books and articles in English and other languages that contain useful information about Switzerland in the period 1914-1918. This bibliography will evolve over time, and I would be happy to hear suggestions for new additions to the list. Read on...
* (asterisk) indicates that I have not seen the work, but it sounds like it would be useful!
Notes in [square brackets] are intended to help indicate the scope of the work.
Notes in [square brackets] are intended to help indicate the scope of the work.
General Swiss history
E. Bonjour, H.S. Offler & G.R. Potter, A short history of Switzerland (Oxford University Press, 1952)
Clive H. Church & Randolph C. Head, A concise history of Switzerland (Cambridge University Press, 2013)
* Sutton Croft, Was Switzerland pro-German? (Hazell, Watson & Viney, 1920)
Christopher Hughes, Switzerland (Ernest Benn Ltd, 1975)
Georg Thürer, Free and Swiss (Oswald Wolff, 1970)
E. Bonjour, H.S. Offler & G.R. Potter, A short history of Switzerland (Oxford University Press, 1952)
Clive H. Church & Randolph C. Head, A concise history of Switzerland (Cambridge University Press, 2013)
* Sutton Croft, Was Switzerland pro-German? (Hazell, Watson & Viney, 1920)
Christopher Hughes, Switzerland (Ernest Benn Ltd, 1975)
Georg Thürer, Free and Swiss (Oswald Wolff, 1970)
Swiss neutrality and related issues
* Edgar Bonjour, Swiss neutrality: Its history and meaning (Allen Unwin, 1952)
Hans A. Schmitt, Neutral Europe between war and revolution 1917-1923 (University Press of Virginia, 1988) [very useful examination including Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Lichtenstein Norway and Netherlands as well as Switzerland - useful for comparisons]
"Chapter CC. Swiss neutrality, 1914-1917", in The Times History of the War, Vol. XIII (pub. c.1918) [covers wider subjects than just neutrality]
* Charles P. Vincent, The Politics of Hunger. The Allied blockade of Germany, 1915-1919 (Ohio University Press, 1985)
* Edgar Bonjour, Swiss neutrality: Its history and meaning (Allen Unwin, 1952)
Hans A. Schmitt, Neutral Europe between war and revolution 1917-1923 (University Press of Virginia, 1988) [very useful examination including Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Lichtenstein Norway and Netherlands as well as Switzerland - useful for comparisons]
"Chapter CC. Swiss neutrality, 1914-1917", in The Times History of the War, Vol. XIII (pub. c.1918) [covers wider subjects than just neutrality]
* Charles P. Vincent, The Politics of Hunger. The Allied blockade of Germany, 1915-1919 (Ohio University Press, 1985)
Swiss armed forces and defence
* Capt. Remy Faesch, The Swiss army system (GE Stewart, 1916)
* Julian Grande, A citizen's army: the Swiss system (Chatto & Windus, 1916)
* John McCormack, One million mercenaries (Leo Cooper, 1993)
* Richard Munday, Most armed and most free (Piedmont Publishing, 1996)
Günther D. Reiss, "The Murten Position 1914-1918: Swiss semi-permanent fortification", pp.43-51 in Fortress journal No.16
David Woodward, Armies of the world 1854-1914 (Sidgwick & Jackson, 1978) [includes chapter on Swiss army]
* Capt. Remy Faesch, The Swiss army system (GE Stewart, 1916)
* Julian Grande, A citizen's army: the Swiss system (Chatto & Windus, 1916)
* John McCormack, One million mercenaries (Leo Cooper, 1993)
* Richard Munday, Most armed and most free (Piedmont Publishing, 1996)
Günther D. Reiss, "The Murten Position 1914-1918: Swiss semi-permanent fortification", pp.43-51 in Fortress journal No.16
David Woodward, Armies of the world 1854-1914 (Sidgwick & Jackson, 1978) [includes chapter on Swiss army]
International Committee of the Red Cross and Prisoners of War
Henry P. Picot, The British interned in Switzerland (Edward Arnold, 1919) [the author was the senior British officer in Switzerland during WW1; text available online here]
Philip Lewis, "Alpine echoes", in Stand To! Journal of the Western Front Association No.33, pp.10-11, p.33.
Stéphanie Leu, “Visiting French Internees in Switzerland during the First World War: Women in the Construction of National States 1915-1918” (available online here)
Caroline Moorhead, Dunant's Dream: War, Switzerland and the history of the Red Cross (HarperCollins, 1998)
* George Renwick, War wanderings: A record of war and war travel 1914-1916 (1916) [correspondent of the Daily Chronicle, the author escaped from Vienna to France via Switzerland in August 1914]
Richard B. Speed III, Prisoners, diplomats and the Great War (Greenwood Press, 1990)
Matthew Stibbe, "The internment of civilians by belligerent states during the First World War and the response of the International Committee of the Red Cross", in Journal of Contemporary History Vol.41(1), 2006, pp.5-19.
Richard van Emden, Prisoners of the Kaiser (Pen & Sword, 2000)
* Ernest Warburton, Behind Boche bars (1920) [written by a lieutenant in the British Army, Sherwood Foresters, who was a prisoner of war and was then interned in Switzerland]
John Yarnall, Barbed Wire Disease. British & German prisoners of war, 1914-10 (History Press, 2011) [includes chapter on prisoner exchanges and internments]
Henry P. Picot, The British interned in Switzerland (Edward Arnold, 1919) [the author was the senior British officer in Switzerland during WW1; text available online here]
Philip Lewis, "Alpine echoes", in Stand To! Journal of the Western Front Association No.33, pp.10-11, p.33.
Stéphanie Leu, “Visiting French Internees in Switzerland during the First World War: Women in the Construction of National States 1915-1918” (available online here)
Caroline Moorhead, Dunant's Dream: War, Switzerland and the history of the Red Cross (HarperCollins, 1998)
* George Renwick, War wanderings: A record of war and war travel 1914-1916 (1916) [correspondent of the Daily Chronicle, the author escaped from Vienna to France via Switzerland in August 1914]
Richard B. Speed III, Prisoners, diplomats and the Great War (Greenwood Press, 1990)
Matthew Stibbe, "The internment of civilians by belligerent states during the First World War and the response of the International Committee of the Red Cross", in Journal of Contemporary History Vol.41(1), 2006, pp.5-19.
Richard van Emden, Prisoners of the Kaiser (Pen & Sword, 2000)
* Ernest Warburton, Behind Boche bars (1920) [written by a lieutenant in the British Army, Sherwood Foresters, who was a prisoner of war and was then interned in Switzerland]
John Yarnall, Barbed Wire Disease. British & German prisoners of war, 1914-10 (History Press, 2011) [includes chapter on prisoner exchanges and internments]
Other aspects
* Heinz K. Meier, Friendship under stress: US-Swiss relations 1900-1950 (Peter Lang AG, 1970)
* Alfred E. Senn, Diplomacy and revolution: The Soviet Mission in Switzerland, 1918 (Notre Dame University Press, 1974)
* Alfred E. Senn, The Russian Revolution in Switzerland, 1914-1917 (University of Wisconsin Press, 1971)
* Heinz K. Meier, Friendship under stress: US-Swiss relations 1900-1950 (Peter Lang AG, 1970)
* Alfred E. Senn, Diplomacy and revolution: The Soviet Mission in Switzerland, 1918 (Notre Dame University Press, 1974)
* Alfred E. Senn, The Russian Revolution in Switzerland, 1914-1917 (University of Wisconsin Press, 1971)
Some recent publications in French and German
* Urban Fink-Wagner, Der Kanton Solothurn vor Hundert Jahren. Quellen, Bilder und Erinnerungen zur Zeit des Ersten Weltkriegs (Hier und Jetz, 2014) [First World War period in Canton Solothurn, a part of Switzerland near German border; German language]
* Hans Rudolf Fuhrer, Die Schweizer Armee im 1. Weltkrieg – Bedrohung, Landesverteidigung und Landesbefestigung (NZZ Zuerich, 1999) [German language]
* Erika Hebeisen, Peter Niederhäuser, Regula Schmid, Kriegs- und Krisenzeit: Zürich während des Ersten Weltkriegs (Chronos Verlag, 2014) [the canton of Zürich during the First World War; German language]
* Georg Kreis, Schweizer Postkarten aus dem Ersten Weltkrieg (Hier und Jetz, 2014) [how the First World War was depicted in contemporary Swiss postcards; German language]
* Konrad J. Kuhn, Béatrice Ziegler, Der Vergessene Krieg. Spuren und Traditionen zur Schweiz im Ersten Weltkrieg (Hier und Jetz, 2014) [the memory of the First World War in Switzerland; German language]
* Jean-Jacques Langendorf et Pierre Streit, Face à la guerre. L’armée et le peuple suisses 1914-1919/1939-1945 (Infolio éditions, 2007) [French language]
* Hans Rapold, Der Schweizerische Generalstab, Band V. Zeit der Bewährung? Die Epoche um den Ersten Weltkrieg 1907–1924 (Volume 5) (Hier und Jetz, 2002) [history of the Swiss General Staff 1907-1924; German language]
* 1914 –1918: Neue Zugänge zur Geschichte der Schweiz im Ersten Weltkrieg / Nouvelles approches et perspectives de recherche en Suisse, Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Geschichte / Revue Suisse d’Histoire / Rivista Storica Svizzera Vol.63 No.3 (2013) [special issue of the journal focussing on Switzerland and the First World War; articles in both French and German languages]
Roman Rossfeld, Thomas Buomberger & Patrick Kury, 14/18. La Suisse et la Grande Guerre / 14/18. Die Schweiz und der Grosse Krieg (Hier und Jetz, 2014) [wide-ranging survey of Switzerland 1914-1918, with many illustrations; published in French or German language. See my review of this book here]
Christophe Vuilleumier, La Suisse face à l’espionnage, 1914-1918 (Éditions Slatkine, 2014) [espionage and First World War Switzerland; French language]
Christophe Vuilleumier (ed.), La Suisse et la Guerre de 1914-1918 (Éditions Slatkine, 2015) [an excellent series of chapters on different aspects of Switzerland and the war]
Christophe Vuilleumier, “Il n’y a rien à dire sur l’histoire de la Suisse pendant la Première Guerre mondiale”, in Revue administrative n° 396, pp.6-14. [memory of First World War in Switzerland French language: read it here]
Markus Wittwer, Die Schweizerischen Soldatenmarken 1. Weltkried 1914/18 (2004) [catalogue of the unusual 'soldier's stamps' used by Swiss troops, specific to each unit; German language but many illustrations]
There are many more books on this subject in French and German - too many to list here. The book "14/18. La Suisse et la Grande Guerre" by Roman Rossfeld, Thomas Buomberger & Patrick Kury has an extensive bibliography of such works.
* Urban Fink-Wagner, Der Kanton Solothurn vor Hundert Jahren. Quellen, Bilder und Erinnerungen zur Zeit des Ersten Weltkriegs (Hier und Jetz, 2014) [First World War period in Canton Solothurn, a part of Switzerland near German border; German language]
* Hans Rudolf Fuhrer, Die Schweizer Armee im 1. Weltkrieg – Bedrohung, Landesverteidigung und Landesbefestigung (NZZ Zuerich, 1999) [German language]
* Erika Hebeisen, Peter Niederhäuser, Regula Schmid, Kriegs- und Krisenzeit: Zürich während des Ersten Weltkriegs (Chronos Verlag, 2014) [the canton of Zürich during the First World War; German language]
* Georg Kreis, Schweizer Postkarten aus dem Ersten Weltkrieg (Hier und Jetz, 2014) [how the First World War was depicted in contemporary Swiss postcards; German language]
* Konrad J. Kuhn, Béatrice Ziegler, Der Vergessene Krieg. Spuren und Traditionen zur Schweiz im Ersten Weltkrieg (Hier und Jetz, 2014) [the memory of the First World War in Switzerland; German language]
* Jean-Jacques Langendorf et Pierre Streit, Face à la guerre. L’armée et le peuple suisses 1914-1919/1939-1945 (Infolio éditions, 2007) [French language]
* Hans Rapold, Der Schweizerische Generalstab, Band V. Zeit der Bewährung? Die Epoche um den Ersten Weltkrieg 1907–1924 (Volume 5) (Hier und Jetz, 2002) [history of the Swiss General Staff 1907-1924; German language]
* 1914 –1918: Neue Zugänge zur Geschichte der Schweiz im Ersten Weltkrieg / Nouvelles approches et perspectives de recherche en Suisse, Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Geschichte / Revue Suisse d’Histoire / Rivista Storica Svizzera Vol.63 No.3 (2013) [special issue of the journal focussing on Switzerland and the First World War; articles in both French and German languages]
Roman Rossfeld, Thomas Buomberger & Patrick Kury, 14/18. La Suisse et la Grande Guerre / 14/18. Die Schweiz und der Grosse Krieg (Hier und Jetz, 2014) [wide-ranging survey of Switzerland 1914-1918, with many illustrations; published in French or German language. See my review of this book here]
Christophe Vuilleumier, La Suisse face à l’espionnage, 1914-1918 (Éditions Slatkine, 2014) [espionage and First World War Switzerland; French language]
Christophe Vuilleumier (ed.), La Suisse et la Guerre de 1914-1918 (Éditions Slatkine, 2015) [an excellent series of chapters on different aspects of Switzerland and the war]
Christophe Vuilleumier, “Il n’y a rien à dire sur l’histoire de la Suisse pendant la Première Guerre mondiale”, in Revue administrative n° 396, pp.6-14. [memory of First World War in Switzerland French language: read it here]
Markus Wittwer, Die Schweizerischen Soldatenmarken 1. Weltkried 1914/18 (2004) [catalogue of the unusual 'soldier's stamps' used by Swiss troops, specific to each unit; German language but many illustrations]
There are many more books on this subject in French and German - too many to list here. The book "14/18. La Suisse et la Grande Guerre" by Roman Rossfeld, Thomas Buomberger & Patrick Kury has an extensive bibliography of such works.
I hope this bibliography has been useful to you. If you have suggestions for other books or articles that could be included, please do send them to me via the contact page. Generally I would not include works that only have a couple of useful pages, although it depends on the content. Thank you.
Last updated: October 2015
Last updated: October 2015
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