SWITZERLAND DURING THE GREAT WAR.
• CTo THE EDITOR OP THE " SPDCTATOR."J
SIR,—I have read with much interest the splendid article in your issue of March 8th on " Switzerland during the Great War." From May-October, 1911, I was staying near Berm, and have.spent many months there since. Germany from the very beginning of hostilities was determined that the vast majority of the population of Switzerland—the German-Swiss- should be entirely on her side. She therefore took care to control the Press as far as lay in her power, and to distribute her propaganda ns widely as possible throughout Switzerland, with the result that most German-Swiss became strong pro- Germans. England, as far as I know, made DO attempt either to disprove German statements or to assume any power over the Press, and area now most German-Swiss firmly believe (1) that Russia was mobilized on the. German frontier before Germany declared war upon her. (2) That Germany only vies hated Belgian neutrality after England bad declared war on the Central Powers, and that if she (Germany) had not, England most certainly would hare done co; indeed, eo angry was eh* that Germany was there first that she published absurd reports of German atrocities in Belgians. There may have been a few committed by (termini soldiers, in the excitement of victory they lost their heads perhaps, but that was war, and doubtless the British would have done the same—that was the prevalent idea in Switzerland.
At the time of the ` Lusitania ' outrage, it was freely circa. lated that Germany regretted the necessity of sinking the vessel, but she had warned England that if guns and ammuni- tion were put on board the ship would be torpedoed, and as this was persisted in in spite of all Germany's efforts to prevent it, the people on board were not the victims of Germany's brutality, but of England's obstinacy However, there were many German-Swies who considered it an outrageous crime, and many turned more favourably to the cause of the Allies.
The raids on England were really the only part of Germany's tactics that received severe censure from the whole of Switzer- land. They were looked upon not only as a senseless and cruel waste of life, but as absolutely useless in the furthering of Germany's efforts in the war.
That Switzerland did a great and noble work during the war no one can deny, and as a Neutral helped England pro- bably more than she could have done as an Ally. She was the Good Samaritan of Europe, and it is to be hoped that all the belligerents will now remember this, and the great debt they one to Switzerland for wonderful hospitality, magnificent generosity, and extraordinary kindness shown everywhere to their sick and wounded, and especially to the British, why I cannot say, except that from the very first they were far the most popular of the interned throughout the whole of Switzer- laud, and their reception in Berne and Zfirich—both German- speaking towns—was just as warm and just as enthusiastic as in French Switzerland; in fact, Sir E. Grant-Duff, the then British Minister in Berne, said in his account of the reception given to the British by that town : " It is difficult to write calmly about it, for the simple reason that I have never before in my life seen such a welcome accorded to any one, although for the last twenty-eight years I have been present at every bind of function in half the capitals of Europe."—I am, Sir,
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