I'm 55 years old and have been studying WW2 since the age of 7. I consider myself extremely knowledgeable on the topic and have at least a passing knowledge on many areas of the war. And yet, this is something that I previously knew absolutely nothing about. Definitely an eye-opener for me as well.
Mr. Felton surely has been digging hard to find something he could use to attack Switzerland. If this is sufficient to count as "being on the German side" then all allied nations were Germany's accomplices. To trade and profit from what the German regime did was fine for as long as the US were "neutral" and did a lot of trade with the Germans. The US didn't declare war on Germany until 1941, but that was fine, small Switzerland however, besieged from all sides, was supposed to somehow oppose a regime that had defeated France i no time at all.
What an ominous title. When I read the title I was wondering what I would be presented with here. When the video was over I still was wondering, asking myself:"Is THIS really it?" This is the damning truth the Swiss tried so hard to keep secret?
Ahhh very good Dr. Felton. Being Half Swiss, nice to shed some light on this. My Grandfather was Border Guard during WW2 and I still have his K31 Rifle. He told my family about stories of skirmishes with the Germans and Unauthorized Border crossings. Most German Swiss did not like the Nazis but a lot of them did enjoy their business and banking. Made a lot of Swiss people rich in WW2. Still a very touchy subject to this day.
I find it shocking that there were Swiss people who volunteered to fight for Germany. Hitler publicly expressed his contempt for Switzerland as a country and for its people, who he regarded as, unsurprising, inferior. Hitler was apparently even contemplating letting Mussolini take it over. I guess there are stupid people everywhere.
@@ousarlxsfjsbvbg8588 a lot of German volunteers from app 60 nations has only one goal: fight communism. Remember 98 % of them according to official military data fought bon the eastern front. And remember too, most of the volunteers very quite young. They were lured in the same way as Americans were lured by Trump.
Hi, a Swiss here. I have never ever heard of any Swiss medic operation on the Eastern Front in WW2. Either I must have been asleep at school in the 80s or this never made any history book I read. Either way, I am quite irritated. Thank you, Mark, for bringing this important piece of history to my attention.
Sounds about right. The Swiss have been trying to minimize their involvement with the Nazi's ever since. Its almost a policy. The Swiss were never innocent and only barely neutral.
I really like how Dr Mark Felton digs up the more obscure stories & facts of events from WW2, many I haven't heard of before, & I've been into military history for 40 years.!
Again, Mark knocks it out the park: I fancy myself as a history buff, but as usual Dr Felton brings us something I wasn't aware of... Superb Mark, thank you.. 👍🏴
What an ominous title. When I read the title I was wondering what I would be presented with here. When the video was over I still was wondering, asking myself:"Is THIS really it?" This is the damning truth the Swiss tried so hard to keep secret?
The story of every conflict is complicated by the fact that rarely is there uniformity amongst those who are combatants and those on the “sidelines”. An unusual and disturbing look at the reality of maintaining strict neutrality. Thanks for this research!
It wasn't strict neutrality, since it violated the neutrality laws by providing weapons from nationally owned companies, and it tested weapons meant for Germany by the Swiss army, on army bases, with the German army getting priority on new weapons over even the Swiss army. For all practical purposes, it was an Axis aligned country pretending to be neutral, even to itself.
Thanks Mark for relaying this information to us. In all my 66 years on this Earth and all of the WWII history that I know about; I had not heard of this.
Dr. Felton you are amazing at bringing these isolated incidents for all the world to see . Once upon a time I thought I was a expert on WW2 . I am in kindergarten compared to you. Thanks again you never fail to amaze . Have your ever done on video on the German field Hospitals during operation Barbarossa ? I think that would be very interesting to hear about
My grand father taught me all of this back in the 70’s yet I wouldn’t dare to call myself an expert in WW2. Felton isn’t even an expert - he just knows how to use google and how to choose the content that “sells”.
Thank you for this information about the Swiss Medical Missions. Being a Swiss myself, I would like to add a short comment. In 1973/1974 there was a very popular TV series on the German language Swiss state TV about Switzerland during the Nazi regime in Germany: «Die Schweiz im Krieg 1933-1945». One of the 13 episodes was dedicated to the Swiss Medical Mission, deemed a scandal. It stressed that the doctors and nurses were "duped". They expected it to be a neutral mission and were shocked when they became aware that they in effect contributed to the German war effort. Several of them were interviewed for the series, telling about how they experienced the mistreatment of the local population, especially the Jews, and of their efforts to intervene. The TV series was also made into a book which was widely distributed. I got it as a present when I was a kid. The book was published in nine consecutive editions. In addition, there were repeated articles about Doctor Eugen Bircher, the leader and instigator of the Swiss Medical Missions, a powerful, controversial figure and a strong sympathizer of the Nazi regime, the last article dating from 2020. So, in German speaking Switzerland, this questionable episode is not a forgotten or obscured event. One detail: The members of the mission did not wear Swiss army uniforms. A special uniform was created for them.
With all due respect, I find it extremely hypocritical , that they "weren't aware" of the Hitler atrocities , and what was actually going on? Being sent off by the Hitler himself... What did you expect you would be doing? also they didn't refuse to do their job. Which is again, I find very hypocritical . Because it's literally the same thing happening again. Time goes on , and nothing changes... Europe is again in it's "progressive European solidarity" yet again helping and doing "humanitarian missions" which help killing more Russians, yet it is accepted as a norm , just like it was accepted as a norm back then. And let me guess... in the future Switzerland would be saying yet again ,that it wasn't supporting a neo nazi regime in Kiev, and didn't know about all of the atrocities of Kievan regime and it's belligerents . Again with all due respect, I can understand you trying to whitewash your country's history... But it's extremely hypocritical talking about the past while you are doing the exact same thing (actually even worse) in the present.
When it come to getting rid of communism, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Why not help the Germans kill a few more Russians if the Americans were already in the war? Communism was and unfortunately still is the biggest threat to the western world and we should do everything humanly possible to eradicate it once and for all.
I feel like they were trying to whitewash the role Switzerland played in helping the Germans. If you make a list of allied, neutral, and axis countries, Switzerland should be in the axis column. For this state sanctioned effort and all the others that helped the German state...like helping steal the wealth and assets of Jews.
Yet more amazing facts from WW2 I have never heard about, I don't know how you manage to get so many of these incredible videos out Mark but please don't stop 👍
A small contribution in the opposite direction: a Swiss Pole , Jan Zumbach, was a top ace of the Polish 303 squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain and WW2. He carried a Swiss passport with him when on combat missions. He was the son of a Swiss father and Polish mother , born during WW1 near Warsaw before Poland became independent again, a Swiss citizen by birth.
the polish plots were magnificent fighters but I'm not sure a Swiss passport would help him if captured, probably just get him an unmarked grave rather than causing an international incident
@@ericalawson631 Many grounded pilots could get off their planes and find plain clothes to hide in the population. In that case, the passport would have been usefull during a check on the road.
It would be an interesting gedanken experiment. A volunteer pilot from a neutral country flying for a combatant nation is taken prisoner. Probably would be treated as a POW with the consideration due his grade (rank) with no notice of his passport. I doubt the Swiss government would protest.
@@CAP198462 If he claimed being a Swiss, he would be treated as a mercenary. According to the Geneva Conventions, mercenaries don't get PoW protection. They are likely to be treated as any terrorist or criminal (for killing people of a country you're not as war with).
Wow....just....wow. yet again....hands down the finest military historian creating content of such consistent quality and unique material 👌 Thank you so much Mark
This goes a long way to explaining a comment to the effect "We did some very non-neutral things during the war" by someone I met in Switzerland a few years ago.
@@tedcrilly46 As I recall the Swiss and maybe Sweden were involved in shipping iron ore to the Nazis. The US let them know we were not amused. I am also thinking there were dogfights between US planes and Swiss 109s.
Mark, ur research and presentation never ceases to amaze me....I’ve been watching u since day one and enjoy watching ur channel grow and it’s AMAZING content.
It remains a fact that non-German volunteers fighting the Red Army in the East far, far outnumbered the famed International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War. It was a truly popular cause- at first.
@@george217 but they already came from a fascist state. It's the Scandinavians, Dutch, Belgian, French etc that fought until the end in Berlin and joined on their own accord that were the most surprising. Little interest in anti-Semitism, just hated communism.
2 ปีที่แล้ว +22
@@discobedient It's difficult to say that the Nacional Catolicismo was a fascist doctrine. It just wasn't a democracy, buy from that to being fascist is a long way.
A very interesting examination of one of those little known parts of WWII. I recently read Ben Macintyre's "Prisoners of the Castle: An Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz, the Nazi Fortress Prison." One of the figures that intrigued me the most was Rudolf Denzler, the Swiss official who was assigned to inspect the POW camps and identify transgressions of the Geneva Conventions. I have looked for more information on him, but there isn't much. Mark, would you ever consider making a video about the Rudolf Denzler and the Swiss officials like him?
ME MYSELF DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT THIS CHAPTER OF SWITZERLAND 🇨🇭 MEDICAL STAFF AND STUFF EQUIPMENT FOR EXAMPLE. I REALLY ADMIRED SOME SWISS MEDICAL STAFF, WERE NOT AFRAID BEING BULLIED AND THREATENED ABOUT WITNESSING MISTREATMENT OF SOVIET JEWS AND OTHER POPULATIONS, THEY STARTED SPEAKING PUBLICLY AND DEFIED THE THREAT OF NAZI GERMANY 🇩🇪 BY INVADING THIR COUNTRY IT'S A HIGH RISK AND THAT COULD COST THEIR LIVES.
It never ceases to amaze me how 20-20 hindsight, Monday morning quarterbacking and the application of modern morals to fluid situations that occurred almost 90 years ago still keep popping up.
I don't think Mark applied 'modern morals' to the situation. He did mention the threat of invasion and the allied bombings in his video. What I do take exception to is believing these 'volunteers' were part of the Swiss Army. They may have worn the uniform (though without any unit designations from what I saw). And these were MEDICAL units, not combat units. Plus the VERY SMALL numbers meant they were INSIGNIFICANT in a conflict involving MILLIONS on both sides.
I hope hear Mark about Sweden where it is said that it was also a neutral country during WW2 although they had given Germany a shortcut to send their troops through the country by train from Luleå up through the Norwegian border for the invasion of Norway, for me who live in Luleå know that there was a building called "German magazine" that stored equipment and rest for German soldiers when they traveled in between.
They have supplied Germany in steel in huge quantities but the most priced items were ball bearings until end of October 44. It was a very strategical component of everything who drive or fly.
@@brinken3034 Ah, well that makes it okay. No problem. Just Nazi German soldiers going home after attacking and essentialy colonizing brave little Norway.
The Germans had soldiers from literally every nation on earth fighting for them at one point or another during the war. The most effective foreign troops by far though were part of 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking, comprised of Swedes, Finns, Danes, Norwegians, Estonians, Dutch, and Belgians. They performed well beyond the wildest expectations of the German Army, and were involved in some of the heaviest fighting seen on the Eastern Front.
I heard a large portion of the defenders of Berlin in '45 weren't even German, they were from other European countries and knew they couldn't surrender without being executed for treason.
And the Red Cross literally has records proving the opposite is true about the H. Among unrelated reams of others that prove the same thing. Funny Mark never talks about the Royal Navy Blockade of Weimar, starving German Civilians, Balfour and the SS Lusitania- not to mention the latter’s weapons and explosives being found, which made her in fact the legitimate target of war. Nor the post WWII Morgenthau Plan and the starvation of millions of German POWs and civilians, allied terror bombing, Churchill’s eagerness for the latter as recorded dozens of times by top diplomats and military officials, all allied forces mass murder of Germans and mass rape of their women, Soviet mass murder of their own civilians, their admission that they had fabricated some of the so called “D” cmps as “recreations”, etc etc etc etc, ad fkg nauseam. You’d think that would all be fairly significant, even if the eH were true, to proving that no one’s hands are clean. Nope.
@@StalinLovsMsmZioglowfagz - Eisenhower gave a order in march 1944 too his army mustang pilots too shoot anything that moves when they were flying over Germany.- i.e.- troops/ civilians/ animals/
Wow, I have never heard of this so thank you for bringing it to light! I'm Swiss born and raised and pretty sure this level of involvement has not been publicly discussed in Switzerland in the 30+ years I lived there. Thank you for also pointing out the constant threat of invasion that Switzerland endured during the war! Not everything the Swiss government did during that time was great but the fact that they kept Nazi Germany out of Switzerland was, and still is, a big deal. Had to make many deals with the devil to keep the Swiss population safe.
Speaking of internment of allied air crews in Switzerland and Sweden. I would love to learn more about what it was like to have been an internee. It would be a fascinating story to say the least.
I recently went through a few boxes of my swiss grand fathers and great uncles books we inherited and i found a document used as a book mark. It was a signed of material check list of the stuff given to an interned soldier. No idea how it ended up in there!
@@epstone wow that's amazing! What was on the checklist? Items issued by the Swiss government to the internees? Any information on who this was? If nothing else maybe his family would like to know about this. Thanks for your reply!
@@johnned4848 It is a checklist of working and personal items (socks underwear, working gloves, shirts, trousers, washing bag, bread bag etc.) this person gave a back to the internment camp in 1943. There is also a part where it says in case of loss of the items the person had to pay it with (food) ration checks. His name was Gerard Lazare so i assume it was a french soldier - i havent found imformation about him yet. It is fascinating indeed!
I knew that the Swiss German relations during world war 2 were complicated but never to what extent. Shooting German planes down but sending medical assistant to the eastern front lol. I quite enjoy and learn a lot in your videos. I would be interested in more videos exploring these complicated relationships during ww2. I assume not only neutral Switzerlands but also neutral Sweden had some interesting relations in ww2 that aren't mainstream information today.
Wholeheartedly agree this would be a fantastic topic. And I think one that had rarely been covered in detail. How great would it be to have a series of videos about the craziest interactions between countries as their status changed during conflict. From partners to neutral or even like the italians who switched sides (a subject that has been covered but is fascinating) There must be plenty of examples to discover. I have often wondered about just what went on in the middle East during ww2 as there were British, Germans and French and their various allies all so close but seemingly not in conflict. I'd imagine places like Syria and iraq/Iran had all sorts of intriguing events.
Very interesting! There are some things that are less known about Switzerland. Like this one or like its nuclear weapons program after the war (the Swiss government planning to aquire the atomic bomb). Something I found out a few years ago with some amazement. It also worth a short documentary like this one. 🙂
Thanks! On the Swiss topic, I read that there was Polish division formed in France, that was too far south to be evacuated to UK after fall of France, and crossed and was interred in Switzerland. There are memorabilia of them in Polish museum in Rapperswill-Jona castle by Zurich lake. Apparently there was secret agreements between Swiss and Polish government that in the case of German invasion of Switzerland, division will be rearmed and fight under Swiss command. Could you shed some light at this topic?
@Bernhard Schwarz OTOH, a large number of those soldiers completed or expanded their education (including college- or even postgraduate tiers) despite being technically interned, which gave them a significant advantage in post-war world.
Cousin on my mothers side ( he married one of my mothers mother sister, or just my Grandmother sister on my mothers side, one of my Aunts, daughter who had immigrated to Canada) he was German Czech, was in a Czech boyscout when the Germans took Czechoslovakia in 1938, in 1941 enlisted in the German Army Recruitment for the Eastern Front, fought in the Army /Heer in alot of Battles rose to the rank of Senior Feldwebel/ Senior Sgt, chosen for Officers School in Oct 1942 was attached to the 6th Army attacking Stalingrad, than later transfered to the Officer Tank School and later WSS and given command of a Tank Company in the 5th WSS Panzer Division Wiking and rose to the rank of Hauptmannsfuhrer/ Captain near the end of the war. Got out came to Chatham Ontario Canada and married my Aunts daughter. Battled only Bolesheviks never involved in any civilian massacres, just hated Communist , had a falling out with my father, miss understanding, taught that he killed some American Soldiers, ( his unit was always on the Eastern Front )my fathers brother was serving on a Division from New York KIA in Feb 1945 in Belgium. To bad loved going at his house across from Detroit to Windsor, gave me my brother and sister alot of toys for Christmas, one of the Hot Wheels I got is that Olds 442, still have the card ,worth over $1,000 at auction
Mr. Dr. It's always entriching when you ad your educating comment on the last part of the video, rather than enlighting us with rare and obscure facts that' nevertheless, are interesting aswell. Many thanks,
The black and white movie images of World War Two I watched in the early 1970’’s created in my child’s mind an apparently clear picture of “good verses evil,” and clearly defined protagonist/antagonists. But videos like this paint a far more nuanced and complex picture and challenges the “victor-bias” that I was exposed to as child. I appreciate the education.
WW2 was one of the few wars where there absolutely was a good and bad. While the allies definitely did do bad things (Bengal, Dresden, Japanese internment to name a few) but what they did paled in comparison to the sheer brutality of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan
@@sto1238 a choice between the lesser and greater evil, no good guys, just guys who are less evil than the other guys. or in some cases much less evil.
@@MusMasi I hate this modern re telling of history that's becoming more common. Arguments like yours are so devoid of perspective. Even in the mid 20th century, there hadn't been a more free, liberal and progressive civilisation than the west. The same is true but more so today. In all of human history there had not been better in these regards, yet we look back and call them evil?
Very interesting. Another Swiss action in WW2 was the sale of weapons to both sides: my British father told me of the Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns which apparently both sides used. Mark rightly says the the Swiss trod a very fine line - both Axis and Allied aircraft were shot down if they transgressed into Swiss airspace.
This was all common knowledge when I was growing up in Switzerland in the 70’s. The Hotel I did my apprenticeship in had photos of their ball room draped with swastika flags ready for the local Nazi party meetings (1930’s). I would estimate that about 1% of Swiss where adapting Nazi beliefs - I assume that to be a common thing of the times back then. Look at how many fly the Russian flag in the West - different times, similar patterns as humans are still susceptible to Propaganda just the same as back in the 1930’s.
@@badchefi Yes, very few Swiss were Nazi sympathizers. The reason Swiss-German is so prevalent today is because the city dwellers DROPPED Hochdeutsch in the 1930s and took up Schwyzerdeutsch (the common dialect of the countryside) was to REJECT any association with Nazi Germany.
I'm 55 years old and have been studying WW2 since the age of 7. I consider myself extremely knowledgeable on the topic and have at least a passing knowledge on many areas of the war. And yet, this is something that I previously knew absolutely nothing about. Definitely an eye-opener for me as well.
Mr. Felton surely has been digging hard to find something he could use to attack Switzerland.
If this is sufficient to count as "being on the German side" then all allied nations were Germany's accomplices.
To trade and profit from what the German regime did was fine for as long as the US were "neutral" and did a lot of trade with the Germans.
The US didn't declare war on Germany until 1941, but that was fine, small Switzerland however, besieged from all sides, was supposed to somehow oppose a regime that had defeated France i no time at all.
What an ominous title.
When I read the title I was wondering what I would be presented with here.
When the video was over I still was wondering, asking myself:"Is THIS really it?"
This is the damning truth the Swiss tried so hard to keep secret?
Ahhh very good Dr. Felton. Being Half Swiss, nice to shed some light on this. My Grandfather was Border Guard during WW2 and I still have his K31 Rifle. He told my family about stories of skirmishes with the Germans and Unauthorized Border crossings. Most German Swiss did not like the Nazis but a lot of them did enjoy their business and banking. Made a lot of Swiss people rich in WW2. Still a very touchy subject to this day.
Sounds like a nazi flip flopper lol
I find it shocking that there were Swiss people who volunteered to fight for Germany. Hitler publicly expressed his contempt for Switzerland as a country and for its people, who he regarded as, unsurprising, inferior. Hitler was apparently even contemplating letting Mussolini take it over. I guess there are stupid people everywhere.
@@ousarlxsfjsbvbg8588It was more complicated than that back in the day
@@ousarlxsfjsbvbg8588 a lot of German volunteers from app 60 nations has only one goal: fight communism. Remember 98 % of them according to official military data fought bon the eastern front. And remember too, most of the volunteers very quite young. They were lured in the same way as Americans were lured by Trump.
It makes u nazi collaborators. What a shame the Red Army didn't get there.
Hi, a Swiss here. I have never ever heard of any Swiss medic operation on the Eastern Front in WW2. Either I must have been asleep at school in the 80s or this never made any history book I read. Either way, I am quite irritated. Thank you, Mark, for bringing this important piece of history to my attention.
Of course you didn't because Germans lost the war 😁 If it was otherwise, small medical mission would turn into a division 😆
Same goes for me -- although with 15 years headstart!
Thank you Dr. Felton - yet another fascinating angle of WW2 I never knew of before
Maybe your nickname explains a lot.
Don't feel bad burring, or rewriting history goes on around the world, just as much in the Western World as in the 3rd & 2nd world.
Sounds about right. The Swiss have been trying to minimize their involvement with the Nazi's ever since. Its almost a policy. The Swiss were never innocent and only barely neutral.
I really like how Dr Mark Felton digs up the more obscure stories & facts of events from WW2, many I haven't heard of before, & I've been into military history for 40 years.!
Quite an eye-opening subject, Dr. Felton. Things are never clear-cut during war. There are always anomalies...
Just when you think Dr. Felton has uncovered it all, he comes up with a new one. Bravo, work well done. I am sure very few have ever heard of this.
Makes my day to see a notification from Mark Felton!
Again, Mark knocks it out the park: I fancy myself as a history buff, but as usual Dr Felton brings us something I wasn't aware of... Superb Mark, thank you.. 👍🏴
What an ominous title.
When I read the title I was wondering what I would be presented with here.
When the video was over I still was wondering, asking myself:"Is THIS really it?"
This is the damning truth the Swiss tried so hard to keep secret?
Thanks!
The story of every conflict is complicated by the fact that rarely is there uniformity amongst those who are combatants and those on the “sidelines”. An unusual and disturbing look at the reality of maintaining strict neutrality. Thanks for this research!
But they Weren't Neutral then.
It wasn't strict neutrality, since it violated the neutrality laws by providing weapons from nationally owned companies, and it tested weapons meant for Germany by the Swiss army, on army bases, with the German army getting priority on new weapons over even the Swiss army.
For all practical purposes, it was an Axis aligned country pretending to be neutral, even to itself.
Another unknown bit of history. Top notch as always!
Shouldn't be, but it is. A certain country heading the developing NWO at the time was heavily involved with funding and creating the war.
Another fine production! Thank you, Mark!
I had heard of some of this, but not the part about when the doctors came back to Switzerland. Thank You Mark.
Wow! I can't believe I never knew this! Thank you Dr. Felton!
You learned it without even seeing the video! Wow! LOL
@krisfrederick5001 Yeah haha! The title was enough 🤣 I have viewed it now though! 😀
I always love that Mark just says it how it is in a way that is not condescending
Fantastic, eye opening stuff as usual. Much appreciate your work in illuminating the darker corners of the war years.
As if
I guess much more eye-opening is the book of Anthony Sutton: Wallstreet and the Rise of Hitler - How America bankrolled the Nazis.
This is the sort of forgotten yet fascinating (and important) historical detail that I come to this channel for.
Thanks Mark for relaying this information to us. In all my 66 years on this Earth and all of the WWII history that I know about; I had not heard of this.
Same. 46 yrs old.
Likewise - and I`m 66 too!
Same, at 62.
I'm 81, and I, too, never heard about this.
Why would you? Given the scale of the war in Eastern Europe the personnel were a drop in the ocean.
Thanks for your work Mark.
Dr. Felton you are amazing at bringing these isolated incidents for all the world to see . Once upon a time I thought I was a expert on WW2 . I am in kindergarten compared to you. Thanks again you never fail to amaze . Have your ever done on video on the German field Hospitals during operation Barbarossa ? I think that would be very interesting to hear about
My grand father taught me all of this back in the 70’s yet I wouldn’t dare to call myself an expert in WW2.
Felton isn’t even an expert - he just knows how to use google and how to choose the content that “sells”.
@@badchefi one sided
Thank you for insight into another aspect of That War.
Thank you for this information about the Swiss Medical Missions. Being a Swiss myself, I would like to add a short comment. In 1973/1974 there was a very popular TV series on the German language Swiss state TV about Switzerland during the Nazi regime in Germany: «Die Schweiz im Krieg 1933-1945». One of the 13 episodes was dedicated to the Swiss Medical Mission, deemed a scandal. It stressed that the doctors and nurses were "duped". They expected it to be a neutral mission and were shocked when they became aware that they in effect contributed to the German war effort. Several of them were interviewed for the series, telling about how they experienced the mistreatment of the local population, especially the Jews, and of their efforts to intervene. The TV series was also made into a book which was widely distributed. I got it as a present when I was a kid. The book was published in nine consecutive editions. In addition, there were repeated articles about Doctor Eugen Bircher, the leader and instigator of the Swiss Medical Missions, a powerful, controversial figure and a strong sympathizer of the Nazi regime, the last article dating from 2020. So, in German speaking Switzerland, this questionable episode is not a forgotten or obscured event. One detail: The members of the mission did not wear Swiss army uniforms. A special uniform was created for them.
That the issue is being publically addressed on TV and in print in Switzerland 50 years ago is a good sign.
With all due respect, I find it extremely hypocritical , that they "weren't aware" of the Hitler atrocities , and what was actually going on? Being sent off by the Hitler himself... What did you expect you would be doing? also they didn't refuse to do their job. Which is again, I find very hypocritical . Because it's literally the same thing happening again. Time goes on , and nothing changes... Europe is again in it's "progressive European solidarity" yet again helping and doing "humanitarian missions" which help killing more Russians, yet it is accepted as a norm , just like it was accepted as a norm back then. And let me guess... in the future Switzerland would be saying yet again ,that it wasn't supporting a neo nazi regime in Kiev, and didn't know about all of the atrocities of Kievan regime and it's belligerents . Again with all due respect, I can understand you trying to whitewash your country's history... But it's extremely hypocritical talking about the past while you are doing the exact same thing (actually even worse) in the present.
@@korana6308 It is always wise to be precise when you criticize.
When it come to getting rid of communism, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Why not help the Germans kill a few more Russians if the Americans were already in the war? Communism was and unfortunately still is the biggest threat to the western world and we should do everything humanly possible to eradicate it once and for all.
I feel like they were trying to whitewash the role Switzerland played in helping the Germans.
If you make a list of allied, neutral, and axis countries, Switzerland should be in the axis column. For this state sanctioned effort and all the others that helped the German state...like helping steal the wealth and assets of Jews.
Yet more amazing facts from WW2 I have never heard about, I don't know how you manage to get so many of these incredible videos out Mark but please don't stop 👍
A small contribution in the opposite direction: a Swiss Pole , Jan Zumbach, was a top ace of the Polish 303 squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain and WW2. He carried a Swiss passport with him when on combat missions. He was the son of a Swiss father and Polish mother , born during WW1 near Warsaw before Poland became independent again, a Swiss citizen by birth.
the polish plots were magnificent fighters but I'm not sure a Swiss passport would help him if captured, probably just get him an unmarked grave rather than causing an international incident
Well well so neutral after all
@@ericalawson631 Many grounded pilots could get off their planes and find plain clothes to hide in the population. In that case, the passport would have been usefull during a check on the road.
It would be an interesting gedanken experiment.
A volunteer pilot from a neutral country flying for a combatant nation is taken prisoner. Probably would be treated as a POW with the consideration due his grade (rank) with no notice of his passport. I doubt the Swiss government would protest.
@@CAP198462 If he claimed being a Swiss, he would be treated as a mercenary. According to the Geneva Conventions, mercenaries don't get PoW protection. They are likely to be treated as any terrorist or criminal (for killing people of a country you're not as war with).
Excellent vlog sir , what an eye opener !
Intro music still goes as hard as ever
Another gem by Mark Felton :)
fantastic story,
Glad they spoke out.
Wow....just....wow. yet again....hands down the finest military historian creating content of such consistent quality and unique material 👌 Thank you so much Mark
Thank you yet again for information I was unaware of
Yet another brilliant history lesson from Dr Felton. ThankYou so much for shining light into the dark.
another excellent addition to war knowledge.
Excellent research work, Mark!
Very good mark I knew nothin about this.thanks for the update
Another great episode!
Fascinating as always!
This goes a long way to explaining a comment to the effect "We did some very non-neutral things during the war" by someone I met in Switzerland a few years ago.
I liked the part where the US bombed them. It was'nt an accident.
Yes/no
@@rogersmith7396 Makes me wonder about the German bombings of Ireland. Quite a few "non-neutral" things were done for the allies.
@@tedcrilly46 As I recall the Swiss and maybe Sweden were involved in shipping iron ore to the Nazis. The US let them know we were not amused. I am also thinking there were dogfights between US planes and Swiss 109s.
@@rogersmith7396 Yep. Fulton has a video on that too.
Excellent, Mark, you turn over such nuggets.
Yet another gem of hidden history that Dr. Felton exposes for all to see. Fantastic work!
A lot of the subject matter of Mr. Felton’s videos I have at least heard of but this is one of the ones totally new for me. Awesomeness!
Another fascinating nugget of unearthed knowledge. Sterling work as always.
Thank you for bringing the important pieces of history.
Super. Keep this one for later.
That’s it , Doc strikes again and this time it s really something absolutely new to me like a few times before an eye opener, thanks Doc
Mark, ur research and presentation never ceases to amaze me....I’ve been watching u since day one and enjoy watching ur channel grow and it’s AMAZING content.
Your documentary videos are always a rare treasure. Thanks again Mark Felton Productions!
Another banger that’s Dr Felton!!!
Did they call their guard units 'the Swiss Watch'?
lol
_But only Catholic and unmarried soldiers . . ._
"Bank Security Guards". Ha ha.
The Swatch lol😂
...and when making incisions did the swiss surgeons use 'Swiss army knives?''
Thank you Mark for this excellent episode !
Wow, never heard of this... thanks
Amazing find Dr.Felton! Would've never seen these stories in library books about the war
Mr. Felton you made my day, this is gold value!
DR* Felton
@@jrmckim He is still a Mr. Don't make yourself look foolish.
It's on the gold standard.
Thanks Dr. Feldon for another great video on a overlooked part of WW2.
It remains a fact that non-German volunteers fighting the Red Army in the East far, far outnumbered the famed International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War. It was a truly popular cause- at first.
Memoires of those volunteers often give their main motive as fighting communism.
Imagine aligning yourselves with nazism because you got brainwashed by the global elite into thinking communism is the enemy.
Look into the Blue Division. A Spanish division that served on the eastern front. Entirely made up of Spaniards who were anti-communists...
@@george217 but they already came from a fascist state. It's the Scandinavians, Dutch, Belgian, French etc that fought until the end in Berlin and joined on their own accord that were the most surprising. Little interest in anti-Semitism, just hated communism.
@@discobedient It's difficult to say that the Nacional Catolicismo was a fascist doctrine. It just wasn't a democracy, buy from that to being fascist is a long way.
Great research. Thank you. Keep them coming. You are the best with your objectivity.
Always excellent unbiased content. Thank you Mark Felton!
Mark, as always, WELL DONE SIR !!
A very interesting examination of one of those little known parts of WWII. I recently read Ben Macintyre's "Prisoners of the Castle: An Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz, the Nazi Fortress Prison." One of the figures that intrigued me the most was Rudolf Denzler, the Swiss official who was assigned to inspect the POW camps and identify transgressions of the Geneva Conventions. I have looked for more information on him, but there isn't much. Mark, would you ever consider making a video about the Rudolf Denzler and the Swiss officials like him?
Wow! Thnx, very insightful😃
Never knew, Swiss Army, Swiss Medics, and International Red Cross. Wonderful information Doctor, thank once more!
as an aside the head of Interpol during the War was guess who ? A German Nazi !
ME MYSELF DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT THIS CHAPTER OF SWITZERLAND 🇨🇭 MEDICAL STAFF AND STUFF EQUIPMENT FOR EXAMPLE. I REALLY ADMIRED SOME SWISS MEDICAL STAFF, WERE NOT AFRAID BEING BULLIED AND THREATENED ABOUT WITNESSING MISTREATMENT OF SOVIET JEWS AND OTHER POPULATIONS, THEY STARTED SPEAKING PUBLICLY AND DEFIED THE THREAT OF NAZI GERMANY 🇩🇪 BY INVADING THIR COUNTRY
IT'S A HIGH RISK AND THAT COULD COST THEIR LIVES.
Thanks for a good pick up and such even handed reporting.👌🏼
Yet another moment of, "Just when you think you've heard EVERYTHING about WW2". Thank you again, Dr Felton!
Wow never knew this great video really dig this channel
Mark, how about a documentary dealing with how you obtain these topics and where you find photos to go along with them?
Thank you Dr. Felton for this most recent video lesson
Another absolutely fascinating story. Dr. Felton, I very much look forward to your next video.
It never ceases to amaze me how 20-20 hindsight, Monday morning quarterbacking and the application of modern morals to fluid situations that occurred almost 90 years ago still keep popping up.
I don't think Mark applied 'modern morals' to the situation. He did mention the threat of invasion and the allied bombings in his video. What I do take exception to is believing these 'volunteers' were part of the Swiss Army. They may have worn the uniform (though without any unit designations from what I saw). And these were MEDICAL units, not combat units. Plus the VERY SMALL numbers meant they were INSIGNIFICANT in a conflict involving MILLIONS on both sides.
It never ceases to amaze me how people mistake history for ideology
Love watching these little gems of unknown (to a lot of us) history. Thank you Mark Felton! ♥
Amazing! Great work!
No more Toblerone for you Mark Felton! Great storytelling.
A gap in my knowledge has been filled this day. The comments from your Swiss patrons added to your excellent video.
I hope hear Mark about Sweden where it is said that it was also a neutral country during WW2 although they had given Germany a shortcut to send their troops through the country by train from Luleå up through the Norwegian border for the invasion of Norway, for me who live in Luleå know that there was a building called "German magazine" that stored equipment and rest for German soldiers when they traveled in between.
Sweden also supplies Germany with high quality metals that the Germans needed, such as special steel alloys.
The transit through sweden was only for rotating infantry back home and not important for the invasion itself
They have supplied Germany in steel in huge quantities but the most priced items were ball bearings until end of October 44. It was a very strategical component of everything who drive or fly.
@@brinken3034 Ah, well that makes it okay. No problem. Just Nazi German soldiers going home after attacking and essentialy colonizing brave little Norway.
And allowed Jews to be transferred through there territory on the way to the death camps.
I love that music used for your intro.very catchy. Your videos are great.
The Germans had soldiers from literally every nation on earth fighting for them at one point or another during the war. The most effective foreign troops by far though were part of 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking, comprised of Swedes, Finns, Danes, Norwegians, Estonians, Dutch, and Belgians. They performed well beyond the wildest expectations of the German Army, and were involved in some of the heaviest fighting seen on the Eastern Front.
I heard a large portion of the defenders of Berlin in '45 weren't even German, they were from other European countries and knew they couldn't surrender without being executed for treason.
put only ideological / religious extremists in one unit, & that might be one outcome.
And the Red Cross literally has records proving the opposite is true about the H. Among unrelated reams of others that prove the same thing. Funny Mark never talks about the Royal Navy Blockade of Weimar, starving German Civilians, Balfour and the SS Lusitania- not to mention the latter’s weapons and explosives being found, which made her in fact the legitimate target of war. Nor the post WWII Morgenthau Plan and the starvation of millions of German POWs and civilians, allied terror bombing, Churchill’s eagerness for the latter as recorded dozens of times by top diplomats and military officials, all allied forces mass murder of Germans and mass rape of their women, Soviet mass murder of their own civilians, their admission that they had fabricated some of the so called “D” cmps as “recreations”, etc etc etc etc, ad fkg nauseam.
You’d think that would all be fairly significant, even if the eH were true, to proving that no one’s hands are clean.
Nope.
@@Andrewsky347 1,000 off them were from - Tibet brought too Berlin by- Himmler
@@StalinLovsMsmZioglowfagz - Eisenhower gave a order in march 1944 too his army mustang pilots too shoot anything that moves when they were flying over Germany.- i.e.- troops/ civilians/ animals/
Wow. I learn something absolutely every time I watch your videos. Thank you Dr. Felton!
Wow, I have never heard of this so thank you for bringing it to light! I'm Swiss born and raised and pretty sure this level of involvement has not been publicly discussed in Switzerland in the 30+ years I lived there. Thank you for also pointing out the constant threat of invasion that Switzerland endured during the war! Not everything the Swiss government did during that time was great but the fact that they kept Nazi Germany out of Switzerland was, and still is, a big deal. Had to make many deals with the devil to keep the Swiss population safe.
Aaaand they "did and still do" love to have gold...
Thank you!
My grandfather died in a concentration camp. He was drunk and fell off the watchtower.
Thanks for sharing this with us all
Speaking of internment of allied air crews in Switzerland and Sweden. I would love to learn more about what it was like to have been an internee. It would be a fascinating story to say the least.
I was thainking the same.
Yes, please do a report on this
I recently went through a few boxes of my swiss grand fathers and great uncles books we inherited and i found a document used as a book mark. It was a signed of material check list of the stuff given to an interned soldier. No idea how it ended up in there!
@@epstone wow that's amazing! What was on the checklist? Items issued by the Swiss government to the internees? Any information on who this was? If nothing else maybe his family would like to know about this. Thanks for your reply!
@@johnned4848 It is a checklist of working and personal items (socks underwear, working gloves, shirts, trousers, washing bag, bread bag etc.) this person gave a back to the internment camp in 1943. There is also a part where it says in case of loss of the items the person had to pay it with (food) ration checks. His name was Gerard Lazare so i assume it was a french soldier - i havent found imformation about him yet. It is fascinating indeed!
Wow, another story I was not aware of. Excellent video, thanks
I knew that the Swiss German relations during world war 2 were complicated but never to what extent. Shooting German planes down but sending medical assistant to the eastern front lol. I quite enjoy and learn a lot in your videos. I would be interested in more videos exploring these complicated relationships during ww2. I assume not only neutral Switzerlands but also neutral Sweden had some interesting relations in ww2 that aren't mainstream information today.
Wholeheartedly agree this would be a fantastic topic. And I think one that had rarely been covered in detail.
How great would it be to have a series of videos about the craziest interactions between countries as their status changed during conflict. From partners to neutral or even like the italians who switched sides (a subject that has been covered but is fascinating)
There must be plenty of examples to discover. I have often wondered about just what went on in the middle East during ww2 as there were British, Germans and French and their various allies all so close but seemingly not in conflict. I'd imagine places like Syria and iraq/Iran had all sorts of intriguing events.
technically, you can remain neutral from not being loyal to one side or the other, fighting for both, helping for both, trading with both etc
Just fantastic how you root out the past and fill in the blank spaces for us all. Great work, Dr. Felton. Thanks again. This is really interesting.
Very interesting!
There are some things that are less known about Switzerland. Like this one or like its nuclear weapons program after the war (the Swiss government planning to aquire the atomic bomb). Something I found out a few years ago with some amazement. It also worth a short documentary like this one. 🙂
Wow! Thank you for this ground breaking piece.
Thanks! On the Swiss topic, I read that there was Polish division formed in France, that was too far south to be evacuated to UK after fall of France, and crossed and was interred in Switzerland. There are memorabilia of them in Polish museum in Rapperswill-Jona castle by Zurich lake. Apparently there was secret agreements between Swiss and Polish government that in the case of German invasion of Switzerland, division will be rearmed and fight under Swiss command. Could you shed some light at this topic?
@Bernhard Schwarz It was no picnic to be "interred" by gnomes!
@Bernhard Schwarz OTOH, a large number of those soldiers completed or expanded their education (including college- or even postgraduate tiers) despite being technically interned, which gave them a significant advantage in post-war world.
@Bernhard Schwarz Because it was supposed to be done for free? Do you house 'migrants' at your house on your own expense?
Rarely in wars does truth prevail. Until thoughtful and thorough researchers like Dr. Felton dig it out and shine the light of history on it.
Another small but important facet of the Second World War that I wasn’t aware of. Thank you for enlightening me.
Great episode
Amazing work Dr Felton. A lot of people, myself included are going wow!
Always informative !
Damn man im Swiss. They better not mention them joining the 5th SS Wiking division.
Well there are Idiots(Nazis) in every country, sadly
Cousin on my mothers side ( he married one of my mothers mother sister, or just my Grandmother sister on my mothers side, one of my Aunts, daughter who had immigrated to Canada) he was German Czech, was in a Czech boyscout when the Germans took Czechoslovakia in 1938, in 1941 enlisted in the German Army Recruitment for the Eastern Front, fought in the Army /Heer in alot of Battles rose to the rank of Senior Feldwebel/ Senior Sgt, chosen for Officers School in Oct 1942 was attached to the 6th Army attacking Stalingrad, than later transfered to the Officer Tank School and later WSS and given command of a Tank Company in the 5th WSS Panzer Division Wiking and rose to the rank of Hauptmannsfuhrer/ Captain near the end of the war. Got out came to Chatham Ontario Canada and married my Aunts daughter. Battled only Bolesheviks never involved in any civilian massacres, just hated Communist , had a falling out with my father, miss understanding, taught that he killed some American Soldiers, ( his unit was always on the Eastern Front )my fathers brother was serving on a Division from New York KIA in Feb 1945 in Belgium. To bad loved going at his house across from Detroit to Windsor, gave me my brother and sister alot of toys for Christmas, one of the Hot Wheels I got is that Olds 442, still have the card ,worth over $1,000 at auction
Mr. Dr. It's always entriching when you ad your educating comment on the last part of the video, rather than enlighting us with rare and obscure facts that' nevertheless, are interesting aswell. Many thanks,
The black and white movie images of World War Two I watched in the early 1970’’s created in my child’s mind an apparently clear picture of “good verses evil,” and clearly defined protagonist/antagonists. But videos like this paint a far more nuanced and complex picture and challenges the “victor-bias” that I was exposed to as child. I appreciate the education.
there's content out there that would fully invert that perception. ie "Europa - the final battle"
WW2 was one of the few wars where there absolutely was a good and bad. While the allies definitely did do bad things (Bengal, Dresden, Japanese internment to name a few) but what they did paled in comparison to the sheer brutality of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan
@@sto1238 a choice between the lesser and greater evil, no good guys, just guys who are less evil than the other guys. or in some cases much less evil.
@@MusMasi I hate this modern re telling of history that's becoming more common. Arguments like yours are so devoid of perspective.
Even in the mid 20th century, there hadn't been a more free, liberal and progressive civilisation than the west. The same is true but more so today.
In all of human history there had not been better in these regards, yet we look back and call them evil?
You should read the book "Stalin's War" by Sean McMeekin and you'll find out how FDR and Churchill were led by the nose by Stalin in WWII.
These histories never cease to amaze!!!
Very interesting. Another Swiss action in WW2 was the sale of weapons to both sides: my British father told me of the Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns which apparently both sides used. Mark rightly says the the Swiss trod a very fine line - both Axis and Allied aircraft were shot down if they transgressed into Swiss airspace.
The Oerlikon 20mm AA gun was built extensively under license by both sides.
Thank you for educating us on these obscure, but important details of WWII!
Wow, I've never heard of this before, it certainly puts the Swiss in a new light regarding their neutrality.
Another interesting find from Dr Felton.
This was all common knowledge when I was growing up in Switzerland in the 70’s.
The Hotel I did my apprenticeship in had photos of their ball room draped with swastika flags ready for the local Nazi party meetings (1930’s).
I would estimate that about 1% of Swiss where adapting Nazi beliefs - I assume that to be a common thing of the times back then.
Look at how many fly the Russian flag in the West - different times, similar patterns as humans are still susceptible to Propaganda just the same as back in the 1930’s.
@@badchefi Yes, very few Swiss were Nazi sympathizers. The reason Swiss-German is so prevalent today is because the city dwellers DROPPED Hochdeutsch in the 1930s and took up Schwyzerdeutsch (the common dialect of the countryside) was to REJECT any association with Nazi Germany.
A very interesting topic, indeed. Thanks for this video - premium as always.