How and why did Switzerland become Neutral? (Short animated documentary)

Back in the day, the Swiss were famous for the quality of their mercenaries and their capacity to wage war. Nowadays its known for its neutrality and its lack of overseas (overland?) entanglements. So what changed? Why did Switzerland become neutral?
/ histmattersyt
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[@jfoster1]

Fun fact: There is no legal mechanism for the Swiss government to surrender the country in the event of an invasion. The military was told in WW2 that any radio broadcast saying that the country was surrendering should be treated as enemy propaganda and simply ignored.

[@galatheumbreon6862]

that's fucking awesome

[@mojewjewjew4420]

Based and redpilled.

[@ohpurpled]

@@DingDingTheKZbinBuddy the Swiss ain't done whilst they've still got mountains

[@Evzone1821]

Based and Swisspilled.

[@geo8rge]

@@galatheumbreon6862 Ukraine has the same plan.

[@polo7883]

Future Ideas: Why isn't Sri Lanka part of India? Why are there two Congos? Why is the island of Hispaniola divided? Why does Qatar exist?

[@mrniceguy7168]

Actually really good video ideas.

[@Prussia_]

banana war

[@cv4809]

Why were there 2 Sicilies

[@SeaGamer4life]

I’m still waiting on the Bismarck video he said he’d make.

[@HoennMaster]

WonderWhy did a video about the two Congos if that is something you want to see 🙂

[@TieisAwsom]

Fun fact: Switzerland had a Civil War between its provinces supporting a confederation vs a non-confederation, but many of it's provinces remained neutral in it's civil war. Switzerland is neutral, even in it's *own war.*

[@hissukka6619]

I think you mean the civil war shown on a map at 2:10? It weren't that many cantons which stayed neutral but it still were 2.

[@backartoffel2406]

Fun Fact 2: Even though we had 178'000 armend Men in total, during the Sonderbund War (Civil War), there where only 86 killed and around 500 wounded.

[@fluffypancakes7626]

@@backartoffel2406 praise to General Henri Dufour, what a legend

[@cstrutherskgs]

They aren’t neutral in recent years with EU laws and choosing a side in the Russia Ukraine war.

[@nick002]

@@cstrutherskgs That may be due to the changing nature of their neighbors. As there are less threats for invasion, the country may be relaxing some of their neutrality politically while still remaining militarily neutral.

[@Jotari]

I never realized how hilarious it was that the UN had a major branch in Geneva while Switzerland wasn't a part of the UN for, like fifty years.

[@Bloodlyshiva]

Why DID they stay out for so long?

[@Jotari]

@@Bloodlyshiva Because they take that Neutrality hyper seriously, and because their democracy is so democratic it would even make Ancient Athens do a double take.

[@TheViperwarfare]

@@Jotari We do, we insist on our freedom to choose what shall happen. Sure, we don't vote on EVERYTHING but everything, that has effects on a large scale, we all have to ability to vote. We even had a vote last year if marriage between two homsexual people should be allowed or not...

[@shonenjumpmagneto]

@@Bloodlyshiva Switzerland challenges what it means to be a country more than any other country arguably. They go against the tide & don't care. 7 Presidents, is just 1 example.

[@Jotari]

@@shonenjumpmagneto I'd say the Vatican challenges that notion a little more. They still aren't part of the UN!

[@napalmblaziken]

I love that meme in the Fallout community where the world is a nuclear wasteland, but Switzerland is completely unchanged.

[@benthomason3307]

Glad to see I wasn't the first to think of that.

[@ooaa30]

If I rember correctly there is a tabletop RPG (think it's called Degenesis or something like that?) where this is the case, just meteor strike apocolypse rather than nuclear.

[@akramgimmini8165]

Yes it's probably like that Under an giant Bubble or something

[@Slavesforsale1]

I would love a Fallout game set in Europe where the main quest is to obtain the means to enter the completely untouched utopia that is Switzerland.

[@benthomason3307]

@@Slavesforsale1 Or even better, you are a Swiss Misionary (a swissionary if you will) delivering foreign aid to either America or China.

[@SeaGamer4life]

“Germany could also sell gold that it had uhhhh…’aquired’ to Switzerland” Love this channel

[@yogurtclosetok]

How did they actually get the gold

[@Ozymandatory]

@@yogurtclosetok they stole it from Jews. Even ripped their golden dentures out of their mouths.

[@andreadavino3567]

@@yogurtclosetok jews

[@legalduidriving]

They confiscated it from the Jews or from annexed nations (e.g. Austria, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia)

[@laura-bianca3130]

It has nothing to do with anyone. Gold is stored no matter by who. Switzerland wasn't Germany

[@AFGuidesHD]

"But it never happened for several reasons. First of all: they lost"

[@chrisdawson1776]

I've already said this, and it's a very risky thing to say. Imagine you are on an island, and there is another island over there. And you want to conquer it. And they are ruled by a leader. "Oh but they are disciplined, and they obey their leader. It's impossible to defeat them." Ah, then we will impose democracy on them. Democratic propaganda! We will promote the most democratic way. "Oh, but they also have incredible faith in God! They have such faith in God that they never abandon the front." Ah, then let's promote atheism. Church time is over. From now on, only night clubs. "Oh, but the youth are healthy and strong. They're in formidable shape. They are the way the Creator made them: in his image." Ok then, from now on McDonald's, Coca-Cola, drugs, alcohol and video games. Let them be fat, lazy, domesticated and undisciplined. We mush abolish military service. "Ah... yeah but the other thing is that they are homogenous. They are a single people, a single race. There is no ethnic chaos." Ok, then in whatever way, we must send them boats with foreigners - whites, blacks, Asians, Muslims. "But they have a lot of babies! 6 or 7 babies on average! They're happy to have large families!" Ok, from now on abortion, the pill. You have now defeated that island without firing a single bullet.

[@Eyerleth]

Sounds like fascist bullshit to me, man.

[@markkempton4579]

"Ideas are for winners"

[@macks2337]

@@chrisdawson1776 We still around

[@vasikanpoikanen]

At the time of the First World War, Switzerland had a tiny standing army, but a populace of skilled riflemen. In 1912, Kaiser Wilhelm Ⅱ asked what a militia of a quarter million Swiss would do if he invaded with and army of a half million Germans. Their response? ''Shoot twice and go home.''

[@soul8938]

Switzerland only exists because the countries that surround it decided for it to be a bufferzone so they wont invaded each other and one get acces to the alpine passes

[@notfunnydidntlaugh3916]

Chad Swiss

[@ivancho5854]

I love that quote.

[@Blair.Piggin]

One of the best responses ever! Do you guys still get to keep your service rifles after you've finished?

[@looinrims]

Because civilian militia are better than professional armies Lol

[@nickmacarius3012]

On this day in history, History Matters officially made "Belgium" a verb. Well done. 😂👍

[@hissukka6619]

@Valkyrae Commenter what happened to Paraguay?

[@krimipow]

@@hissukka6619 Paraguay went into war with Brasil and since there is a huge jungle between those two countries the goberment asked Argentina to allow them to movilize their troops trough their northern territory. Argentina said "no", Paraguay invaded Argentina and both Brasil and Argentina allied to fought against Paraguay, decimated their army, invaded the country and slaughtered the great majority of male population of thay nation.

[@hissukka6619]

@@krimipow oh i thought that was Bolivia

[@nikel-]

Got Belgium'd

[@dominicguye8058]

@@krimipow okay but what does it mean to 'Paraguay'?

[@somebody754]

Not even 5 seconds in and already a joke about Nazi gold. I love this channel.

[@waynejohnson1786]

It’s obligatory when talking about Switzerland.

[@maddogbasil]

Swiss and jews and chinese 3 people who really love money

[@laura-bianca3130]

@@waynejohnson1786 it is bullshit. It's an American view and as usual they lie

[@Dreagostini]

@@maddogbasil That's not how this works.

[@FrietjeOorlog]

@@maddogbasil Who hates money though?

[@Irdanwen]

As a Belgian, I thoroughly enjoyed the joke "getting Belgiumed" that was excellent! Nice video.

[@deiansalazar140]

Do you guys mind being the butt of the Belgium joke, or do you guys treat that unfortunate history as like your nation's beloved meme about itself?

[@dominicguye8058]

@@deiansalazar140 I'm guessing it's better than being made fun of for some perceived moral flaw

[@WeekzGod]

"Switzerland was a mountainous land with little in the way of natural resources populated by a fiercely independent people who were mostly armed to the teeth." - Why I admire the Swiss so much summarized

[@charlescasturo9146]

Look up the “Shot twice and go home” quote. It’s attributed to a Swiss officer, either in 1912 prior to WW1 in response to Kaiser Wilhelm or later to another German officer’s suggestion that they could invade Edit for grammar

[@soul8938]

Still realistically the swiss would have gotten rolled in a conflict and capitulated in a day or so

[@thomaswilliams7370]

​@@soul8938 that's what people said about Ukraine and look at it now.

[@soul8938]

@@thomaswilliams7370 ukraine has seen active combat since 2014 so plenty of time to get experienced troops and not to mention they are being aided in weapons food and medical equipment by almost the entire world so its a stupid comparison since its not necessarily how strong the resistance is but how strong the support of the rest of the world which is the decisive factor

[@thomaswilliams7370]

@@soul8938 firstly its not a comparison its more of a warning against assumptions of fast victories such as the US in Vietnam, secondly the response for a neutral country getting invaded would be a lot stronger (ex Belgium). Thirdly, in the video when they said thay the swiss are armed to the teeth, it really wasn’t kidding most of the male population have had to do the military service and are given mp5s, it is basically a little Texas but everyone has a masters degree. And lastly, Ukrainians while yes have had conflict since 2014 have had to train on dummy wooden guns. If you want a comparison here it is

[@diekojote1]

Was hoping you could do a video on why the League of Nations was replaced with the UN and not reformed instead? Thank you, love the videos!

[@codybrox4693]

Because just like the UN it was a useless entity that does nothing and helps no one

[@bingbong7238]

I think the UN was basically the allies in ww2 and they made an alliance not to work with the axis unless everyone agreed but I don’t remember fully it is just from a book I read

[@charlesferdinand422]

"Was hoping you could do a video on why the League of Nations was replaced with the UN and not reformed instead?" -I don't know, were you? Why the hell would you even ask others about the stuff you were thinking about?

[@slyasleep]

@@charlesferdinand422 unduly rude.

[@marcusmelander8055]

@@charlesferdinand422 I had a stroke reading this. People suggest videos all the time, why do you care? Assuming I even read your comment correctly.

[@CG-yq2xy]

Interestingly enough, Switzerland once considered building nuclear bombs as a means to guarantee it's neutrality during the cold war. While not following through, in 2018 Switzerland withdrew it's signature on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, thus leaving the door open for such a prospect.

[@TheGhostbuster1989]

Considering Russia's invasion of Ukraine, this seems more possible.

[@user-bf3kp3ii4l]

fun fact the soviet union wanted to sell nukes to Switzerland during the cold war as a way to solidify Swiss neutrality and stopping it from becoming more western, the federal council denied it though with 3:2 and 2 abstained votes, so no majority.

[@tz8785]

Still a non-starter as long as they remain signatory to the non-proliferation treaty.

[@breadwithagun9303]

I saw a news story the other day that was made before the Ukraine war where Switzerland brought tons of highly advanced fighters worth billions of dollars for no reason. So if they can just buy things like that and not have a reason to use it, I'm pretty sure they could afford at least one nuke.

[@wojtekpolska1013]

@@breadwithagun9303 yea i Switzerland has a cool strategy to scare away the invaders. literally make themselves not worth invading. They are very mountain-ous country which already makes land attacks very hard, but also they are very heavily fortified, have very advanced military technology, have more bunker capacity than the entire population of their country, and most of the population is armed to the teeth. While there is basically no reason to invade them whatsoever, it will just be a financial disaster for the attacker

[@vortex1603]

Fun fact from my country : Before the beginning of WWII, Switzerland had a hidden alliance with France. France promised to help if Switzerland was attacked by the Germans. At this time, the Swiss knew that Germany was a true danger for the country. After the defeat of the Allies in Belgium and the Italy’s enter into war, Switzerland was surrounded by enemies. So, the swiss authorities decided to trade a lot (bullets, coal, iron and other chemical products) with its neighbors and granted favorable credits to Germany to avoid conflict. Nazi Germany had many plans to conquer Switzerland, for example the Tannenbaum Operation. But it was clearly not a priority.

[@Guillenbon]

The plan of the Nazi: "we take the world, the swiss when we come back home"

[@soul8938]

Stop trying to play down Switzerlands role in ww2 they were a huge help to germany not because of fear.. out of sympathy greed and Being impartial they traded before and during germanys rise…this coming from swiss 🧀

[@eisteepfirsich3358]

@@soul8938 Nah, that's just wrong.

[@__Hanasei__Levinus__]

@@soul8938 youre awful... Stop overplaying the "I am a native, so what I say about my nation is true" card....

[@soul8938]

@@__Hanasei__Levinus__ you can believe what you want i don’t care but to many are being untruthful when it comes to that dark period of history either due to being fanboys or intentionally downplay the actual events..

[@ltm3368]

The fact that this 4 minute video taught me more useful information about my own country's history than all of the history classes we had to take throughout my Swiss schooling says a lot

[@johnny_rson9536]

Crazy right?! My MCC class in Neuchâtel all I learnt was the date 1291 for its ‘founding’

[@evilmountain7147]

One thing you didn’t mention: Swiss mercenaries were a mainstay in most European militaries early on in Switzerland’s (pre?)existence. The Swiss decided it was better to avoid fighting, because the people in their country who were best at that were… literally everywhere else

[@shinsenshogun900]

It ended up with the aging government, returning to power after losing the high ground to the French, finding it's own people fighting each other in the Sonderbund (the post-Napoleonic Swiss Civil War)

[@brappymchonk8237]

Awsome point

[@aminadabbrulle8252]

Except in Poland, where they were outcompeted by the Scottish.

[@SatoshiKitagawa]

Also, there was sort of an unspoken agreement between the countries of Europe to not invade Switzerland, because everyone relied on swiss mercenaries. If a nation would have succesfully conquered Switzerland that would have meant no mercenaries for anyone else anymore and they wouldn't have let that happen.

[@derekfortner4008]

Some of the states in the confederacy apparently tried to make laws to not have a huge chunk of their young males going off to other countries to be mercenaries. Didn't really pan out.

[@ahistoric_gamer9716]

“Interesting in banking arrangements” - shows the Nazis storing gold. I laughed way harder than I should have.

[@macsenplays]

I snorted G Fuel through my nose.

[@grangermontag1824]

I did NAZI that coming, did Jew?

[@TyrannoJoris_Rex]

2:35 I always love the shots of opposing forces angrily staring each other’s blocky faces down XD

[@jeanbonnefoy1377]

2:19 duly noted the very free translation to Flemish of the French version of the Belgian motto 😁

[@stiv.2809]

“How did Switzerland not get itself Belgium’d” Harsh and hilarious.

[@st-ex8506]

Because it was ready to defend itself tooth and nail, and had the means to do it, while Belgium did not.

[@TheJan1101]

One of the best lines I heard on this channel. And he has many good jokes ;)

[@sharkeybean4096]

@@st-ex8506 nah its bc of mountains

[@st-ex8506]

@@sharkeybean4096 That's precisely what I meant by saying "having the means (to defend itself)...". I alluded to manpower and terrain... not so much armament (the Swiss Army was then very much lacking in armor). As a (retired) Swiss mountain infantry officer, I know first hand the HUGE advantage our terrain is giving us! But it is also how we built on that advantage.

[@sharkeybean4096]

@@st-ex8506 fair enough

[@PakBallandSami]

Geographic isolation - In nearly every respect, Switzerland is very much an island in the center of the continent. Only where navies can be constructed to reach other islands, this one remains at the limit of most armies hoping to conduct operations there. Which naturally tends for nations not to go to war with the Swiss. Since they in turn won’t likely attack out (unless paid to do so), this leaves them in a position in which political neutrality is an easy choice.

[@slyasleep]

Oh, I just wrote the same - it‘s the high mountain (passe)s wot cause it

[@CEOofRacism69]

Love Pakistan from India

[@PrivateSi]

I think you'll find The Swiss Navy is perfectly capable of invading France... I doubt if the invasion would last long, but still, The Swiss Navy has the means to most definitely mount a surprise attack on The French, in France.

[@mailthedragon]

It helps that is has very little in natural resources, no chocolate doesn't count, and that it has made it's banking system too important to upset.

[@cstrutherskgs]

Switzerland isn’t even neutral anymore. It chose a side and sanctioned Russia.

[@King0fPeasants]

I'm half swiss, but know almost nothing about what Switzerland is really like since I've lived in America my entire life, so getting a small history lesson about them was really interesting!

[@grunchlk]

It's like America, but we don't shoot up schools with our weapons.

[@kathleenmallory154]

Come visit us sometime! 🇨🇭

[@shonenjumpmagneto]

Swiss isn't a genetic ethnicity just so you know. It's only a Nationality, technically you're not Swiss one of your parents are.

[@ibetthisisnttakenyet]

Your storytelling and voice acting is brilliant. Love the content!

[@Only.D.G.]

"What makes a man turn neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?", Zapp Brannigan

[@ThatGuyAgen]

Your neutralness, it's a beige alert...

[@trisblackshaw1640]

"Tell my wife...hello."

[@montecalvomike]

"At least with enemies you know where they stand, but with neutrals who knows... It sickens me"

[@CheapCharlieChronicles]

4 words: France, Germany, Austria, Italy.

[@KevinBoillat]

You forgot Liechtenstein

[@rupert7565]

That sneaky gun at ~3:30 was great. I always really love the little details added.

[@ertm.2722]

These videos keep getting better and better in quality as time goes on. Great Job, History Matters!

[@Dyknown]

For a country so determinedly neutral, their neutral history was actually short. It was “born” neutral only a dozen years or so before Belgium!

[@semthijssen]

it is the longest neutral nation after sweden and some microstates, like monaco and san marino. So it is actually quite long.

[@luisandrade2254]

Not really they had been mostly neutral since forever and became officially neutral after 1648 200 years before Belgium

[@rebeccacummings6697]

It's was neutral for half a millenia, that's not a short history.

[@dziltener]

No, it declared neutrality in 1674.

[@dw620]

Belgium had... difficulties... remaining a neutral state.

[@bananenmusli2769]

I think that the verb "to belgium" and its passive form "to be belgiumed", exists is a simple fact of life now

[@ColiasPalaeno]

3:23 I love the little detail of a gun behind himmler pointed at joseph goebbles, nice detail

[@JesseDishner]

I just found this channel and I love it. I don't have more than four minutes and ten seconds to learn what Switzerland is neutral, so this is perfect, and I love that you say things happen because the result sucks. So relatable! Subscribed.

[@youtubeadministration8037]

Tfw the term "belgiumed" exists and everybody understands it

[@dnm3732]

Give us our dislikes back

[@hebl47]

@@dnm3732 Our*

[@samrevlej9331]

@@hebl47 Oh my gosh, a communist.

[@dnm3732]

@@hebl47 sorry

[@hebl47]

@@samrevlej9331 Lol, good one. :)

[@GlamorousTitanic21]

My dad is borderline obsessed with Swiss watches. I feel if he had the money he would buy one of every single watch made.

[@oakleymakela2408]

Mine is the same. Watches are great 😅

[@mrquirky3626]

I remember when I was a teenager in the 80s, watches made by Swatch were a huge fashion trend in high school.

[@slyasleep]

oh, dads.

[@sudhanvakashyap297]

is your dad kevin o'leary?

[@accountuser5588]

It's so cool to say that I was born in Switzerland. It really is a fantastic nation.

[@jamescaron6465]

These vignettes are priceless. Entertaining and informative

[@n.e.g.u.s]

Landmines strewn through Swiss territory might have also potentially influenced changing minds of invasive empire. Imagine thinking you’ve captured their remaining ranks in battle but getting blown to smithereens shortly thereafter.

[@noobster4779]

Germany considered invading the soviet union a good idea with millions of soldiers and a land the size of half the continent in europe alone agaisnt a dictator that was famous for not giving a shit about how many people he had to kill to save himself. Im not sure a few landmines stopped anybody...especially because you only need a few corridors through a mine field to make it useless. And randomly placed mines usually hurt the civilain population much more then an invading army, jsut take a look at the balkans.

[@MGMatthew]

Attached to every Single piece of infrastructure that leads into the Country, yep. Bridge, Road, Tunnel? You Name it.

[@chipsnfish7716]

"How did the world react to the Russian Revolution 1917", sounds like a cool idea imo

[@brandonlyon730]

I know a lot of the world powers had supplied and funded the white army forces.

[@paged_8688]

I agree that does sound like a cool idea

[@raptorfromthe6ix833]

allies were horrified but central powers were happy

[@mojewjewjew4420]

@@raptorfromthe6ix833 Especially since Germany provided money and a train for lenin.

[@bikkiikun]

@@raptorfromthe6ix833 : And America sent troops to "guard things"

[@alexpozniak4106]

Love your channel. Especially the humor in the animation.

[@TheseSetsAreAbsolutelyEpic]

These edits are absolutely incredible! It's insane how far History Matters has come!

[@Fr_Daniel]

"How did Switzerland managed not to get itself Belgiumed" I see what you did there.

[@JMThought]

As a Swiss person, bravo, pretty much 100% spot on! :D

[@dziltener]

Except completely missing 1674

[@JMThought]

@@dziltener can’t cover everything

[@dziltener]

@@JMThought It's *literally* the sole topic of that video though.

[@JMThought]

@@dziltener when you say 1674 are we talking about the The Peace of Westphalia in 1648? Or am I completely missing something here… it was one of his longer videos and covered WWII and Napoleon/Congress of Vienna pretty well imo.

[@dziltener]

@@JMThought No. In 1674, the Tagsatzung (the council of all Swiss cantons) declared Switzerland as neutral.

[@bobbybiggerstaff7269]

Thank you for all the videos you make!

[@GrantHolmstrom]

3:13 I enjoyed the Mannerheim cameo

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

3:03 “Germany can also sell gold that it had ‘acquired’ to Switzerland“. 😂 😂

[@unoriginal_username1]

I love the fact it was the headquarters to a international organisation if wasn’t even apart of AMAZING 😂

[@itself227]

I wish my country was more like Switzerland, the mountainous terrain and all.

[@dannyzero692]

Nepal be like:

[@poohbear6806]

I’ve learnt more from your channel than from school . Thank you💖

[@ihavetowait90daystochangem67]

Switzerland: *Is Neutral* Switzerland’s Flag: *Is literally positively Charge*

[@vampire4312]

Well, I guess whe have to annex Austria to neutralize the flag. ;D

[@thomashayes1739]

I love how Luther's 95 Theses are simply summarized as "Y'all dumb." Made me laugh harder than it really should have.

[@oliversherman2414]

I love your channel keep up the great stuff!!

[@arval4202]

Hey history matters ,I really love how you guys show us the sides of history that are not known throughout the world. It adds another layer to the story or the perspective of sides , teaching us what a country , person , and societies morals on things. Exposing the grey areas that are still lost to the public's eye , so I hope to see more of these wonderful gem videos in the future . P.S : I have a video idea for you guys , what are the reasons for each country joining NATO ?

[@slyasleep]

Isn‘t the shortest, most historically universal answer: central high mountain passes (equally critical to all neighbours & fiendishly difficult to conquer)?

[@Lobster_Lars]

The key point is virtually no resources,

[@slyasleep]

@@Lobster_Lars chocolate?

[@edwardblair4096]

@@slyasleep Having chocolate didn't help the Dutch.

[@WTF2BlueTiger]

There's many mountainous countries that did not manage to be neutral (Norway, Nepal, Tibet, a bunch of central asian countries, the three countries in the caucusus/Turkey, bunch of balkan countries, Lebanon), it would be a poor answer. Switzerland as many minor countries had respectable defenses in place but really this just doesn't stand up to battle hardened armies from large powerful countries with practical experience in warfare

[@CG-eh6oe]

@@WTF2BlueTiger Its not about having mountains, its about having important mountain passes. If you inavde norway, you dont care if a few resistant fighters hide in the mountains. If you do the same in switzerland, central european trade collapses.

[@Unknowngfyjoh]

They only KZbin channel where hearing the list of patreons is just as exciting as the channel itself

[@jordansteveland6505]

Anyone else think when he thanks his patreon members he sounds like the announcer at the train station? 😂 Love the videos though bro, keep up the good work

[@benstrong4497]

Hitler himself wasn't too fond of the Swiss people. He said "We can use them, at best, as hotel keepers." Of course, the Swiss didn't know that, and they enlisted every single citizen into the war effort. For example, blind people were used at observation posts to listen for planes.

[@alpo7412]

I don’t think I’ve ever watched a bad video from this channel. Great job yet again. I didn’t know I was interested in history of Switzerland but now I kind of am.

[@PixelHistory]

Switzerland: I'll be neutral until the end of times! Putin: Allow me to introduce myself...

[@BWEEOOP]

That's how you know you've done messed up when even the Swiss take a side

[@zordixx9696]

If Switzerland's sanctions are a breach of it's neutrality, then Switzerland breached it's neutrality dozen of times. Because the sactions against Russia aren't the first sanctions against an other country.

[@linus_z]

Switzerland sanctioned like 20 countrys before like Syria, Jemen ore Libanon. We are still neutral.

[@neverknowsbest2879]

@@linus_z Actually no. It only means that Switzerland ceased to be neutral long ago. I never heard about Syria, Jemen, Libanon. I always believed that Switzerland was actually neutral. Is there any neutral countries left? Is Turkmenistan neutral?

[@Darkfawfulx]

@@zordixx9696 Thank you I've been asking myself that question to no avail recently. So Switzerland has sanctioned others in the past and people are acting like this is something bold and new.

[@hoserlu]

Please do a video about James Bisonette. He's earned his day.

[@armaansingh6466]

we need more this is amazing!!

[@pridelander06]

"I have no strong feelings one way or the other." Switzerland's motto, probably

[@illegalproductconsumer702]

But he has strong feelings about not having strong feelings

[@globalincident694]

Well kind of. They sold weapons to Germany during the war, and are now taking a stance against Russia over Ukraine, so they aren't 100% neutral.

[@laura-bianca3130]

Not true.

[@mistasomen]

As a Swiss, I can't tell you how I feel about this.

[@maazkalim]

“motto”=PR

[@skeetrix5577]

you got me interested in history! thank you!

[@streamlinedengine]

“Getting Belgium-ed” “The Germans have other neutral countries to invade” Gotta love how HM uses Belgium as a joke.

[@Turgineer]

Switzerland: **breaks neutrality in Ukraine-Russia war** Me: How is this possible?

[@lafsblogger]

Switzerland has not broken its neutrality under international law. Applying sanctions in response to a clear breach of international law doesn't impact its neutrality, irrespective of what the Russian foreign ministry says about it.

[@user-mc8cs1ys5u]

​@@lafsblogger So Switzerland obeys US orders but says it's neutral you think it's okay? The U.S. wages war against other countries, subverts other countries, plunges other countries into war, and Switzerland thinks it's okay? What hypocrisy, what disgusting, what a double standard

[@lafsblogger]

@@user-mc8cs1ys5u No, this is international politics. You act as best you can without getting clobbered by a bigger, more powerful country. Applying the concepts underlying personal relationships to the relationships between nation states is a mistake, as no country operates like that.

[@user-mc8cs1ys5u]

@@lafsblogger No amount of sophistry will change what Switzerland has done. Switzerland has shown that it is no longer a neutral country and good luck to Switzerland when the next war starts.

[@Shonendo]

@@lafsblogger lmao, sounds like an awful lot of sugar coating for a country that clearly is anything but neutral. There are actual neutral countries in the Ukraine conflict. Switzerland isn't one of them.

[@PakBallandSami]

“It was so lovely, Heidi stood with tears pouring down her cheeks, and thanked God for letting her come home to it again. She could find no words to express her feelings, but lingered until the light began to fade and then ran on.” ― Johanna Spyri,

[@samrevlej9331]

0:45 "But you know who isn't France? Savoy." Napoleon III: *laughs in 1860 annexion*

[@3gnomesinacoat448]

I've been binging all your videos for the last week and love the content and the way you deliver information! Hoping you can do a video on Vlad the Impaler.

[@SergeantHalo]

Here I am back watching my favorite channel again

[@sdesigan85]

1:39 'Ideas are for winners' 😂😂

[@BlandSpagetti]

“An organization the Swiss refused to join until 2002” I don’t know why but I burst out laughing from that

[@KevinBoillat]

Thats more than 10 years after north korea

[@oenrn]

They joined at the same time as East Timor, a country that had existed for like 5 minutes at the time.

[@md28stads]

"Ideas are for Winners" ! This dude makes me laugh 😂 I love the little signs they hold up or when they jump through fields of flowers

[@victoriaamat5368]

Since I'm not a patron of the channel, sometimes I give a thought to the selection of historical topics that are discussed here. They tend to have a curious timing.

[@Dalynx09]

I recommended my History teacher this Channel and apparently she loves It before even watching a single video of It, Hi teacher

[@ketsuekikumori9145]

"Armed to the teeth" is an understatement. The Swiss not only built a shit ton of bunkers (enough to house every citizen, especially in case of nuclear disaster), have mandatory military service (therefore everyone is trained and allowed to buy their service rifle even after service), they were willing to blow up the various tunnels and bridges leading into Switzerland.

[@ddc2957]

Aren’t they quite smal in population though? I know that doesn’t preclude a country from military prowess (Israel), but they are 8,000,000 people today. What were they in WW II? 1,000,000?

[@linus_z]

@@ddc2957 4 Million and in 1941 switzerland had mobilized up to 450`000 Thousand soldiers.

[@siamesevodka]

The pause before 'acquired' is genius.

[@CG-eh6oe]

Such a short but nice video! Only thing i would have loved for you to add is how much switzerland beeing internaly divided helped with staying neutral. E.g. in WW1 there were some people who wanted to participate, but they couldn't figure out for which side (french speaking part wanting to support france, german speaking part in favor of germany), and before they could figure this out the war turned into a bloody mess and everyone agreed to stay out.

[@samrevlej9331]

0:06 You forgot chocolate, you damn Belgian spy. REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@sumelk1020]

At this point, you should just put “James Bisonnette” on a t-shirt and sell it on your merch store

[@laurentirgo5042]

This is the only channel I watch till the very end, just to hear the names of all the sponsors :)

[@CrisisMonday]

Amazing content!

[@TransformersBoss]

0:40 Whenever I find myself with my head on a pike I’m also like “meh”

[@Theology.101]

Here’s a question: When did the Frankish Monarchs turn into German/Italian/French monarchs? Was it a move to bolster a single kingdom’s vibe? A slow steady change with adopting local customs? Aliens? Edit: Yes i know about Louis splitting the realm upon his death, but I want to onow about the cultural change. Suddenly living in Germany doesn’t instantly make you non-Frankish

[@Dreagostini]

Yes

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

The split happened because of the Frankish people's terribly inefficient custom of splitting a kingdom to the king's sons upon his death...

[@samiamrg7]

Kings and Generals has a good video about Charlemagne and his descendents. After Charlemagne’s death, his empire was split up among his descendents (as per Germanic inheritance law) into 3 major parts: West, Middle, and East Francia (and a small kingdom ruled by his youngest son). Long story short, there were wars amongst the descendents and some outside invasions, Middle Francia fell apart because of it’s awkward position, and West and East Francia went on to become the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire, respectively.

[@samiamrg7]

This is also why the Holy Roman Empire is ‘Holy’ ‘Roman’‘Empire.’ The first Emperor was Charlemagne, crowned by the Pope, and it soon became tradition for the rulers of East Francia to be granted/claim the title of Emperor of Romans as well. Especially after the Catholic/Orthodox schism which made both sides view the other’s claims of “Emperor of Rimans” as illegitimate, allowing for both the Byzantine Emperor and Holy Roman Emperor to claim to be the rightful Emperor of the Romans.

[@clementlefevre5384]

The kingdoms of the Franks, (Regnum Francorum for its official name) was established trough the conquest of Gaul by the Franks led by Clovis, they subjugated the visigothic kingdoms in Gaul, Syagrius' possessions in the parisian bassin, and burgundy. So right from the beginning, there was a mix of ethnicities and cultures, even if the Christianized-Gallo-Romans were dominant demographicaly, and later, the allamans, the frisians, the saxons, bavarians and thuringians would be conquered and added to the empire now, between the initial frankish conquest (480-496) and the division of the Carolingian Empire, there was 4 centuries of entranching religions and royal institutions, customs, and a lot of civil Wars, nobility and aristocratie infighting, regencies, which ultimately led to a dynastic change, from the Merovingians, to the Carolingians, and a general usage of latin as a "lingua franca" in the Empire. however, you have to keep in mind that the different people in the realm had they own language, and the crown didn't enforce anything in terms of language integration. Later when the empire was divided, the cultural identities that began to form were strictly linked to the title of their king. But régional identities were still entranched (That is west Francia because we're under the king of west Francia,...etc) Eventually, titres changed names, (west Francia became France For example) but Its only After a millenia of living under the same political entities, that there was a Real cultural blending. For example, before the french révolution, only 10% could speak french, an that's counting non-native speaker. But they were considered "french, because they were subjects of the king of france

[@mistasomen]

That slight pause before the word "acquired" is comedy gold🤣🤣🤣

[@SniffyPoo]

I like how this channel explains the internal politics of historical moments which isnt so obvious simply reading factual accounts of events

[@justahobbiest]

Is anyone else wondering when there will be a HistoryMatters discord to host informative "I never knew I needed to know that!" Information and historically focused memes?

[@dziltener]

The Swiss Confederacy declared itself neutral in 1674. I'm disappointed you overlooked that! Switzerland also continued to rent out mercenaries. E.g. to the French king.

[@CG-eh6oe]

Well, history is about facts not about official declarations so its a good thing this wasn't mentioned.

[@HorangiPowah]

Hi! Good to see you upload more videos. Can you make a video about some of the wars waged by louis xiv like war of the grand alliance, war of reunions or make a vid about war of spanish succesion? Thanks!

[@femaleswolf]

The video was perfect and learned so much

[@jogzyg2036]

Switzerland is the quiet loner kid in class that never gets bullied because even though he looks like an easy target the bullies value their lives.

[@ultimatestoryteller]

Switzerland and it's neutrality has actually helped it financially, socially, economically etc. It's only alliance is to money and actually it's not wrong since despite being an expensive country to live in, the citizens enjoy a much better life since always irrespective of what's going on with the neighbours.

[@kellsierliosan4404]

Switzerland was not particularly developed til after WW2

[@ultimatestoryteller]

@@kellsierliosan4404 and then came the Nazi gold.

[@kellsierliosan4404]

lmao every time someone mentions nazi gold. The banking sector as a whole is not even the main asset in Swiss economics

[@soul8938]

Its morally abhorrent the swiss love to portray themselves as these peace loving neutral people but in reality they only live in this prosperity due to the suffering of others…hell they still sell weapons ammo and armored vehicles to warzones instable countries just for profit

[@romaingillet2526]

@@kellsierliosan4404 huh what? Maybe you never heard that switzerland was the third European country to industrialize after UK and the two netherlands. Where do you think they got the best railway network of the world ?

[@michaelcasalta7679]

I love this channel!!!

[@nik65stgt60]

Great content!

[@limerence8365]

2:11 Smiley face

[@shonenjumpmagneto]

Switzerland 🇨🇭 challenges what it means to be a country or even the concept of a country arguably. Love it.

[@retrigot2207]

thank you for this video

[@masterchinese28]

"How did it stay neutral and not get itself Belgiumed?" This is the first time that I've heard "Belgium" used as a verb. I love it.

[@owenhammond1880]

I was hoping when you talked about the Germans in WWII not invading Switzerland I was expecting one of the reasons to be "Because they planned on blowing up the entire country's infrastructure if they tried anything."

[@aqui1ifer]

Seems to be naturally part of the "costs" of invading, blow up all your factories & railroad tunnels as a big middle finger.

[@owenhammond1880]

@@aqui1ifer Dude it was like there whole infrastructure. Roads, bridges, tunnels, rails the works. Just to make it that much harder. They also made mountain fortresses because why the hell not.

[@countsudoku6305]

@@aqui1ifer they have designed literally EVERYTHING in way to blow up or sabotage in case of invasion, including mountains, add to that also tons of bunkers scattered across mountains and u get country which is very problematic to conquer. Its possible to do it, just not worth the effort.

[@aqui1ifer]

@@countsudoku6305 I’ve seen video of someone going up to such a strong point, multiple bunkers, detonating bridge, the works

[@historiavulgaris8714]

@@countsudoku6305 yepp and the explosives were still active in most places until recently (like 5 years ago lol)

[@Lukas-hy6ex]

I love that "being Belgium'd" is just its flag being turned sideways instead of actual german flags being hung up

[@octaviomoreno3542]

Ideas are for winners! I love this channel.

[@kaiserjosiahtheC53claughton]

I kinda wish you can teach us how do you make your animations bc it's so simple and easy. Ps : Please Keep Up the Content