Internment in Switzerland During the First World War
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Published: 2019
Language: eng
Number of pages: 217
ISBN-13: 9781350037731
Subjects: World war, 1914-1918, prisoners and prisons; Prisoners of war; Europe, social conditions; Switzerland, history
Description: "In contrast to the plethora of works focusing on the tragic loss of human lives during the First World War, little is known about the more hopeful realities of thousands of prisoners of war from Britain, France, Germany and Belgium who were sent to Switzerland from 1916. This book explores the everyday lives of these prisoners and their impact on Switzerland. Internees were warmly welcomed by local people and given education, training and employment. Leading relatively free lives, they were able to engage in leisure activities and develop new relationships. However, they also contributed to the country's economy, helping to keep Swiss tourism alive at a time when businesses were struggling and alleviating Switzerland's labour shortage as Swiss men were called-up to defend their borders and preserve the country's neutrality. Drawing on a wide range of sources from official records to magazines and postcards, Susan Barton provides an absorbing account of the social and cultural history of internment in Switzerland."--Bloomsbury Publishing.