Switzerland

Switzerland, or the Syndicalist Republic of Switzerland is a syndicalist state in Central Europe, established after the Swiss Civil War and has seen pieces of its territory annexed by France and Italy in the violence of the late 1920s.

# **History**

## **A troubled past**

Historians generally agree that the Swiss Civil War was long in the making for about a decade, since 1919. Before 1919 the far-left had made considerable progress within Swiss society (the far-left was made up of majority libertarian socialists, mainly anarchists and syndicalists). Strikes were common place while the voices of Swiss anarchism and syndicalism grew, but 1919 was a turning point in Swiss history. With the beginning of the German Civil War, Switzerland watched eerily as the working class revolted across Germany, ending in victory in August of 1920. As the war raged on in October of 1919, the Swiss federal election was held, and the radicalization of the German working class also led to many Swiss unions and working class people radicalizing, which was seen in an increase of the democratic socialist Social Democratic Party which ended in a tie with the center-right Free Democrats Party, but nevertheless syndicalism would see a an increasing amount of popularity in the country, in part thanks to the German Union aiding its progress.

From 1921 to the civil war, the left was empowered by their northern neighbor, and even after Switzerland recognized the syndicalist state in 1925 German meddling didn’t stop. Revolutionary unions saw a vast increase in funding by Berlin and, especially after 1927 these unions grew in popularity as the Great Depression hit the Swiss markets. Anarchists also saw an increase in activity during these tumultuous times. In 1924, the Revolutionary Worker’s Council was created, comprising of various trade unions and leftist organizations and political parties, it became the largest leftist entity in the country and saw a growth of support. Secretly, with the guide of Germany the RWC planned a coup to topple the liberal government and fully install a syndicalist regime within Switzerland. The plan was made to storm Bern and assert their control in October of 1929.

## **Storming of Bern**

On the 14th of October, the socialists put their plan into motion, and with thousands of quickly organized militias with weapons given from the German Union, Bern was taken over after a 2 day battle and the people there declared the Syndicalist Republic of Switzerland. While the liberal government fled to Lausanne, they begged the French and Italians for help as the revolutionaries began taking over city after city and expanding their power, to the shock of the world as a violent revolution engulfed the country.

## **The Swiss Civil War**

Unwilling to fully aid the Swiss to not cause another Great War, the French and Italians provided only limited support to not anger the Germans, but after a month the French and Italian government were petrified about the idea of Switzerland falling to syndicalism, but after a series of battles in the country it was clear the revolutionaries had the advantage. After a short conference between the Italian and French governments, they decided the best option would be to invade the territories still held by the loyalists to avoid all of Switzerland falling to the left.

On November 20th, with most of central Switzerland in rebel hands, French and Italian forces entered still held loyalist territory, mostly consisting of the regions of Tocino and Western Switzerland. 3 days later after the capture of Geneva, the Swiss “white” government collapsed. While Germany was outraged, they could do little, and to avoid a full on war with the revolutionaries the Geneva Conference was organized to full redraw the borders of Switzerland between Germany, France and Italy. In the end, the regions with the majority of Italian speakers went to Italy, Western Switzerland went to France while the rest of Switzerland was reorganized into the already existing socialist republic. While the revolution didn’t take over all of Switzerland, it succeeded for the most part.

## **The Syndicalist Republic of Switzerland**

With peace maintained and the syndicalists victorious over most of Switzerland, power was reconsolidated amongst the new republic, and with the help of Germany any large amounts of resistance were snuffed out. On December 3rd, various trade unions and leftist politicians in Zürich created and ratified the new constitution of the republic. It gave all governmental powers to unions, nationalized all assets and secularized the country. The Federal Council that ruled Switzerland for decades was recreated which was made up of labor unions which represented trade unions based on the German model.

For the next 7 years Switzerland would see little social or political change, while the country rebuilt itself fully within a few years, and with German aid its industrial base has expanded, even without cities like Geneva or Lausanne.

# **The Great Compromise**

The Great Compromise is a name popularized by various Swiss politicians to describe the balance of power between Switzerland and Germany. De-facto they're an independent state but de-jure they have been a puppet of Germany for almost a decade. Germany strongly guides the Swiss in every major decision, and after the civil war and being viewed as a pariah state it can only access supplies through the north. Most people in Switzerland generally agree that Swiss independence is vital to their nation but most are unwilling to oppose the German colossus that controls them as a puppet. In the end it is an uneasy status quo to maintain, as while a puppet, the German TUC has promised Bern that the German Union doesn't strive towards annexing or integrating Switzerland into the German heartland, and so far the TUC has stuck to their word.