Unit 8 – Die Schweiz
8.1 Kern
Kanton
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26 total cantons in Switzerland, the same in principle
1291 Swiss Confederation founded
until the middle of the 19th century they were sovereign states with their own currency, armies and other independent
things
the size and economic strength is very different across the cantons
they are similar to the states in the US in that they are very independent of each other
Switzerland has become more centralized throughout the years
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the capital of Switzerland
mainly German-speaking
parts of it look just as they did in the Middle Ages
the symbol of the city is the bear
speak Bärndütsch
Einstein developed his theories there
the fourth largest city in Switzerland
Bern
Zürich
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the largest city in Switzerland
primarily German-speaking
independent from the rest of Switzerland during the Holy Roman Empire; was the Reichsstadt
financial center of the country
highest quality of life in the world (2007)
harsh dialect spoken there
Luzern
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German-speaking city
associated with the legend of Wilhelm Tell
Mark Twain wrote about it in his book A Tramp Abroad
economically and socially important city in Central Switzerland
relatively small, only 58,000 inhabitants
Basel
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Lausanne
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Hafenstadt am Rhein
pharmaceutical and chemical center
Friedrich Nietzsche was a professor at the university
the reformer Zwingli lived and studied there
there is a carnival tradition
most people there speak German
the third largest city in the country
mainly French-speaking
fifth largest city
largest university in the country
headquarters of the International Olympic Committee
Olympic Museum
Genf
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Schweizer
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French-speaking city
founded during the time of the Reformation
Calvinism
many international organizations have offices there: the Red Cross, World Health Organization, the UNO, World
Intellectual Property Organization
Messer
used by the Swiss army since the late 19th century
they call it Sackmesser
includes these tools: großes Messer, kleines Messer, Dosenöffner, Flaschenöffner, Korkenzieher, Schere, Säge,
Schraubenzieher
Swiss cheese
 the Swiss do not identify this as their cheese
 President Clinton said the number of holes in the cheese should be cut in half
Toblerone
 triangularly-shaped chocolate candy
 logo of the company is the Matterhorn
 no one really knows why it’s triangular
Milka
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best-known Swiss milk chocolate
name = Milch + Kakao
purple wrapping with a cow on it
Bernhardiner
 once used by monks
 not used anymore to find people lost in the mountains or buried under avalanches
 people still associate them with the Swiss, always have a flask of brandy around their necks (not true in real life)
Schweizer
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Banken
bank secrecy for over 300 years
numbered accounts are allowed, keep the name of the owner secret
debate over the Nazi-Gold that is in Swiss banks
money left by victims of the Holocaust
stricter laws against money laundering and more transparence in banking practices
Raclette
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cheese melted over an open fire
today people use small, individual pans in order to melt the cheese
eaten with potatoes, pickles, pickled onions
Sicherheit schaffen! poster
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used by the SVP in 2007
the Swiss were asked by the UNO what they were doing about this campaign, asked to stop the campaign
racist actions and statements from right-wing parties are often allowed, some Swiss find this troubling
Direkte Demokratie
 citizens make political decisions via referendums and initiatives
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women got the right to vote in Switzerland in 1971
becoming a Swiss citizen is difficult; the people of whichever community the person wants to live in decide; people
have to know how to speak the local dialect and pay a fee
20% of people living in Switzerland are foreigners
Multikulturalität
 four official languages
 numerous local dialects
 nation of will, people moving from one part of the country to the other will have to adapt themselves to its language
and traditions
Minderheitenschutz
 ethnic, cultural, national or linguistic subgroups of people
 important because there are four official languages
 a lot of ethnic minorities within the 20% foreigner population
 many cultural differences between the 26 cantons
 cantons are responsible for culture and education of their own citizens
 they support and promote cultural and linguistic minority groups
 the Bundesamt für Migration sees integration of foreigners as being good and successful in Switzerland
Förderalismus
 the cantons are sovereign, their sovereignty is not limited by the Swiss Constitution
 cantons and communities have a lot of responsibility
 there is no president in Switzerland
 there are only councilmen
 this system is necessary since the cantons are so unique and different from each other
Qualitätsbewusstsein
 Swiss products (like watches) are known around the world as being of very high quality
 major corporations: Rolex, Nestle, Roche, Victorinox, Tag Heuer, Breitling, Swatch
Sachlichkeit und Tüchtigkeit
 industrious and hard-working people
 never stop working
 efficiency
 the will to work well and hard is a virtue
 expect immigrants to have the same values
 they want to be in the majority of people when it comes to fitting in and not stand out in a bad way
Sozialer Friede
 many revolutions and revolts like other nations throughout the course of history
 since 1848 it’s a Willensnation
 defended its neutrality during the first and second world wars
 Arbeitsfrieden 1937: says that workers and employers must resolve problems peacefully
 Förderalismus also helps maintain the peace, because there are no parties in the government and no institutionalized
opposition
Einbürgerung
 people who are foreign in a particular community need to do things to get involved, such as volunteering or joining a
Verein, through schools if they have children
 voting in elections is also very important
 applying for citizenship can last a couple years, intense process
 applying is risky since it can change a person’s life in the community if he/she is denied
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easier for people from Italy, Germany and France than people from Africa, Eastern Europe, Middle East; names that end
with ‘ic’
8.2 Eigenheiten
Französisch
 Switzerland as a whole has four official languages, but each canton can decide for itself which languages it will use
officially within itself
 20% of people in Switzerland speak French mainly
 spoken primarily in the west, along the border to France
Italienisch
 spoken in the south
 about 450,000 people speak Italian natively in Switzerland
 the language in which signs are written indicate if something is a private or a public establishment
Rätoromanisch
 spoken only in the canton Graubünden in the East
 only 60,000 people (1% of the population) speak Rätoromanisch
 there are five dialects of this language, which make its survival even more difficult
Schwyzerdütsch
 there is no main language with this name, refers to the many dialects of German spoken in Switzerland
 specific dialects are a part of someone’s regional and cultural identity; dialects show from where someone comes
 they use this form of German across all classes in their everyday lives
Hauptunterschiede
 very different grammar: only one relative pronoun in Swiss German, no perfect tense, many more
 Hochdeutsch spoken at universities, official written language
Hochdeutsch in der Schweiz?
 people in Switzerland primarily use Schwyzerdütsch when speaking to one another
 they use Hochdeutsch to make arguments more eloquent or when someone doesn’t speak or understand Schwyzerdütsch
(they are very polite in this regard)
Deutsch oder Schwyzerdütsch?
 Germans wonder why they still consider what they speak in Switzerland to be German since there is little similarity
between Swiss German and Hochdeutsch
 Germans wanting to be Swiss citizens must prove that they can understand the local dialect (even if they can’t speak
it), depending on where they want to live
Mundart
 they have ratings based on which are the most popular and least popular dialects
 use Schwyzerdütsch in text messages or informal writing, official writing use Hochdeutsch
 even native Swiss sometimes have difficulties understanding people from other regions due to differences in dialects
(particularly eastern dialects)
 the dialect spoken in Bern tends to be the most popular (slow, nice pronunciation, easy to understand)
 Swiss persons in certain jobs need to know French, English and standard German in addition to their respective regional
dialects; they also learn these in school
 more languages are good, too, since Switzerland is so multicultural, Chinese is becoming more important
 they learn French as their second language; they must learn a second language in school
 they always try to speak the language of other people they meet who can’t speak their regional dialect (very Swiss in
nature)
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sometimes they have conversations with people in two different languages, very normal
in businesses, they decide which language will be used
tend to speak Hochdeutsch at first until they know someone can understand their dialect
Hochdeutsch is seen as a foreign language by people in Switzerland because of the grammatical differences and
different words
Wohlstand
 Lokalpolitik: individuals have more control politically
 workers can organize themselves independently since the 18th century, build industries in their cities and towns
 wealthy nation because of the high-quality products they export worldwide
Banken
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infamous for their anonymous, mysterious banking system
twelve Swiss companies are among the most powerful 500 in the world (2007)
Ausländische Arbeiter
 Switzerland is very open to members from most countries of the EU coming and going and working there freely (EU-17)
 people from countries such as Poland, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Turkey, Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia (EU8) have a more difficult time working and living there without restrictions and limitations
Geldmacherei
 independent country that is always in contact with other nations in terms of culture, politics and economics
 problematic in both world wars because Switzerland continued their relationships with everyone on both sides
 particularly problematic in WWII when they did business with the Nazis
 1996 there was an independent commission that looked into dealings with the Allies and the Axis Powers during the
war
Rückzahlungen
 in 1996 a commission began trying to connect money in Swiss banks to victims of the Holocaust so that it could be
returned
 Swiss banks didn’t want to cooperate at first, but then they did
 in 2005 over 330 million US dollars were paid back to victims of the Nazis
Vergangenheitsbewältigung in der Schweiz
 discuss it only in schools
 not really talked about anywhere else
 Nazi money and gold in Switzerland talked about in the media
 people don’t like talking about the role the Swiss played in WWII
 talk about the Flüchtlingpolitik that went on during WWII (people fleeing Germany), people were sometimes condemned
for having helped refugees during that time
 some Swiss see themselves as just being the people who handled money, didn’t directly do anything criminal against
humanity
Schweizer Armee
 since 1506 the Swiss Guard is the official army of the Vatican
 the official Swiss Army has three purposes: 1) security and defense of the country, 2) to help when there are natural
disasters or civil conflicts and 3) to keep the peace
 since Switzerland is a neutral country, people debate whether or not they need an army
 all Swiss men must serve in the army up to age 25
 since September 11, 2001 more people in Switzerland support the army
Bewaffnete Neutralität
 Switzerland has been neutral since 1674
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they maintain arms to protect themselves against external threats
has to demonstrate to others that it can remain a Willensnation and stay united, even when there isn’t a threat from
other countries
1. Weltkrieg
 the cultural differences in Switzerland became more evident during the WWI; German-speaking people supported
Germany, French-speaking regions of the country supported France
 this created an internal conflict in Switzerland, a proverbial trench in the country
 they still managed to remain neutral and maintain their solidarity
Die Schweiz im Zweiten Weltkrieg
 difficult to remain neutral during WWII
 they felt threatened by Hitler and were ready to defend themselves against him
 on the other hand, they continued to do business with him (banking, etc)
 the banks in Switzerland functioned as the central bank for Germany
 they refused to take Jews and other people who weren’t politically persecuted as those seeking asylum ( Asylpolitik)
Die Europäische Union ohne Die Schweiz
 since they are supposed to be neutral and a Willensnation, that has prevented them from joining the EU
 member of UNO (Die Vereinten Nationen)since 2002
 make many bilateral treaties with the EU so that they aren’t isolated economically
 they do not want to give up some of their power to the EU; they would have to obey the laws from a higher
government rather than making them themselves in their cantons/towns, and Bürgermacht is a very important part of
their identity. They always vote against joining the EU.
Armee
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men must serve in the Swiss Army until age 25
they have cut back on their quota of men over time so that they don’t have too many in the army; used to be 250,000
– 300,000, more than some countries that are much larger
21-week-long Grundausbildung and physical training, learn how to use weapons, doesn’t matter if they like what they
are told to do for the army, given a choice to continue after they serve their mandatory time
three-week courses are available, they can choose to take them each year as a review of what they learned/did
they see military service as a way to come into contact with people from other regions of Switzerland and learn about
them
8.3 Heimat
Söldner und Soldaten
 Söldner is a mercenary, fights for other countries in their wars
 Swiss soldiers and mercenaries were undefeated until 1515, saw the reason for this due to their lack of unity as a
country
Der Bundesrat
 the executive branch of the Swiss government
 seven members that are elected every four years
 the departments and offices prepare legislation, policies, etc, but the Bundesrat makes the final decisions as a council
and has the most power in the country
 the Bundeskanzler/in doesn’t have the right to vote
Jodeln
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form of communication over long distances
a form of music for the past few centuries in Alpenländer, folk music and church music
Unspunnenstein
 a 184-pound stone
 symbol for being down to Earth, physically strong
 stolen by a radical youth group in Jura (the canton) in 1984 in order to liberate themselves, returned in 2002
 Steinstoßen (throwing a heavy stone) is a national sport in Switzerland
Schwingen
 form of wresting from the 13th century
 primarily practiced in Switzerland, popular national sport
 the ones who are the best are called ‘ die Bösen’ and can become Eidgenössischer Schwingerkönig
Turnen
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gymnastics; not really unique to Switzerland
Turnvater Jahn
Der Besuch der Alten Dame; demonstrates how strong athletes in the Swiss have to prove themselves to be in
Steinstoßen and Schwingen
Hornussen
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two teams of 16-20 players
similar to baseball or cricket
very quiet, peaceful game
combination of individual athleticism and teamwork
Fondue
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French in origin and means ‘melted’
cheese melted in a pot, put bread or a potato on a stick and dip it in the cheese
different types of cheese melted, depending on where people live in the country
requires a lot of prep time and eating time, just like Raclette
demonstrates how the Swiss take time to enjoy things in life and do them the right way, even if it takes more time
Rösti
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shredded potatoes fried in a pan until they’re flat and round
if prepared with bacon and milk, that is Berner Rösti
if prepared with Emmentaler Käse, it is Emmentaler Rösti
many local varieties
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the fog that comes during the fall and in the low-lying areas of the northern Alps can be dangerous
in October it comes every other day on average, makes for dreary days
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warm, dry wind in the Southern Alps
unter Föhn leiden: headaches due to the wind, sometimes heart and circulation problems
good visibility when it comes
the speed of the wind can reach 155 km/h
Nebel
Föhn
Lawinen
 avalanches, very fast and powerful
 never know when they will happen, this makes them dangerous
 pay attention to warnings of possible avalanches when near the mountains
Jura
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founded in 1979
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separated from Bern
political and cultural differences between the German-speaking population and the French, also between Catholics and
Protestants
compared to the conflict in Northern Ireland
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western part of the Alps runs through Switzerland
13 million people live in the vicinity of the Alps
geography, history, culture, animals and plants vary greatly across its run
some things the mountains might mean for people who live near them: Isolation, Heimat, Sicherheit, Gefahren,
Alpen
Naturschutz, Grenzen, Möglichkeiten, Tourismus
Nachbarländer
 Austria, Germany and Switzerland all share Hochdeutsch
 Arbeitsamkeit
 Fleiß
 Genauigkeit
 the mountains
 skiing
Einwanderung
 immigrants since 1500 BC, Celtic tribes (Helvetii)
 CH = Confedoeratio Helvetica (Latin name for Switzerland)
 Germanic tribes came in 400 AD and drove out the Romans
 western part of the country was settled by the Burgundies, adopted the Roman culture and language
 central part was settled by Allemanen (Germanic tribes)
 eastern part taken over by Rhätiern
 this division correlates approximately to where which languages are spoken
Die Römer
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ruled Switzerland from the 3rd century BC until 5th century AD
didn’t oppress the populations they conquered
local rulers were allowed to keep their power
built cities, roads, roads and passages through the mountains, founded schools
official language was Latin, Celtic was not forbidden (died out)
in the 3rd and 4th century, the region became more Christian
Romans were driven out by the Germanic tribes
Das Mittelalter
 the Catholic Church played a very important role during this time
 church owned a lot of land, determined the lives of people
 the Church and the nobility had all the power, most notably Karl der Große and the Carolingians
 the country was always being divided by between nobles
 attacks by the Muslims and Hungarians
 in 1032 the Swiss territories were brought together by the German Kaiser, many cities and communities were granted
sovereignty Rechtsunmittelbarkeit (only the Kaiser had authority over them)
CH - Confederation Helvetique
 the Swiss Confederation came into existence in 1291 with three cantons (Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden)
 unofficially independent from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499
 did not take part in the Thirty Years War
 declared its eternal neutrality in 1515
 in 1506 the Swiss Guard became the official army of the Vatican
Reformation
 divided the country, just like many others
 Protestants were tolerated in some cantons and burned in others
 Zwingli was important for German-speaking Swiss (Zürich)
 Calvin was important for French-speaking Swiss (Genf and Basel)
 settled their differences in 1531, promised to respect each other’s religious differences
 Catholic Church initiated the Counterreformation and won some cantons back
Napoleon
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the new Helvetic Republic had to fight in the Napoleonic Wars since they had allied themselves with France
the country was a battlefield
civil war between federalists and centralists, Napoleon occupied the country once more
new constitution confirmed its neutrality, but Switzerland had to make its soldiers available to Napoleon
many Swiss soldiers died in his wars, particularly in the campaign in Russia
20. Jahrhundert
 Switzerland did not take place in WWII, but they prepared for a possible attack by Hitler
 took many refugees from Germany, but also sent many back who were later executed in Konzentrationslager
 took money from all sides during WWII; Nazis hid stolen gold and money there, many Jewish families left their fortunes
there and never returned
 banks refused to give the money back until 1998
Unterschiede
 Nicht-Mitmachen in the EU and neutrality are very important to most Swiss
 Basisdemokratie: works from the ground up; they elect people every four years to the Bundesrat, but they still have
referendums and initiatives they vote on, they still have a voice; it doesn’t matter who they elect
 the government is not as powerful as the people, they can overpower them with numbers if they want to
 they do not want to join the EU because they fear they will lose their form of government
 they see their wealth as a direct result of their tendency towards working hard, being efficient
 very independent, still have to rely on others for natural materials
EU-Beitritt
 difficult for people to travel to and from Switzerland, not a member of the Scheneger Abkommen
 they have a complicated relationship with the EU, lots of bilateral treaties
 they don’t like the EU as an institution necessarily, but not being a part of it makes things difficult, things might only
get more complicated
 dependent on other nations for things they don’t produce themselves
 might have to join because of young people who want to study in other countries and travel
 economic reasons might make EU membership necessary for Switzerland eventually
Warum die Schweiz?
 envied for beautiful landscape, wealth, high-quality products made there
 member of Europe without being a part of the EU
 difficult moments in its history that it had to overcome
1712 Frieden von Aarau
 in the first and second Villmerkenkriege, the Catholic Church tried to strengthen its power through alliances with other
powers in Europe, such as Louis XIV in France
 lost its power in the Frieden von Aarau in 1712, had to accept the equal ranking of the Protestant and Catholic
religions
 France promised the Catholic regions that it would support them against their own countrymen; this was never a
necessity and Switzerland got through this time as united nation
1848 verhinderte Revolution
 conflicts between catholic and liberal groups in the country before the Constitution in 1848
 catholic and conservative cantons formed a union, tried to separate the eastern and western cantons with the help of
Metternich
 other countries had bloody revolts, but the Swiss managed to resolve everything with negotiations and political
arbitration; the nation was stronger
1918 Landesstreik
 they were neutral in WWI and did not suffer many casualties, but they were not spared from the economic and social
crises that resulted at the end of the war
 injustice between business owners who profited in WWI and workers/farmers who lived beneath minimum standards
led to the strike
 in November 1918 the government reacted to demonstrations militaristically and sent troops to Zürich, which only made
things worse
 people gave up because they feared the military, went back to work
 positive results: working week limited to 48 hours, labor unions were involved in the wartime economy during WWII
1937 Graben
 internal split in Switzerland during WWII among cantons; languages spoken there represented the countries who were
now enemies (Germany and France), the Axis Powers (Germany and Italy)
 the cantons who were sympathetic to Germany tried to build an internal trench to isolate the French-speaking parts of
the country
 the Swiss remained neutral and managed to get through this time
Die EU
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Identität
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77.3% of Swiss are against joining the EU
they don’t want to join because the freedom of making their own decisions on the lowest level would be reduced,
would have to follow policy from Brussels
many bilateral treaties between the EU and Switzerland
Europäische Freihandelsassoziation (European Free Trade Association)
regional differences: language, lifestyle, laws (banning smoking in public, for example)
Rösti-Graben: German-Swiss majority, French-Swiss minority leads often to conflicts
no typical Swiss person since all of the regions are so different from each other
French and Italian-speaking Swiss tend to have a stronger connection to France and Italy, respectively, than the
German-speaking Swiss do to Germany; this can be because France and Italy were not huge threats to Switzerland
during WWII
Zusammengehörigkeitsgefühl through shared history helps keep them together as a nation
Swiss feel their country will remain together because they have a principle of ‘live and let live’, most people are living
well and happy, they coexist peacefully and respect each other
most densely-populated country in Europe
tend to be a bit reserved, aren’t as straightforward as Germans; very friendly once they make a connection