# Why didn't Hitler take Switzerland ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 8, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hitler-take-switzerland/509334 "2009-09-08T20:40:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hitler-take-switzerland/509334/81 "2009-09-16T17:33:59Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Especially if you have similarly scaled equipment. Looking at his drastically oversized hands, this statue sure gives the lie to the old saying about “big hands, big …”. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hitler-take-switzerland/509334/82 "2009-09-16T19:01:35Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Indeed. > > Really, it’s like this: if you had a goose which laid golden eggs, would you promptly turn it into Pâté de Foie Gras? Hell no! That’s illegal in these here parts. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hitler-take-switzerland/509334/83 "2009-09-17T05:14:48Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I see all points made in all of the answers above, but Switzerland is and was a very rich country, and the Nazis were greedy bastards. Yes they were, but they never invaded a country simply to loot it, always for some political or military reason. That simply never arose with Switzerland. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hitler-take-switzerland/509334/84 "2009-09-17T05:21:38Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > Why do you think a dozen arab countries were never able to conquer Isreal over the last 60 years? Whatever it is, it has nothing whatsoever to do with a no-surrender policy, which by definition can only apply when you are losing the battles. Israel won all those battles, so their commitment to any supposed no-surrender policy has never been tested. You cannot win a war by virtue of a no-surrender policy, you just make the other guy pay more for winning. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hitler-take-switzerland/509334/85 "2009-09-18T19:15:31Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > Yes Japan, in the same era. > Apparently, you develop atomic weapons, nuke two of thier cities to cinders, and politely suggest that they modify their view of surrender. That’s silly. It would never work. ---
**Author:** ![TheBlackSheep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@TheBlackSheep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBlackSheep)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hitler-take-switzerland/509334/86 "2014-08-03T19:38:31Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > This shit about the Swiss never surrendering is bullshit. They had surrendered before and would again if required to protect their profits. The behavior of the Swiss during WWII is nothing to brag about. The Swiss powers that be stole everything they could from their Jewish clients’ families in accounts and insurance policies. And they laundered money for the Nazis. That someone would come and post here about Swiss “bravery” makes me want to puke. Bravo that man ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hitler-take-switzerland/509334/87 "2014-08-03T22:19:05Z")
Please note, this is a thread originally from Sept. 2009. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hitler-take-switzerland/509334/88 "2014-08-03T22:20:14Z")
Whew, just in time, before a\* full \*half-decade had passed! ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hitler-take-switzerland/509334/89 "2014-08-04T05:02:56Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Hey – they were designed by Michelangelo ! > It’d take more courage to walk around in the uniform Michelangelo put on his statue of [David](http://www.lightplan.net/images/Michaelangelo_David_1.jpg). Well, they carry medieval axes–and automatic pistols. Who cares what they wear? ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hitler-take-switzerland/509334/90 "2014-08-05T06:08:35Z")
I was under the impression that Hitler lived in Switzerland for awhile, so maybe he sentimentally viewed it as his scenic vacation getaway enclave? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hitler-take-switzerland/509334/91 "2014-08-05T22:21:57Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > I was under the impression that Hitler lived in Switzerland for awhile, so maybe he sentimentally viewed it as his scenic vacation getaway enclave? Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hitler-take-switzerland/509334/92 "2014-08-05T23:40:23Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > I was under the impression that Hitler lived in Switzerland for awhile, so maybe he sentimentally viewed it as his scenic vacation getaway enclave? He had a mountain chalet in Garmische Partenkirchen which is on the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain and part of the Alps. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hitler-take-switzerland/509334.md?page=4)