Winston Churchill and Switzerland

Winston Churchill came to know, appreciate, and cherish Switzerland as a young man. At a young age, he climbed Monte Rosa, admired the beauty of the Bernese and Valais Alps, and nearly drowned in Lake Geneva. As a minister in eight different departments and prime minister (1940-1945, 1951-1955), Switzerland was one of many subjects for him.

Yet he deeply understood Switzerland’s difficult situation as a neutral state amid aggressive dictatorships. He valued his Swiss painting teacher, Charles Montag, Swiss paint supplier Willy Sax, and his Swiss cooks and maids at Chartwell.

Churchill’s perseverance and vision saved Britain, Europe and Switzerland in 1940. The Swiss citizens realised this all too well, so his visit to Zurich in 1946 was a triumph.

In the German-language book, the author combines historical expertise and craftsmanship with journalistic instinct and refers to the time’s Swiss witnesses.

(Werner Vogt, Winston Churchill und die Schweiz, Zurich, 2017)