Interlude in Switzerland, by Paul Schamberger

Interlude in Switzerland, by Paul Schamberger. Maus Publishing Company. Parkhurst, South Africa 2001. ISBN 0620268476 / ISBN 0-620-26847-6

Interlude in Switzerland, by Paul Schamberger. Maus Publishing Company. Parkhurst, South Africa 2001. ISBN 0620268476 / ISBN 0-620-26847-6

With his book Interlude in Switzerland: The Story of the South African Refugee-soldiers in the Alps During the Second World War, Paul Schamberger, hopes to have done some sort of justice to all the wartime evades who sheltered in Helvetia during the latter part of Second World War from the autumn of 1943 to the autumn of 1944.

[...] We need to clarify at the outset what is meant by the term evades. An evade de guerre, or simply evade, refers to any ex-soldier who is an escaped prisoner of war - a status recognized in international law by most countries of the world. But the term serves another essential purpose: to distinguish these men (evades) from proper military internees who likewise fall into a distinct category under international law. Both categories were represented in neutral Switzerland during the war. Although it was never a question of choice, it was always better to have been an evade than an internee. Evades enjoyed a more lenient regime than their interned brethren. However, in the helter-skelter confusion caused by abnormal conditions of total warfare, the hard-pressed Swiss were apt to treat the evades as de facto internees. Initially it hardly mattered - all soldier-refugees required immediate succour, and all needed to be fed, clothed, housed, looked after, and guarded by armed Swiss guards to prevent escapes. And all refugees had come to Switzerland of their own volition. The evades clung proudly and jealously to their privileged status. They eagerly adopted the French term -it easily rolled off the tongue either as ee-vay-dee or ee-vah-dee. Indeed, for decades after the war they were determined to be - and would forever remain - ex-evades. When the evades were repatriated home, they took with them a loyal and lasting pro-Swiss attitude. Under international military law, if admitted, escaped POWs were entitled to "liberty" on neutral soil until such time as they could return to their respective countries. But because during the period November 1942 to September 1944 Switzerland was totally enclosed by the German-Italian Axis, there was no safe, or legal, way they could leave the "golden cage". They had to exercise patience, and wait. And the Swiss, mindful of their obligations under international law, considered it their duty to ensure they did. Even so, numerous escapes out of the "golden cage" did take place. After a brief interrogation at the border, the British and Commonwealth escapers became "foreign military guests" of the Swiss government - or rather evades, to use the agreed term for them. They had to be deloused (all their hair was shaved off and their clothes boiled or steamed), and they had to have a medical examination (often a merely cursory affair). They were then sent off to a quarantine camp for up to three weeks although this period was often cut short or scrapped altogether. Overwhelmed by the 1943 autumnal "Great Trek to freedom" - which has gone down in Swiss history as the Grosseinbruch (Great Influx or Incursion) -of thousands of ex-POWs and Italian ex-army personnel who poured like a human avalanche into the diminutive state, the Swiss authorities found it almost impossible to cope with the demands that were suddenly placed on them. In the midst of their own fraught situation in mid-war, they were unable to provide the manpower needed to ensure that all newcomers went through all the prescribed procedures. Finally, the new evades would be sent to the British evade headquarters at Wil (St Gallen), where they would be interrogated by British Intelligence officers, registered, given pay-cards, and issued with a British emergency identification certificate. Each man would also be kitted out with a serge British army battledress uniform (known colloquially as a "bunny suit") as well as warm underclothing, a black beret, socks, a pair of army boots and a range of other necessities. [...]

This is an excerpt from: Interlude in Switzerland, by Paul Schamberger.

Title: Interlude in Switzerland
Subtitle: The Story of the South African Refugee-soldiers in the Alps During the Second World War
Author: Paul Schamberger
Publisher: Maus Publishing Company
Parkhurst, South Africa 2001
ISBN 0620268476 / ISBN 0-620-26847-6
Original softcover, 21 x 30 cm, 142 ppages, numerous bw-photos, images and map sketches

Schamberger, Paul im Namibiana-Buchangebot

Interlude in Switzerland

Interlude in Switzerland

Interlude in Switzerland: The Story of the South African Refugee-soldiers in the Alps During the Second World War.