The Luxembourg Emperor Sigismund transferred the Aargau from the Habsburgs to the Confederacy in 1415 and gave the Eight Old Cantons imperial immediacy.

After the Carlsbad Decrees (1819), Metternich put Switzerland under pressure, forcing it to pass a Convention in 1923, which included surveillance of the domestic press and restrictions on the right of asylum.

Under Otto von Bismarck, there were again disputes over Swiss asylum policy, this time over the admission of socialists after the Sozialistengesetz.

[4] The rise of Adolf Hitler caused great concern in Switzerland and was only welcomed by the right-wing front movement (Frontbewegung).

When the country was temporarily completely surrounded by the Axis powers due to the German occupation of France, Switzerland's room for maneuver was severely limited.

Switzerland pursued a restrictive policy towards refugees from Nazi Germany and turned away numerous persecuted persons.

This transaction facilitated the acquisition of Swiss francs and other foreign currencies, which were subsequently utilized to procure strategically vital raw materials such as tungsten and oil from neutral nations.

[5] On July 24, 1945, the Swiss Federal Council implemented the decision it had been preparing since May 1 and had taken on May 8: Switzerland ended its recognition of the German government.

Due to anti-democratic activities, many Germans were expelled from the country and National Socialist organizations were banned.

While the files “managed” somewhat by the Swiss were later handed over, the Allies relented on the private assets in the course of the emerging Cold War.

In 1951, West Germany recognized the debts from the Nazi era and Switzerland released the blocked German state assets.

The German population in Switzerland is the second largest foreign group (after Italians) and the number of Swiss living in Germany has increased by 11% to 76,000.