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One Nation's Planto
SURVIVE
NUC
by
John Halford
Here is Switzerland's plan to survive nuclear holocaust.
M
OST PEOPLE
have
heard the story of
Wi lliam Tell, the
Swiss hero who was
ordered to shoot, with a bow
and arrow, an apple off his
little son's head. But what is
not so well known is that,
according to the legend, Tell
had another arrow hidden
beneath his cloak. If he had
missed and ki lled his son, he
was ready to str ike t he other
a rrow through the heart of
t he man who had for ced him
to risk his son's life.
Switzerland today is like t hat.
There is the Switzerland that
everyone knows-mountains,
al–
pine meadows scattered with wi ld
flowers, pin-clean towns and vil–
lages, and healthy
peace- Joving people
who enjoy one of the
highest standards of
living in the world.
But Jook carefully,
and you can sorne–
times see the outline
of an "arrow hidden
beneath t he cloak."
"Li ke t here, for instance,"
said Andreas, who had offered
to take me on a rather unusual
tour of his homeland. We were
November / December 1984
driving along a winding country
road through gentle hills close
to the Swiss-German border.
An Armed Camp
Andreas had pointed to severa!
rows of metal plates embedded
across the road. "Tank traps," he
explained.
" If
an in–
vader tried to enter
Switzerland along this
valley, we would un–
lock those plates, pull
up the traps and have
this road totally blocked in a few
minutes. Then we would probably
finish off the tanks from there."
He pointed to a slot in the wall
of a harmless-looking barn.
"That's for a machine gun, or per–
haps an antitank gun . They are
not in position now, of course, but
they could be-very quickly. And
sorne of these fellows," he ges–
tured toward sorne men working
in the fields, "know how to use
them."
Peaceful neutral Switzerland
maintains constant watch against
attaek.
The idyllic Swiss scene suddenly
seemed less peaceful. I was begin–
ning to understand something that
every Swiss knows. Their peaceful
nation is an armed camp. Switzer–
land, or tbe Swiss Confederation
("Confoederat io Helvetica," to give
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