Spiritual defence

The Spiritual national defence (German: Geistige Landesverteidigung; French: Défense [nationale] spirituelle) was a political-cultural movement in Switzerland which was active from circa 1932 into the 1960s. It was supported by the Swiss authorities, certain institutions, scholars, the press and intellectuals. Its aim was the strengthening of values and customs perceived to be ‘Swiss’ and thus create a defence against totalitarian ideologies. The movement first directed its attention towards National Socialism and fascism; later, during the Cold War, taking a stance against communism. Even when the movement was no longer actively promoted by the authorities, it remained alive well into the 1980s; today Swiss politicians frequently still use terms and metaphors from the spiritual defence ideology.

On 19 June 1935, a social democrat member of the National Council, Fritz Hauser, put forward a postulate in which he called upon the Federal Council to examine how the spiritual independence of culture in Switzerland could be defended in the face of the threat from fascist movements in Germany. One week later, the Swiss Society of Writers (Felix Moeschlin, Karl Naef) presented Federal Councillor Philipp Etter with a proposal for a Swiss cultural policy. The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland gave its approval to the defence proposal – subject to the following condition: "Combating all trends in domestic politics which, in contradiction to the will of the Swiss people, aspire to a diminution of the democratic rights of freedom and self-determination of the citizens and the removal of the influence of the constitutional authorities over the state and its policy." The 1936 Social Democratic Party conference held in Zürich, however, rejected a defence loan. However, unconditional recognition of the legitimacy of national defence followed in January 1937 with the party’s adoption of the ‘Richtlinienbewegung’ (Movement of Guiding Principles).

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