Letter From Switzerland

Behind Every Tree . . . 

Now here's something you don't see every day: the Swiss Army Chief has called for citizens to arm themselves, according to a piece in Zerohedge.com.  

Swiss army chief André Blattmann warned, in a Swiss newspaper article on Sunday, the risks of social unrest in Europe are soaring. Recalling the experience of 1939/1945, Blattman fears the increasing aggression in public discourse is an explosively hazardous situation, and advises the Swiss people to arm themselves and warns that the basis for Swiss prosperity is "being called into question." . . . He further recalled the situation around the two world wars in the last century and advised the people of Switzerland to arm themselves. . .

It appears as though his advice is resonating with the Swiss:

Applications for gun permits in Switzerland increased by 20% between 2014 and 2015, according to a survey conducted in 12 cantons by Swiss public television, SRF.  The survey, published on Wednesday, showed that in the 12 (out of 26) cantons surveyed, the Swiss are increasingly interested in purchasing pistols, rifles and other firearms for private use.  The greatest increase – more than 70% – was measured in canton Vaud, with more than 4,200 applications in 2015, compared with 2,427 in 2014. . . .
In Switzerland, with more than 8 million inhabitants, there are about 2.5 million legal weapons, around half of which are used for Swiss military service.

 It has been famously said that the reason Hitler's generals warned him not to invade Switzerland (which he would have liked to do) was that it would have been far too costly.  Behind every tree, they advised him, would be a Swiss marksman.

It would seem that the Swiss army chief sees history might well repeat itself.