Today – on our last day in Berlin – we visited the Swiss Embassy which is located in the middle of the german government district and met with Lilach Guitar who is responsible for trade relations.
Mrs. Guitar gave us an overview of the history of the Swiss Embassy building, her everday work, the importance of Germany for Switzerland, well as the current challenges of the relation between Germany and Switzerland and the EU and Switzerland.
The Swiss Embassy building looks back on a very colourful and moved history from starting out as a city palais, being nearly destroyed by the Naziregime, serving as base for the Russian army in the Battle of Berlin, being situated in the middle of the death zone between East and West Germany to being located in the middle of the german government district.
For more details, check our more detailed excursion on the history of the Swiss Embassy building below.
In her role as person in charge of trade relations a typical working day of Mrs. Guitar is very varied and includes meetings with members of the german parlament as well as organizing transportation for swiss delegations.
Germany is not only very important for Switzerland economically but also in politics as they can support our cause as advocate before the EU parlament in Bruxelles. As Switzerland is of little to no importance to most of the 28 member states of the EU, the most promising way forward for Switzerland are the bilateral treaties.
Some of the current challenges between Germany and Switzerland are the “aircraft noise” dispute regarding the airport Zürich, the Energiewende or the question of the location of the deep geological repositories (Endlager) in Switzerland.
With our visit this on such a historical date our eventful and interesting studyweek in Berlin ends.
Mrs. Guitar gave us an overview of the history of the Swiss Embassy building, her everday work, the importance of Germany for Switzerland, well as the current challenges of the relation between Germany and Switzerland and the EU and Switzerland.
The Swiss Embassy building looks back on a very colourful and moved history from starting out as a city palais, being nearly destroyed by the Naziregime, serving as base for the Russian army in the Battle of Berlin, being situated in the middle of the death zone between East and West Germany to being located in the middle of the german government district.
For more details, check our more detailed excursion on the history of the Swiss Embassy building below.
In her role as person in charge of trade relations a typical working day of Mrs. Guitar is very varied and includes meetings with members of the german parlament as well as organizing transportation for swiss delegations.
Germany is not only very important for Switzerland economically but also in politics as they can support our cause as advocate before the EU parlament in Bruxelles. As Switzerland is of little to no importance to most of the 28 member states of the EU, the most promising way forward for Switzerland are the bilateral treaties.
Some of the current challenges between Germany and Switzerland are the “aircraft noise” dispute regarding the airport Zürich, the Energiewende or the question of the location of the deep geological repositories (Endlager) in Switzerland.
With our visit this on such a historical date our eventful and interesting studyweek in Berlin ends.
Excursion: Swiss Embassy Building
First build as a city palais of an eye specialist, it was bought by Switzerland for use as their Embassy in 1920. Back then it was one in a row of townhouses.
After the Naziregime seized power in Germany, they planned rename “Berlin” to “Germania” and to reorganize the city to fit their picture of the capital of the Third Reich. This involved the demolition of a lot of buildings, especially around the area where the Reichstag and Bundeskanzleramt stand today. The only building left standing was the Swiss Embassy as they could not move to their newly assigned building as this was destroyed during bombing by the allied forces.
Last but not least it served the Russian army as base for their attack on the Reichstag during the last days of the Battle of Berlin which lead to the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht on May 8, 2015 and to the end of World War II in Europe. When the building was occupied by the Russian army, the locked the Swiss Embassy staff in the cellar and at the end abducted them to Russia from where they made their way home to Switzerland via Turkey.
After the end of World War II, the Swiss Embassy building lay in the death zone between East and West. During this time, Switzerland wanted to sell the building but no one wanted to buy it due to its location. When the Berlin Wall fell 1989 and the german government returned to Berlin, Germany wanted to buy the building but now Switzerland did no longer want to sell it. That is why today the Swiss Embassy is located in the middle of the german government district. In 2001 the renovated (and enriched by a new modern wing) building was reopened festively.
After the Naziregime seized power in Germany, they planned rename “Berlin” to “Germania” and to reorganize the city to fit their picture of the capital of the Third Reich. This involved the demolition of a lot of buildings, especially around the area where the Reichstag and Bundeskanzleramt stand today. The only building left standing was the Swiss Embassy as they could not move to their newly assigned building as this was destroyed during bombing by the allied forces.
Last but not least it served the Russian army as base for their attack on the Reichstag during the last days of the Battle of Berlin which lead to the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht on May 8, 2015 and to the end of World War II in Europe. When the building was occupied by the Russian army, the locked the Swiss Embassy staff in the cellar and at the end abducted them to Russia from where they made their way home to Switzerland via Turkey.
After the end of World War II, the Swiss Embassy building lay in the death zone between East and West. During this time, Switzerland wanted to sell the building but no one wanted to buy it due to its location. When the Berlin Wall fell 1989 and the german government returned to Berlin, Germany wanted to buy the building but now Switzerland did no longer want to sell it. That is why today the Swiss Embassy is located in the middle of the german government district. In 2001 the renovated (and enriched by a new modern wing) building was reopened festively.