What happened with Liechtenstein in WW2?

What happened with Liechtenstein during World War II? Liechtenstein is not only one of the smallest countries in Europe, but it is also one of the most picturesque. The tiny principality lies on the Rhine River, sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria. It only covers 62 square miles, but within the small space it boasts dramatic mountains as well as beautiful castles. Though Liechtenstein lies in the very heartland of Europe, it remarkably avoided most of the turmoil of the 20th century. The country has a long history of neutrality and was not invaded in either world war, avoiding a fate that befell many of their neighbors. Liechtenstein is both ethnically and linguistically German, which should have made it a prime candidate to be annexed as part of Greater Germany during the Second World War. As a country with no military and a tiny population, it should have been an easy victory. So why did Liechtenstein emerge unscathed and what happened in Liechtenstein during World War II? Whilst the history of Europe is a story of ever-fluctuating borders, Liechtenstein's borders have remained unchanged since 1434. At this point, the lands were under the Holy Roman Empire, which covered most of Central Europe. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, these lands were bought by the Liechtenstein family, who already had extensive land holdings in Austria, Bohemia, and Moravia. The family were raised to the title of prince and the lands along the Rhine were named Liechtenstein. During the turmoil of the Napoleonic Wars and the end of the Holy Roman Empire, Liechtenstein became an independent country. Like many of the Germanic states of the former Holy Roman Empire, they joined the Confederation of the Rhine and later the German Confederation. Yet Liechtenstein would not become a part of the modern German state. In 1868, when his army returned from the Austro-Prussian War, Prince Johann II disbanded his army of 80 men and declared that Liechtenstein would maintain permanent neutrality. Since this date, Liechtenstein has not had an army, nor have they been involved in an armed conflict. A popular story says that whilst 80 men went to war from Liechtenstein, 81 returned home as the soldiers had made a friend along the way. Whilst Europe tore itself apart in the First World War, Liechtenstein managed to avoid being involved and were able to maintain neutrality. Yet, as the royal family of Liechtenstein had a close tie to Austria, the country suffered under an Allied economic embargo. To protect Liechtenstein's interests, a treaty was signed with its neighbor Switzerland. This agreement formed a customs and monetary union between the two countries and allowed for Switzerland to represent Liechtenstein diplomatically. As Switzerland is renowned for its neutrality in all conflicts, an alliance between the neighbors made sense. This agreement persists to this day. In the 1930s, dark clouds were growing across Europe. Though it was officially neutral, Liechtenstein was not immune from the impact of these threats, especially the threat of impending war and increasing German aggression. The impact of these threats for Liechtenstein became apparent in 1938, when Prince Franz I suddenly abdicated in favor of his great-nephew Prince Franz Josef II. Whilst the prince was elderly and had no children of his own, the official reason given was that he had stepped down because of old age, but it was generally believed that he had been abdicated because he did not want to be on the throne in the case of a German invasion. This was not a baseless fear. Prince Franz's abdication came not long after the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria by Germany. As Austria's neighbor, Liechtenstein must have seemed very vulnerable. Germany's foreign policy aims called not only for the expansion of Germany's borders, but for all the German peoples to be united into Greater Germany. All Germanic people were to belong to the new Germany, which would act as a protector of German interests. This was the rationale given for the annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia. Liechtenstein's population is ethnically German, and they speak a dialect of German. This made them a direct target of Germany's expansionist aims, and there was no reason to believe that Germany would respect their neutrality. To add to Liechtenstein's problems, the country was not without German sympathizers. The German nationalist movement in Liechtenstein was a political party that agitated for Liechtenstein to join Germany and were sympathetic to German war aims, despite their country's neutrality. Though Liechtenstein and Switzerland would not be invaded during the Second World War, this did not mean that the Germans did not have a plan to invade the neutral countries. The plan for Germany to invade Switzerland was codenamed Operation Tannenbaum and would have also included the invasion of Liechtenstein. The ideology of Pan-Germanism taught that all Germanic people in Europe should be ruled by a German Empire, and this included the Swiss as well as Liechtenstein. German textbooks of the time showed a greater Germany, with the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, the Czech Republic, the German-speaking parts of Switzerland, western Poland, and the old lands of the Holy Roman Empire included. The author of one of these textbooks was quoted as saying, By 1940, Liechtenstein and Switzerland lay surrounded on all sides by Germany. The early years of the war saw rapid German advancement across the European continent, leaving these neutral countries encircled. After the fall of France in 1940, the Germans began planning for the invasion of Switzerland. The ensuing plan, Operation Tannenbaum, called for a joint attack on Switzerland by the German and Italian forces. The plan kept on being delayed, especially since some within the German government believed that Switzerland would acquiesce to a non-violent Anschluss, as had been the case with Austria. After extensive delays, the plan was eventually put on hold after D-Day. So why didn't the Germans attack Liechtenstein and Switzerland? The desire to do so was certainly there, yet the plans for military invasion never eventuated. As neutral countries of little strategic value, it would have made little sense to attack early on in the war. There were other, more important military targets to attack first, one of these was the Soviet Union. Operation Barbarossa, which was launched in 1941, was at first a resounding German success. However, the victory was short-lived. The defeat of the German armies at Stalingrad was a major blow, it was a turning point for the entire war and is generally seen as the beginning of German defeat. Germany was beginning to overextend itself, fighting a war on three fronts. Losses in North Africa also meant Germany was experiencing extreme fuel shortages. As the war dragged on, implementing Operation Tannenbaum would have seemed a less and less attractive option. Liechtenstein and Switzerland are also both Alpine countries, meaning they would be difficult to attack but easy to defend, meaning any military action would be drawn out and costly. After the fall of the Italian government in 1943, the Germans could no longer rely on Italian military support. By the time Germany could have attacked Switzerland at Liechtenstein, it was too late for it to make any military difference, and it would have overtaxed and already worn out war machine. Another reason that the Germans did not invade Liechtenstein and Switzerland was that both countries provided banking and other financial services to German businesses during the war. As neutral countries, they provided an attractive option. A newspaper article from 1943 explains that Liechtenstein had not been invaded by the Germans as it contains the headquarters for many Berlin firms and operates as a tax haven. After the end of the war, Czechoslovakia and Poland seized all the estates of the royal family that lay outside Liechtenstein, citing them as German possessions. This is still the case of an ongoing legal dispute between the countries. Though Liechtenstein was not invaded during the Second World War, it still found itself affected by the events raging around it.