Switzerland was able to remain independent through a combination of military deterrence, economic concessions to Germany and good fortune as larger events during the war delayed an invasion.
Switzerland has the oldest policy of military neutrality in the world; it has not participated in a foreign war since its neutrality was established by the Treaty of Paris in 1815.
The 1940 Nazi invasion plan, Operation Tannenbaum, was not executed, and SS Oberst Hermann Bohme's 1943 memorandum warned that an invasion of Switzerland would be too costly because every man was armed and trained to shoot.
But by a combination of its geopolitical location in the Scandinavian Peninsula, realpolitik maneuvering during an unpredictable course of events, and a dedicated military build-up after 1942, Sweden kept its official neutrality status throughout the war.
Only 14 countries remained officially neutral throughout the entire war. They included Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Turkey, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan as well as the microstates of Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, San Marino and Vatican City.
As part of the British Empire, Australia was among the first nations to declare war on Nazi Germany and between 1939 and 1945 nearly one million Australian men and women served in what was going to be the Second World War.
At the time of the German attack, Denmark and Norway were neutral. Germany still attacked the countries because it feared that Great Britain and France planned to occupy Norway. With Denmark's access to the Baltic Sea in German hands, Swedish iron ore could be transported undisturbed to Germany.
If Germany should decide to invade Sweden, the result would indeed be a costly victory for Hitler because of Germany8s great dependence on exports of Swedish iron ore. Thus the Swedes had in their economy their best weapon against German attack.
In June 1940 Sweden signed a transit agreement with Germany allowing goods and troops to transit Sweden on their way from Norway to Finland. German soldiers on rotation to and from the war front made about 250,000 trips across Swedish territory, as late as August 1943.
Sweden is the only Nordic country that was able to remain by and large neutral during the Second World War and pursued a policy of neutrality during the Cold War.
In fact, Finland allied itself with Nazi Germany during the second world war not to prevent Soviet conquest but to win back territories lost to the USSR as a result of the winter war of 1939-40. The peace treaty that ended the war in March 1940 left Finnish independence intact.
The report on arms revealed that from 1940 to 1944, 84 per cent of Swiss munitions' exports went to Axis countries. The remaining 16 per cent was split between the Allies and neutral countries. In the pre-war years, by contrast, most Swiss exports of war materials went to the Western powers.
Switzerland has mandatory military service for all able-bodied male citizens, who are conscripted when they reach the age of majority, though women may volunteer for any position.
Switzerland and Finland
Perhaps the best-known permanently neutral country, Switzerland has been neutral since 1815, including during World War II.
Switzerland is the birthplace of the Red Cross, one of the world's oldest and well-known humanitarian organisations, and hosts the headquarters or offices of most major international institutions, including the WTO, the WHO, the ILO, FIFA, and the United Nations.
Switzerland is renowned for having a strong and varied export market. Pharmaceuticals, gems, chemicals, and machinery are the main contributors. Another key factor is Switzerland's focus on its own industries.
The reasons for Irish neutrality during the Second World War are widely accepted: that any attempt to take an overtly pro-British line might have resulted in a replay of the Civil War; that Southern Ireland could make little material contribution to the Allied effort, while engagement without adequate defence would ...
Romania was Hitler's major source of oil, since he had failed to conquer the Russian fields. The Allied bombers had trouble hitting the oil fields and refinery - like other bombing raids in WWII, the majority of the bombs failed to hit their targets.
With the outbreak of hostilities in 1939, Norway again declared itself neutral.
After the Second World War, there has been no serious effort among the citizens or political parties to unite Germany and Austria. In addition, the Austrian State Treaty forbids such a union and the constitution required Austria's neutrality.
Finland was aligned with the Germans but was not formally an Axis member. Yet the country was a signatory of the Anti-Comintern Pact. The German troops were primarily stationed in northern Finland. The Finnish Army advanced deep into the Soviet territory in the Continuation War (1941–1944).
In May 1709, the Swedish forces caught up to the Russians, and the two armies clashed in the Battle of Poltava. The Swedish were defeated, and the greater part of Charles's army, some 19,000 men, were forced to surrender.
The dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden was the result of a conflict over the question of a separate Norwegian consular service.
Most of Denmark was liberated from German rule in May 1945 by British forces commanded by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery; the easternmost island of Bornholm was liberated by Soviet forces, who remained there for almost a year.
Finland participated in the Second World War initially in a defensive war against the Soviet Union, followed by another battle against the Soviet Union acting in concert with Nazi Germany and then finally fighting alongside the Allies against Germany.