• From: Norddeutschland
  • Registered: 2008-12-03
  • Posts: 1,458

Topic: Switzerland - Mountains, Cuckoo clocks, Chocolate and slavery

Yeah, since long before and after the 2nd World War when it slowly became one of the richest countries in the world, considering its size and overall lack of natural resources, Switzerland was actually still a late 20th century leader in; wait for it..... state child kidnapping and slavery.

read it here. Ghastly.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29765623

No Hits, No Hype.......................Classic Rock Jan 2012
  • gary
  • BONAMETAL
  • Offline
  • From: Palatine Illinois by Chicago
  • Registered: 2006-08-25
  • Posts: 4,767

Re: Switzerland - Mountains, Cuckoo clocks, Chocolate and slavery

Wow Hansamike.Some eye opening stuff there.

Your rock candy baby
Your hard sweet and sticky

gary's Website

  • Registered: 2009-01-01
  • Posts: 665

Re: Switzerland - Mountains, Cuckoo clocks, Chocolate and slavery

First, cuckoo clocks originate from the Black Forest in Germany. So don't blame the Swiss for that atrocity.
Second, I take issue with the term "slavery". These children ('Verdingkinder') were placed into foster families and not sold for a profit. Unfortunately, many of them were mistreated and exploited as cheap labour force by unscrupulous farmers. That is a sad fact and certainly a dark chapter in Swiss history. Nobody denies that. However, one has to view this from a historical perspective when child labour was not uncommon anywhere in post-war Europe, especially in rural areas.
The 'Verdingkinder' did certainly not contribute to the growing wealth of Switzerland in the 60s and 70s, as the OP seems to suggest. That happened with some help of 'guest workers' or 'Gastarbeiter', the very same that created the 'Wirtschaftswunder' in Germany.