I've long wondered how Switzerland shipped large supplies of watches out of the country to supply the Allied war effort once hostilities became general, surrounded as they were by Axis controlled territory. Then there's always the fact to consider that the Swiss played both sides, selling watches to both the Allies and the Axis. One supposes that some of the supplies of Wehrmacht contract watches were acquired before the war broke out, but many companies, Alpina, Breitling, Glycine, IWC, Longines, Omega, and Zenith among them, supplied watches under contract to both sides.

It's not easy to find anything definitive about this topic on the internet. Can anyone recommend any books on the topic of the Swiss watch industry during the war years?

 

This can be a starting point https://omegaforums.net/threads/time-is-short.66562/#post-836745

 

not much written. german orders were mostly paid with the confiscated Gold from "Enemies of the state"; plenty of that still remains in Swiss Bank Vaults..... "can not track the rightful owners....." sure, died in Concentration Camps. this whole chapter is a tragic one. back to watches: German Watchindustry catered for the Luftwaffe and Navy. General Army: there were a few watch shops open during the war in Germany. they catered for the special wishes ; forgot the name of a famous one in Berlin..... others might remember. they had the pre war connections to Switzerland. regarding transport: for the germans it was no problem. neighbouring country. exchange at border. transport to the UK: many stories, undocumented. Switzerland was land logged. so, most of the deliveries were flown to Portugal and,beeing neutral, shipped to the UK or picked up by intermediaries. that is all, i know. nothing really confirmed. just bits and pieces picked up over the last 30 years. kind regards. achim

 

I thought I read that Omega sent a watch to Allied POW officers who wished to order one. The officers were also sent an invoice to be paid at the conclusion of hostilities.

 

same with Rolex. but we talk about large deliveries; not captured Officers in Germany. BTW: it is quite astounding, that every watch ordered and sent from Switzerland to the Prisoners of War inside german camps, actually reached the POW.

 

Did Omega also have a POW program? I’ve read multiple times about Rolex doing that but it was always implied they were the only ones.

 

there is no proof at all. just rumours. the original poster here with his Omega delivery to the German Military , could well be one of these POW orders. the extract would show exactly that. all other ,inside germany, hand overs will not be recorded. so, either way: very interesting excerpt. kind regards. achim

 

Perhaps I’m confusing Rolex and Omega

 

maybe not..... i have a gut feeling, that the original poster here has exactly that POW watch. it was practise during WW2 , that government deliveries were invoiced to the brand agents, not to the Ministry of Defense. like in the UK. so, German deliveries would be invoiced to a private business and passed on to the receiver. kind regards. achim

 

Rolex and POW watches in WWII

http://seanlinnane.blogspot.com/2009/11/prisoner-of-war-rolexs.html

 

The Swiss were never neutral when it came to making profits...

 

An interesting historical tidbit of Swiss WW2 history.

After Germany surrendered in May, 1945 the the US Armed Forces had a problem regarding what to do with their soldiers. Germany was defeated but the war against Japan was unresolved (the A bomb still very secret). The invasion of the Japanese home islands was planned for late 1945 - 1946. The Pentagon contemplated the need to send many members of it's European based army to the Pacific to participate in the invasion of Japan. However, the army was to be held in Germany and not first sent home to the USA for leave. The theory being that once the soldiers arrived home it would be very difficult to again take them away from their families and send them off to the Pacific. If the army had to go to the Pacific, it would travel directly from Europe.

So, during the summer of 1945, the US army remained in occupied Germany. Of course they also remained there as issues were settled with the Russians.

The Swiss also had issues in 1945. Surrounded by the Axis powers for much of the war, the Swiss, while neutral, contributed to the Nazi war effort and much of Switzerland, at least the German side, was deemed friendly to Germany during the war. Now that the war was over and Germany defeated, the Swiss explored ideas to improve relations with the new western super power to emerge from the war, the USA.

One such idea that came to pass was that the Swiss invited thousands of idle US Army GIs to vacation in Switzerland, for a week, all expenses paid by the Swiss Government. And so, for a week in August, 1945, my father, an US Army enlisted soldier of low rank, spent a week traveling from Basel to Bern, Interlaken, Luzern, Zurich and back to Basel to his camp in occupied Germany. He stayed nightly in hotels, enjoyed three free meals a day and used his Swiss spending money in (not watch shops) bars. He even rode the train from Interlaken, through Grindelwald, and all the way up to the Ice Palace at the Jungfraujoch, over 11,000 ft above sea level. Interesting stuff for a 22 year old kid from Brooklyn, NY.

As my father passed away many years ago, I am the keeper of his post cards, letters, photos and some souvenirs from his long ago Swiss vacation. In one such letter he mentioned (with relief I would think) the Japanese surrender and so he,a few months later, was able to go directly home and return to civilian life

 

Some mementoes from my Dad’s Swiss Vacation

Certainly beats Army accommodations

No GI could leave without procuring a cigarette case. The view is from Interlaken looking up valley toward the three famous mountains above Grindelwald, the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau (the Oger, Monk and the Young Girl).



Jungfraujoch is a bit more modern today than it was in 1945. Now it’s known as the “Top of Europe”


Every American soldier was given a small “Welcome to Switzerland” book.



The Swiss evidently thought the American experience a success. They soon published this book. Found it on EBay of course.

 

Thats really interesting. I stayed in Interlaken with my parents when I was about 12. It was gorgeous there. My dad bought a Rolex OP Date TT in Geneve at the time. My nephew has it now. That was in 1975 or 1976. I should go back some day......

 

You should.
I backpacked thru the region in 1975 and have been back numerous times over the last 20 years.
The summer hiking there is second to none.