The National Union (french: Union nationale) was a

Fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

between 1932 and 1945. It was mainly active in the

canton of Geneva The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva (french: link=no, République et canton de Genève; frp, Rèpublica et canton de Geneva; german: Republik und Kanton Genf; it, Repubblica e Cantone di Ginevra; rm, Republica e ...

History

The party was founded in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

in 1932 by lawyer and writer

Georges Oltramare Georges Oltramare (born 17 April 1896 in Geneva – died 16 August 1960 in Geneva) was a Swiss writer and fascist politician who became involved in collaboration in Nazi-occupied France. Born into a leading Geneva family, he obtained a ''demi-li ...

. Noted for his

anti-semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

writing, Oltramare had founded the ''Ordre politique nationale'' in 1930, which merged with the ''Union de défense économique'', founded in 1923, to form the National Union. Oltramare spent four years as a member of the

Federal Assembly of Switzerland The Federal Assembly (german: Bundesversammlung, french: Assemblée fédérale, it, Assemblea federale, rm, Assamblea federala), also known as the Swiss parliament (''Parlament'', ''Parlement'', ''Parlamento''), is Switzerland's federal legi ...

representing the National Union. It became notorious for a demonstration in Geneva on November 9, 1932 when their march to the city's Salle Communale was counterdemonstrated by the

Swiss Socialist Party The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz; SP; rm, Partida Socialdemocrata da la Svizra) or Swiss Socialist Party (french: Parti socialiste suisse, it, Partito Socialista Svizzero; PS), is a polit ...

. In the ensuing trouble, the

Swiss army The Swiss Armed Forces (german: Schweizer Armee, french: Armée suisse, it, Esercito svizzero, rm, Armada svizra; ) operates on land and in the air, serving as the primary armed forces of Switzerland. Under the country's militia system, re ...

opened fire on the Socialists resulting in 13 deaths. The National Union was the Swiss political movement most closely associated with Italian fascism. It demanded the reduction of public spending and taxes, and opposed any new naturalization and

social welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet Basic needs, basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refe ...

for non-Genevans (

welfare chauvinism Welfare chauvinism or welfare state nationalism is the political notion that welfare benefits should be restricted to certain groups, particularly to the natives of a country as opposed to immigrants. It is used as an argumentation strategy by r ...

). It gained ten seats in the

Grand Council of Geneva The Grand Council of Geneva (french: Grand Conseil de Genève) is the legislature of the canton of Geneva, in Switzerland. Geneva, styled as a 'Republic and Canton', has a unicameral legislature. The Grand Council was established in its prese ...

in the 1936 cantonal election. The group began to decline by the late 1930s. In 1940, Oltramare left the party's leadership when he moved to German-occupied

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in order to co-operate more closely with the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

.Alan Morris Schom
'A Survey of Nazi and Pro-Nazi Groups in Switzerland: 1930-1945'
The party dissolved in 1945.

References

{{Authority control Defunct political parties in Switzerland Fascist parties Political parties established in 1932 Political parties disestablished in 1945 1932 establishments in Switzerland 1940s disestablishments in Switzerland