FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Switzerland is home to more than 370,000 nuclear bunkers - enough to shelter every member of the population. But if the worst happens, would they really work?
On an ordinary morning in February 2022, as the first Russian bombs fell on Kiev and the beginning of a war that many had not expected was becoming a reality, a small museum in Switzerland faced a panic attack. Zora Schelbert, director of the Sonnenberg shelter museum in Lucerne, began receiving meaningless phone calls: people asking about the precautions they should take, about the location of their bunkers. They were convinced that she represented the Swiss civil defense. They were afraid. And perhaps rightly so.
This small story speaks of a large phenomenon: the resurgence of fear of war in the heart of Europe, and with it – the return of bunkers as a symbol of a civilization that will survive even in the face of the apocalypse.
Switzerland – The Republic of Bunkers
With a population of around 9 million and 370,000 nuclear shelters, Switzerland holds the world record for the most bunkers per capita. This wealthy, neutral country, protected by the Alps, is essentially a modern fortress. The only one in Europe that guarantees, by law, a place of refuge for every citizen in the event of war or disaster.
This is not just a military policy – it is a national philosophy. Since 1963, every new building has been required to have a bunker or a public contribution towards one. The cost is comparable to an annual health insurance policy. For most Swiss, bunkers have been simply a place to store wine, skis or old belongings. But after 2022, that is changing. And not a little.
The resurgence of fear and the return of preparations
The Russian invasion of Ukraine was the catalyst for a revival of civil defense policies across the continent. Norway reinstated an old law on building shelters in new buildings. Germany is openly discussing billions in investments in civil defense. The EU recommends that citizens have a 72-hour supply. But Switzerland didn't need to wake up - it had never slept.
Daniel Jordi, the federal director of civil protection in Switzerland, says that before 2022, many politicians saw the bunker system as a relic of the past. Now, he says, it's the opposite: demand has increased, interest is massive. And not just for military use – but also for tourism and public education.
Sonnenberg – bunker, museum, warning
In Lucerne, the Sonnenberg shelter is a technical marvel: a system built in the 1970s that included an underground highway that could be converted into a shelter for 20,000 people. Today, its capacity has been reduced to 2,000 for reasons of cost and efficiency, but it remains a symbol of Swiss survival.
Visitors – from British tourists to Austrian families and elderly Norwegians – all come to see how an underground city might function: with hospitals, kitchens, dry toilets, operating rooms and... canned goods labeled “Survival Food.” This is no longer a curiosity – it’s a reminder.
Skeptics and those who have forgotten to be afraid
Not everyone is convinced. One elderly Norwegian visitor says: “If a nuclear bomb falls, even if we survive two weeks, what will we find when we get out? Money is the biggest protection Switzerland has.” And he’s right. This country, with the sixth-highest GDP in the world, has the luxury of preparation.
But meanwhile, countries like Austria, despite their proximity to the former Iron Curtain, have built nothing of the sort. “There are better things to spend the money on,” some say. And they add: “Diplomacy is more effective.” But is diplomacy enough in the face of a nuclear-armed Putin?
The DNA of bunkers and a people who take nothing for granted
Switzerland does not believe in fate. It believes in preparation. Its history feeds this mentality: from the years of World War II, when it was surrounded by fascist powers, to the Cold War and the mentality of total defense – not only territorial, but also ideological: freedom, democracy and neutrality in the face of totalitarianism.
In the US, ideas of nuclear shelters were perceived as cowardice. In Switzerland, sheltering in the mountains, underground, is heroism, it's continuity, it's culture.
Conclusion – A model that Europe needs to rethink
Bunkers are not just concrete walls. They are a reflection of a philosophy: that life has value, that preparation is not paranoia, and that history can repeat itself. In a Europe that for decades forgot about war, Switzerland stood guard – and now, others are looking to it.
Europe is waking up. But the question remains: will it be enough time to build what Switzerland has built in half a century? Or will the next war find everyone searching for the key to a door that doesn't exist? / Taken with abbreviations from “The Guardian”
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