Page 488 - Le Operazioni Interforze e Multinazionali nella Storia Militare - ACTA Tomo II

1128 XXXIX Congresso della CommIssIone InternazIonale dI storIa mIlItare • CIHm

medial major event the news coverage registered more than 10’000 press releases be-
4
tween January and September 1989. All over the country Diamond activities and coun-
ter-events took place. Historians, politicians, artists and writers interfered and expanded
the debate. 5
The core of the Diamond Commemorations was a touring exhibition, which was
presented at 52 different stations, which accorded approximately to the 52 places of

Geschichtsladen Zürich, Klunker: Die hochkarätige Zeitung zur Schweiz im Zweiten Weltkrieg, Zürich,
1989, 5. Tanner, Jakob, Die Aushölung der Neutralität durch ihre Bewaffnung, in: Widerspruch - Beiträge
zur sozialistischen Politik, Nr. 17 (1989), Schweizer Armee Macht Krieg, 33-36. Heiniger, Markus, Dreizehn
Gründe: Warum die Schweiz im Zweiten Weltkrieg nicht erobert wurde, Zürich, 1989. Heiniger, Markus,
Wussten Sie dass… Neun Fragen an die die dabei gewesen sind, in: Geschichtsladen Zürich, Klunker: Die
hochkarätige Zeitung zur Schweiz im Zweiten Weltkrieg, Zürich, 1989, 6. For a detailed overview with
continuative biographical reference: Bürgin, Die Diamantreden, 3-13.
4 Diamant im Spiegel der Presse: Zitate, Presseartikel, Bern, 1989.
5 The current state of research on the Diamond Commemoration is limited. On the basis of the medial
coverage Simone Chiquet concentrated the core arguments and connected them with the parliamentary
debate over the funding of Diamond by the public authority. Chiquet, Simone, Der Anfang einer
Auseinandersetzung: Zu den Fakten, Zusammenhängen und Interpretationen in der Debatte um die
“Übung Diamant” 1989, in: Schweizerisches Bundesarchiv (Hrsg.), Studien und Quellen, Bd. 24, 193-228.
Chiquet based her research on a limited setting of four national newspapers, which she considered as
particularly influential or opinion-leading. Even if her conclusions are pretty interesting, her methods must
be criticised: Chiquet mentioned the Diamond Commemoration as “a media event of highest grade”, but
acted on the assumption of a medial coverage of “some hundreds of reports” instead of more than 10’000
press releases. There is a certain numerical discrepancy. But the problem of Chiquet’s setting is not only a
quantitative but also a qualitative one. The evaluation and the reporting of Diamond were regionally dependent
on a multiplicity of factors, according to the regional execution of the commemorations. An analysis of the
real news coverage diverges in substance to Chiquet’s setting of “meinungsbildende Zeitungen”. Chiquet,
Anfang einer Auseinandersetzung, S. 220.
Leaded by the concept of an “intellectual intervention” Dorothee Liehr explored the role of Max Frisch, a
prominent Swiss author, who interfered in the debate with a play script. She did not analyse the historical
topics in Frisch’s play, but she exemplified the effects and perceptions of an “intellectual intervention” in a
public controversial. Such an analysis could also be undertaken for other poets and thinkers in both political
wings and would be certainly beneficial. Liehr, Dorothee, Plädoyer für das Denken: Der resonanzstarke Abtritt
des Intellektuellen Max Frisch von der (politischen) Bühne 1989, in: traverse 2010, Vol. 2, Intellektuelle in
der Schweiz im 20. Jahrhundert, 81-96. Frisch, Max, Schweiz ohne Armee? Ein Palaver, Zürich, 1989.
Another paper was presented by Ruedi Brassel-Moser during the Diamond Commemoration. Brassel-
Moser questioned the constructions and concepts of “the enemy” during the Diamond debate. Unless he
took a firm stand - he was a distinct antagonist of the Diamond Commemoration – his observations are still
worth reading. Brassel-Moser, Ruedi, Der Feind als Waffe und Wahn: Vom Überleben der Feindbilder in
“friedlichen” Zeiten, in: Widerspruch - Beiträge zur sozialistischen Politik, Nr. 17 (1989), Schweizer Armee
Macht Krieg, S. 5-16.
Apart from these three articles there does not exist any further research to the Diamond Commemorations so
far.
This circumstance may be associated to the rather challenging access to the official records of the Diamond
Commemoration. Due to the organisation structure of Diamond and the involvement of several political
departments there are different inventories in the Swiss Federal Archives, which contain relevant records.
Even if granted access to the records can be allowed by the respective administration unit, the files are covered
by a “protection time” of 30 years. Therefore the present article does not deal with internal information or
conclusions which could infringe someone’s right to privacy, even if such a contribution would enlighten
several critical issues. It does only deal with official speeches, which were held in public. The manuscripts
to these speeches are collected in the Swiss Federal Archives in the inventory of the mobilisation branch,
hereinafter quoted as: Schweizerisches Bundesarchiv, Akten der Abteilung Mobilmachung.