The Dynamics of National Identity: A Comparison of the Swiss National Exhibitions of 1939 and 1964

Abstract

'Every twenty-five years the Swiss pinch themselves strongly to make sure they still exist', stated a contemporary source on the Expo, the Swiss national exhibition in 1964.l Despite its rather sarcastic undertone, this is not the most inaccurate description of the functions and aims of the exhibitions that the Swiss have organized roughly every 25 years since 1883. 'Everything that defines the national character and the specifically Swiss shall be brought together in a vivid, colourful piece of art',2 claimed the official guide to the 1896 exhibition in Geneva, and Armin Meili, the director of the 1939 exhibition declared: 'It is one of the principal tasks of this national manifestation to convince the Swiss people of its moral value and its abilities.'3 The tradition of organizing national exhibitions seems to be peculiar to Switzerland, so these exhibitions present a unique opportunity to compare the self-images of a nation at different periods in time. Using national exhibitions as 'vectors'4 of Swiss national identity, this article aims to explore whether national identity is a dynamic concept and if so, what factors influenced it to change. If it is by now generally agreed that at least some aspects of every nation and its traditions and customs are invented,5 the question of what happens to these traditions and constructed identities over time has not yet been given much attention. Is there anything such as a 'history of national identity'? Did our grandparents have the same idea of what is 'typically Swiss', or 'typically English' for that matter, as we do now? And if not, what could the parameters be around which national identity as a dynamic system of values and beliefs evolves?