In September 1946 Winston Churchill gave his famous United States of Europe speech at the University of Zurich. During the speech the iconic wartime leader asked for cooperation amongst the great European nations, specifically Germany and France, to avoid the horrors of the world wars ever occurring again. The ironies of this speech are not lost on the Swiss today, as this historic moment is considered by many the catalyst for the formation of the European Union. The Swiss themselves, however, are notable absentees from the Union. The country maintained neutrality for the entirety of the two world wars that tore Europe apart in the 20th Century, it’s certainly unpredictable the way history tends to play out. The local economy remains a powerhouse of Europe, with Zurich a magnet for international business, banking, and finance. There's
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