It sounds as though it might have been worthy and boring, an untrue and unfair cliche that is applied to the Swiss themselves. We have an ex-soldier hunting Nazis, a do-gooder poor little rich girl and a guy on a mission to succeed in an industrialised weaving business. However, the themes meshed together with many twists and turns and were only occasionally not credible.
There are a few cultural references that people outside the German-speaking world might miss. The significance of the songs chosen in Episode Two are germane to the plot. They come from a notorious German propaganda film called "Die Grosse Liebe" which was banned after the war. That Lisbeth-Marie chose to sing "Davon geht die Welt nicht unter" to her German lover was a clue that he was a Nazi - the song was originally sung in the film to an audience of SS men. There are several other references during the film hinting at pieces of history or culture that might be obscure to outsiders.
The series was also brave in these days when the slightest criticism of Israel leads to spurious accusations of anti-semitism. It was clearly delineated here how Jewish refugees who were not Zionists and indeed opposed it were packed off to Palestine against their will. The Swiss-Jewish community's shameful part in this was not glossed over either. The refugee lads wanted a peaceful life, one said "I just want to go to Australia" and none of them wanted to go to make war on the Palestinians. The disgraceful actions of the Swiss government and the Swiss Red Cross in this matter were portrayed unflinchingly as well.
The series conveyed the desperation of people after the end of the war - the refugees, the fleeing Nazis, the poor in Switzerland who lived on rations. The Swiss did well out of the war and would do badly out of the peace unless they made accommodations. When the world war ended, "our war is beginning now" as one government representative said.
Moral issues and how they were dealt with were explored in a Swiss context. Some stayed loyal to their sense of ethics, others buckled, still more gladly collaborated with evil. The latter had different motivations however - commercial, political, cultural.
Running through the series were several human interest themes including a clandestine love affair and the search for parents who had been taken to the camps. Sadly, the casual racism that the war should have ended persisted in Switzerland and was shown here to sad effect.
The denouement, when it came, was unfortunately overwrought. The revelation of the currents leading to the events of the last episode had to come out, but I was disappointed in the way it was done. If it weren't for this, I would have given an eight. Subsequently, in a sort of epilogue to this climax we saw the justifications for compromising as well as the path of those who chose not to.
I really enjoyed this. I honestly thought I wouldn't have. I watched the lot within a twenty four hour period. There won't be a second series, but if there were to be a way, I'd watch that too.
