in Zürich, where the party was founded in 1921 The Communist Party of Switzerland was founded in March 1921, in
Zürich, by dissidents from the left wing of the
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland and a communist group formed in the aftermath of
World War I.
Fritz Platten was a central leader in the new party. The party drew most of its support from
urban areas in
German-speaking Switzerland, most notably the cities of
Basel,
Schaffhausen and Zürich. The party continued to operate illegally with about 350 members until 1944, when it merged with the
Swiss Socialist Federation to form the
Swiss Party of Labour.
Role in the Comintern Despite its small size, the Swiss Communist Party played an important role within the Comintern. After the
Communist Party of Germany (KPD) was banned by the Nazi government, in 1933, its leadership in
Southern Germany went into exile in Switzerland and was sheltered by the Swiss communists. The party also gave financial aid to some KPD officials and shelter to some of the German-based Comintern press agencies. During the
Spanish Civil War, the party contributed to the
International Brigades by assisting the mobilization of volunteers from
Austria and other countries. ==Election results==