What makes us Swiss laugh? And what do others find funny about us? The exhibition «Made in Witzerland - A Guide to Swiss Humour» at the Forum of Swiss History Schwyz explores what is at the heart of Swiss humour, from political satire to inappropriate jokes. From 9 June 2020 to 24 January 2021 the exhibition displays Swiss humour in all its facets with the help of multimedia presentations.

Wit and humour come in many shapes and forms. Jokes can be fierce, political, nasty, harmless, daring, even dirty at times. They are commonplace, but rarely banal. The multimedia exhibition «Made in Witzerland» takes a look at the funny side of Switzerland – featuring caricatures from the last three centuries, contemporary cartoons, and celebrated comical figures such as HD Läppli and Clown Grock. In our TV lounge we show clips from popular Swiss comedy series and movies. «Made in Witzerland» also addresses everyday humour, Swiss stereotypes and clichés, as well as socially and politically improper jokes. At the same time, it looks at the differences between male and female humour and investigates how children view and deal with irony and situational humour, all trenchantly presented in a surprising scenography.

Under the motto «how typical Switzerland ticks», the editorial team of the satirical magazine Nebelspalter and the Forum of Swiss History Schwyz invited a number of famous Swiss cartoonists to create their own, never shown before images of present-day Switzerland. These works, too, are on display in the exhibition.

Satire, wit, and humour are rarely the subject of an exhibition.
However, just like all other hallowed traditions and rituals, jokes make up part of a country’s intangible cultural heritage, reinvented and handed down through common parlance on an everyday basis. The exhibition «Made in Witzerland» lends a face to Swiss humour and makes it visible and tangible to viewers, thereby eliciting a smile or even a loud laugh from old and young alike.

Especially in view of the trying times the country faces under the coronavirus, the exhibition offers a refreshing counterpoint and reveals how fluid the boundary between seriousness, humour, and satire can be under difficult circumstances.