Prince Alois of Liechtenstein to Visit Kremlin

During World War II, Liechtenstein remained officially neutral, looking to neighboring Switzerland for assistance and guidance, while family treasures within the war zone were taken to Liechtenstein (and London) for safekeeping. At the close of the conflict, Czechoslovakia and Poland, acting to seize what they considered to be German possessions, expropriated the entirety of the Liechtenstein dynasty's hereditary lands and possessions in Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia — the princes of Liechtenstein lived in Vienna until the Anschluss of 1938. The expropriations (subject to modern legal dispute at the World Court) included over 1,600 km2 (618 sq mi) of agricultural and forest land, and several family castles and palaces. Citizens of Liechtenstein were also forbidden to enter Czechoslovakia during the Cold War. More recently the diplomatic conflict revolving around the controversial post-war Beneš decrees has resulted in Liechtenstein not sharing international relations with the Czech Republic or Slovakia. The issue with Slovakia is yet to be resolved, however, Liechtenstein and the Czech Republic established diplomatic relations on 13 July 2009. Liechtenstein gave asylum to about 500 soldiers of the First Russian National Army (a collaborationist Russian force within the German Wehrmacht) at the close of World War II; this is commemorated by a monument at the border town of Hinterschellenberg which is marked on the country's tourist map. The act of granting asylum was no small matter as the country was poor and had difficulty feeding and caring for such a large group of refugees. Eventually, Argentina agreed to resettle the asylum seekers permanently. In contrast, the British repatriated the Russians who had fought for Germany to the USSR, and many of them perished in the Gulag.