Metadata: Estate of Charlotte Weber
Collection
- Country:
- Switzerland
- Holding institution:
- Archives of Contemporary History at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich
- Holding institution (official language):
- Archiv für Zeitgeschichte der ETH Zürich
- Postal address:
- Hirschengraben 62, CH-8092 Zurich
- Phone number:
- +41 44 632 40 03
- Web address:
- https://www.afz.ethz.ch/
- Email:
- afz@history.gess.ethz.ch
- Reference number:
- NL Charlotte Weber
- Title:
- Estate of Charlotte Weber
- Title (official language):
- Nachlass Charlotte Weber
- Creator/accumulator:
- Weber, Charlotte
- Date(s):
- 1881/2002
- Language:
- German
- French
- English
- Extent:
- 3.1 shelf metres
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
- The majority of the estate documents Charlotte Weber's work as a refugee counsellor. Especially during her work with former Buchenwald children at Zugerberg, she collected many materials from the young people, such as photos, drawings and biographies. The collection also includes Charlotte Weber's diaries, agendas, correspondence and materials for the publication of her book Gegen den Strom der Finsternis. In 2008, the collection was supplemented by electronic files of unpublished manuscripts. Charlotte Weber created these autobiographical testimonies in the 1990s. They deal with all stages of her life and can be found in the electronic archive of the AfZ. The documents of Charlotte Weber's father, Adolf Weber, are also attached to the collection. These materials cover topics such as the Zurich underground railway, remodelling of quarters in Zurich, reports on the use of alternative energy sources and various tunnel projects in Switzerland.
- Archival history:
- The collection was handed over to the AfZ (Archives of Contemporary History) in three deliveries by Gioia Weber after her mother's death. The main part of it was pre-indexed by Axel Grosse, an acquaintance of the Weber family, and came to the AfZ in 2000.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- Charlotte Weber, a refugee aid worker, teacher and author, was born in Olten on 6 August 1912 and died in Zurich on 26 February 2000. She was the daughter of civil engineer Adolf Weber and Elsa, née Weber, and lived in Spain between 1917 and 1926. From 1927 the family resided in Zurich. In 1931, Weber graduated from earned the Higher Girl‘s School and in 1932 gained her diploma in primary education at the University of Zurich. She studied music in Bern and Zurich, worked as a journalist and travelled to France, Italy and Spain. In 1942, she started working as head of the Women's Home for Internees "Bienenberg" near Liestal and from 1944 to 1945 as director of the Training Home for Refugees at Hilfikon Castle. Beginning in August 1945, she worked as group leader (housemother) in a home of the Swiss Red Cross (children's aid) on the Zugerberg, where Jewish youths from the Buchenwald concentration camp were staying for recreation in Switzerland. In 1946, she was appointed director of a home for war-affected children in Jean-de-Luz, France. From 1947 to 1952, Weber was staff member of the Youth Aliyah in France until her daughter Gioia was born. She returned to Zurich in 1953 and worked in the Zurich school service until her retirement in 1975. Weber intensively studied modern educational concepts and made numerous trips to Latin America, where she helped refugees. After the publication of her book Gegen den Strom der Finsternis (Against the Stream of Darkness, 1994), she made numerous public appearances at readings, on radio and television.
- Access points: locations:
- Switzerland
- Zurich
- Subject terms:
- Children
- Literature
- Literature--Novels, poetry, and plays
- Memoirs
- Refugees
- Access, restrictions:
- Partially restricted. Subject to application.
- Finding aids:
- An online finding aid is available.
- Links to finding aids:
- http://onlinearchives.ethz.ch/
- Yerusha Network member:
- Jewish Museum Hohenems
- Author of the description:
- Severin Holzknecht; Jewish Museum of Hohenems; 2020