A child of the “Landstrasse”
For 18 years Ursula Waser was passed from pillar to post, through a succession of homes. Contact with her mother was forbidden and she wasn’t permitted to make any of her own decisions. The story of a child of the Landstrasse...
Andrej Abplanalp
Historian and communications chief of the Swiss National Museum.
So it came about that at just six months old, little Ursula Kollegger (her maiden name) was wrenched from her family by the police and put in a children’s home. This marked the beginning of an almost endless, agonising journey through a total of 20 homes. There were also four brief stays with foster families. It wasn’t until 1971, after 26 placements in a total of 8 cantons, that Ursula Waser was allowed to take the first small steps towards independence.
“If a child’s physical or mental well-being is persistently at risk, or if the child is neglected, the guardianship authority shall remove the child from its parents’ care and within reasonable bounds place it in a family or institution.”
In 1926, the Pro Juventute foundation launched an aid organisation under the name “Kinder der Landstrasse” (Children of the Road), which took traveller children from their families and placed them in homes or with foster families. These children were to be raised to be “useful members” of society. In the view of the state and the Pro Juventute foundation, this would never happen in the Yenish environment. Parental authority could therefore be withdrawn using the provisions of the Civil Code.
1972 TV report on the “Kinder der Landstrasse” campaign (in German). SRF
The fact that Alfred Siegfried, though convicted of indecent behaviour with a school child in 1924, was head of the “Abteilung Schulkind” (Schoolchildren division) at Pro Juventute from 1927 onwards is nothing short of grotesque. But his work, especially his actions against Yenish families, wouldn’t have been possible without broad-based public support. Alfred Siegfried had the backing of various authorities, Pro Juventute, and a number of organisations and patrons – groups which thus facilitated his activities. He continued to be active in the field even after retiring, publishing a book “Kinder der Landstrasse” (Children of the Road).
At some point, Ursula Waser simply accepted her fate: “I thought everyone had abandoned me.” The child’s resigned air was also noticed by the Home’s management. However, their interpretation of her attitude was quite different, as a brief report to Siegfried in 1957 shows: “Every now and then she needs a firm hand, but in general she doesn’t cause me any more disciplinary problems than other children of her age.”
Care and coercion
The state has always intervened in the lives of people who were poor or did not conform to social norms. Until the 1980s, several hundred thousand children and adults were taken into care or placed in detention. Adoptions, sterilisations, forced abortions, and drug trials were performed without the knowledge or consent of those involved. Human rights were frequently ignored.
To this day, Ursula Waser and tens of thousands of people affected by compulsory welfare measures are having to live with the fact that the state and society treated them very shabbily. Although the country and those involved began some time ago to work through this inglorious chapter in Switzerland’s history, new cases and sad details are still coming to light. Ursula Waser has worked tirelessly for decades to make sure the role of the country’s judiciary is also examined. And to do that, she keeps on digging into her own painful past.
Our faces – Our stories
The multimedia online platform Our faces – Our stories looks at the lives of people who have experienced compulsory welfare measures and forced placement in foster care, and their family circle. The platform makes a crucial chapter in contemporary Swiss history digitally accessible in a new way.
Uschi Waser and 31 other direct victims of these policies, their partners and children, as well as people from the professional environment, talk about their experiences from 1947 to the present day. They talk about what happened. They name those responsible and the reasons for their treatment. They reveal the consequences with which they are still living today. The people affected also tell how they found the strength to go on living despite everything – and how they’ve fared with rebuilding their lives.
The online platform places the experiences in their historical context, and paints a nuanced picture of compulsory welfare measures and forced foster placement. For Our faces – Our stories, victims have worked together with historians.
Uschi Waser and 31 other direct victims of these policies, their partners and children, as well as people from the professional environment, talk about their experiences from 1947 to the present day. They talk about what happened. They name those responsible and the reasons for their treatment. They reveal the consequences with which they are still living today. The people affected also tell how they found the strength to go on living despite everything – and how they’ve fared with rebuilding their lives.
The online platform places the experiences in their historical context, and paints a nuanced picture of compulsory welfare measures and forced foster placement. For Our faces – Our stories, victims have worked together with historians.
