Noëmi Crain Merz07.11.2024He wrote scandalous novels, masqueraded as an anti-fascist activist and spied for Mussolini. After fleeing to Switzerland, Pitigrilli’s true colours were revealed.
Noëmi Crain Merz04.07.2024The life of Catherine Zimmermann-Mulgrave tells a story of human trafficking as part of the slave trade and of Christian missionary work in West Africa in the 19th century. It also shows how an African woman managed to lead an independent and self-determined life despite being kidnapped and marginalised.
Noëmi Crain Merz09.04.2024The canton of Basel-Stadt had to wait a long time to be represented on the Federal Council. After the election of Hans-Peter Tschudi in 1959, it was 64 years before the next candidate from the city won a seat on the national executive body. Both events were cause for widespread celebration.
Noëmi Crain Merz19.01.2024In the 1960s, Switzerland faced a dilemma regarding its Italian guest workers: their labour was desperately needed, their presence in society less so...
Noëmi Crain Merz19.08.2023In 1960, feminist Iris von Roten drove all the way to Turkey on her own. It was a trip that would straddle the boundaries between conservative role models and an exotic sense of freedom.
Noëmi Crain Merz22.06.2022Gotthelf’s novel "The Black Spider" explores themes of greed, conflict and the power of the plague. But the author also voices his frustration over unchecked forest clearance in his home canton of Bern.
Noëmi Crain Merz06.04.2022Gottfried Keller’s most ardent desire was to become an artist and paint scenes of nature. In the end he did just that, but mostly in words.