Rachel Huber

Rachel Huber is a historian and works at the University of Lucerne.

A village disappears underwater

Rachel Huber 13.09.2022 Which is better: getting an income and supplying energy for a distant city, or keeping your home and living in poverty? In the Graubünden village of Marmorera the verdict, reached democratically, was clear. Zurich needed electricity, and many of the villagers needed money. And so, in the middle of the 20th century, the town disappeared under the waters of a reservoir.

Marmorera: The end of a village, the beginning of a reservoir...

Switzerland’s tradition of supporting indigenous resistance

Rachel Huber 22.04.2022 Resistance movements of indigenous organisations and societies have traditionally found a route through Switzerland. This is connected with the presence of the UN headquarters in Geneva. But there’s more to it than that.

In 1977, an indigenous delegation visited Switzerland to bring their concerns to the attention of a wider audience. The itinerary included a trip to the Jungfraujoch.

A pioneer with a dark side

Rachel Huber 21.04.2021 From hero of the old West to racist colonialist: Opinion on Swiss pioneer John Sutter has changed in recent decades.

From bankrupt cloth business to a spacious fort: Johann August Sutter seemed to have done everything right.