Westward. Encounters with Swiss American Women

It was only in 1930, when their second child Fritz was born in Altstetten, that the family more or less settled in Zurich. (1932)

It was only in 1930, when their second child Fritz was born in Altstetten, that the family more or less settled in Zurich. But even then, the family kept on moving around town, to the Weststrasse, the Gertrudstrasse, the Grüngasse and eventually to the Badenerstrasse. “My father moved us and his business to various locations. My memories from that time have faded. My parents did not talk about it much. We did not discuss the past. And we rarely had spontaneous guests and there was never much food on the table. My mother always cooked precise amounts. She did not want leftovers. But we always went on vacations, at a time when this wasn’t fashionable yet. We drove to Alassio, to Cattolica, and to the Appenzell during the war. Simply going away: this was different from the families of the children with whom we grew up.”

For health reasons Ellen was not able to attend kindergarten. “I remained in my world of thoughts and phantasies. Our parents had little time for us children. Just the other day Fritz said to me on the phone: ‘You know, our parents simply left us to ourselves.’ But therefore we became independent. This was unusual; it was an adventure. As a child I learned to look around. I observed and drew my own conclusions. As a child I was an introvert.”