Elisabeth Handschin

Elisabeth Handschin photographed by Theodor Strübin

Elisabeth Handschin (born October 30, 1920 in Arbon ; † January 8, 1968 in Männedorf ) was a Swiss educator , director of the “Farnsburg” children's home in Ormalingen and a writer .

Life

Elisabeth Handschin was the fourth child of Frieda and Adolf Handschin-Stricker. Her father was a preacher for the St. Chrischona pilgrimage mission , which meant that the family moved frequently. The first four years she lived in Arbon and Schwellbrunn , the following seven years in Liestal and from 11 to 17 years of age in Thalwil .

1950, Farnsburg rest home

After finishing school, she entered the teacher training college of Küsnacht one. In 1940 she was accepted into the Zurich School Synod (the teachers' association). After completing her training, she worked as a non-permanent teacher at the comprehensive school in Wasterkingen .

Former Farnsburg rest home

In the spring of 1943 she was appointed by the school welfare office of the canton of Basel-Stadt as teacher and director of the "Farnsburg" convalescent home for psychopathic children in Ormalingen, which opened in 1927 . There she found her life's work. 1961 made their severe exhaustion depression further work impossible. Despite various hospital stays, she did not recover from her illness. Shortly after visiting her parents in Sissach , she died in the Hohenegg private clinic in Männedorf, where the German-Swiss lawyer Anna Mackenroth had also spent the last years of her life before her death.

Handschin wrote poems, plays and Christmas plays that she rehearsed and performed with the children of the "Farnsburg". The lyrics were made for children; easy to understand, with short dialogues and with Christian values. She only wanted to perform her works with the children entrusted to her and not have them published, but two Christmas games were published by Verlag Sauerländer in Aarau. Both pieces are still available from teaterverlag elgg .

Many of the works have been lost. Some manuscripts and prints of plays and prose as well as various letters are stored in the estate of Theodor Strübin in the Baselland State Archives, photos of her in the collection of Archeology and Museum Baselland. Her reports and correspondence about holiday colonies at the “Farnsburg” curative education country home are in the Basel-Stadt State Archives.

The painter Markus Kaufmann (EMKA) describes in his autobiography the life of a child in the Farnsburg home and his encounter with Elisabeth Handschin.

Works

A Christmas festival. Jugendbornsammlung booklet 81. 47 pages, Sauerländer, Aarau 1949. (2nd edition 1960).
Elisabeth of Thuringia. Jugendbornsammlung Heft 126. 56 pages, game for 32 participants. Sauerlander, Aarau 1960.

supporting documents

Elisabeth Handschin, curriculum vitae. In: Basellandschaftliche Zeitung , January 18, 1985 (in the series Baselbieter Heads That Made History ).

Web links

Commons : Elisabeth Handschin - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Elisabeth Handschin In: Online archive catalog of the State Archive Basel-Landschaft
Elisabeth Handschin In: Online archive catalog of the Basel-Stadt State Archives
Literature by and about Elisabeth Handschin in the bibliographic database WorldCat
Literature by and about Elisabeth Handschin in the Swiss National Library

Individual evidence

↑ Elisabeth Handschin, curriculum vitae. In: Basellandschaftliche Zeitung, January 18, 1985 (in the series Baselbieter Heads That Made History ).
^ Report on the negotiations of the Zurich School Synod , Rubric: Appendix II: List of the members newly admitted to the Synod in 1940 . vol. 105, 1940.

^ Official school gazette of the Canton of Zurich . Volume 55, Issue 5, p. 111. 1940.

↑ On the Remedial Education Landheim Farnsburg cf. Fachblatt für Schweizerisches Anstaltwesen, 11 (1941), p. 83 (without mention of Elisabeth Handschin).

↑ List of authors on theaterverlage.ch , accessed on August 29, 2019

^ Elisabeth Handschin photo collection by Theodor Strübin at KIM.bl - Baselland Museum Association , Archaeological Collection and Museum Baselland, made available on Europeana . The collection also includes photos from the nativity play at the Farnsburg .

↑ Markus Kaufmann: Mom, will I be a philistine when I grow up? novum premium Verlag, 2017, ISBN 978-3-903155-03-9 ( limited preview in Google book search).

personal data
SURNAME	Handschin, Elisabeth
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Swiss educator and writer
DATE OF BIRTH	October 30, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH	Arbon
DATE OF DEATH	January 8, 1968
Place of death	Männedorf

[1] Elisabeth Handschin, curriculum vitae. In: Basellandschaftliche Zeitung, January 18, 1985 (in the series Baselbieter Heads That Made History ).

[2] Report on the negotiations of the Zurich School Synod , Rubric: Appendix II: List of the members newly admitted to the Synod in 1940 . vol. 105, 1940.

[3] Official school gazette of the Canton of Zurich . Volume 55, Issue 5, p. 111. 1940.

[4] On the Remedial Education Landheim Farnsburg cf. Fachblatt für Schweizerisches Anstaltwesen, 11 (1941), p. 83 (without mention of Elisabeth Handschin).

[5] List of authors on theaterverlage.ch , accessed on August 29, 2019

[6] Elisabeth Handschin photo collection by Theodor Strübin at KIM.bl - Baselland Museum Association , Archaeological Collection and Museum Baselland, made available on Europeana . The collection also includes photos from the nativity play at the Farnsburg .

[7] Markus Kaufmann: Mom, will I be a philistine when I grow up? novum premium Verlag, 2017, ISBN 978-3-903155-03-9 ( limited preview in Google book search).