Emma Zehnder

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Emma Elisabeth Zehnder (born June 4, 1859 in Bern , † January 25, 1933 in Lutzenberg ) was a Swiss teacher and women's activist.

life and work

Emma Zehnder completed an apprenticeship as a primary school teacher at the “Bern residents 'girls' school” run by Joseph Viktor Widmann .

In 1877 she taught home economics subjects to the twelve to twenty-year-old students at Pastor Robert Zollikofer's “Daughter Education Institute” in Romanshorn . With a break of four years, during which Emma Zehnder was in England and French-speaking Switzerland , she taught at the institute for a total of nine years.

Emma Zehnder then taught at the girls' primary school in St. Gallen from 1890 to 1915 . She taught at the girls' training school for ten years and advocated the training and employment of teachers at this school. She also campaigned for equal pay and increases in pensions for teachers and female employees. Emma Zehnder was convinced that teachers in particular were chosen to lead the way in the struggle for human rights.

She also founded a housekeeping school in St. Gallen and organized cooking and hiking courses. She also maintained close contact with the Swiss Nursing School.

Emma Zehnder founded the St. Gallen section of the Swiss Teachers' Association in 1893 . When the thirty-year anniversary of the St. Gallen Section was celebrated on January 14, 1933, it was awarded honorary membership.

From 1895 to 1905 Emma Zehnder worked on the central board of the Swiss non-profit women's association and chaired the St. Gallen section.

Emma Zehnder was on the board of directors of the Federation of Swiss Women's Associations from 1910 to 1916 and was in charge of the commission for social and practical work from 1912 to 1917.

Her eyesight deteriorated so severely in 1915 that she had to give up teaching at the girls' primary school.

Emma Zehnder was active in the voting rights movement and in 1909 participated in the canton's submission for women to be elected to the school authorities. In 1929 she also campaigned for single women to receive old-age and survivors' insurance.

Emma Zehnder died in 1933 in the Lutzenberg children's home near Rheineck . The abdication took place on January 28th in the Sihlfeld A crematorium in Zurich .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Daughter Education Institute Zollikofer, Romanshorn. Pestalozzianum Research Library, accessed on July 2, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Thirty years of the St. Gallen section of the Swiss Teachers' Association. Swiss teacher newspaper, accessed on July 2, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Zehnder, Emma
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zehnder, Emma Elisabeth
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss teacher and women activist
DATE OF BIRTH June 4, 1859
PLACE OF BIRTH Bern
DATE OF DEATH January 25, 1933
Place of death Lutzenberg