Swiss Association of Writers

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The Swiss Writers and Writers Association (SSV) was a Swiss association of writers and authors , which existed from 1912 by 2002. It was replaced by the Association of Authors of Switzerland (AdS).

history

Carl Arbert Loosli, the first president of the SSV
Paul Seippel, President 1915–1919

After a call from Carl Albert Loosli , Hermann Aellen , Heinrich Federer and Alfred Huggenberger , the first authors 'association in Switzerland was established in 1912 with the Swiss Writers' Association (that is the original name). Up until now, literature seemed to have been the “stepchild among the Swiss arts”, as the Swiss Schiller Foundation, founded in 1905, found, especially since the Society of Swiss Painters and Sculptors (GSMBA) was established in 1865 and the Swiss Musicians Association in 1900, and both are supported by the federal government were.

In 1920 the SSV received regular federal subsidies for the first time. The first president of the new association was Loosli (until 1913), followed by Ernst Zahn (until 1914), Paul Seippel (until 1919), Robert Faesi (until 1924) and Felix Moeschlin (until 1942) until the First World War . The SSV represented both trade union and cultural-political interests. The former included mainly copyright (legal protection, tariff policy, especially for performances and new media such as radio and later television), contract and tariff policy for newspaper and book publishers and - somewhat later - the minimum fee guarantee, the establishment of collecting societies and pension schemes . In addition, the SSV operated specific literature funding, for example with the loan loan fund created in 1921. From 1936 onwards, with the support of the federal government, he made contributions to translations into other national languages, and from 1946 he organized working years.

From the beginning, the “Swiss” was in the foreground at the SSV, so that it developed into an engine of intellectual national defense and, not least, gained recognition in society and politics. In 1933 the General Assembly decided to only support asylum applications from prominent representatives of German literature and from political refugees active in literature. The "Society of Swiss Dramatists", a section of the SSV, which existed from 1924 to 1985, took an even tougher stance. The SSV and its sections were consulted by the Aliens Police at cantonal and federal level when assessing applications for admission by emigrated writers . For political reasons or for fear of competition, the SSV issued numerous negative reports on German and Austrian writers and publishers until 1943. He often tied positive reviews to tough conditions (e.g. no publications in Swiss newspapers).

Hugo Loetscher , President 1986–1989

After the Second World War, under Presidents Henri de Ziegler , Hans Zbinden and Maurice Zermatten, there was no alternative to the association's previous cultural and political self-image; the union orientation lost weight. At the same time, regional associations were founded in all four parts of the country from 1940, which essentially took over the professional and technical exchange. The stagnation culminated in the crisis that began in 1970 with the departure of several prominent authors - including Peter Bichsel , Jeanlouis Cornuz , Friedrich Dürrenmatt , Yves Velan - culminated and in 1971 led to the establishment of the Olten Group (GO).

The development of both associations was characterized by competition and cooperation. While the GO initially occupied the (cultural) political field - “democratic socialism” in the purpose article remained a cornerstone for members until 2001 - but soon also promoted professional political work, the SSV modernized its structures and revised its self-image. Both associations geared their admission regulations more closely to professional writers. The degree of cooperation was discussed again and again until the merger of the two associations was decided in 2002. When it was dissolved, the SSV had around 570 members, the GO around 340.

The Association of Authors in Switzerland (AdS), based in Zurich, has been looking after the interests of its members since 2003 (2010: 928). The association maintains a contact point each for the representatives of the AdS in French-speaking and Italian-speaking Switzerland. The admission regulations - the AdS sees itself as an association for full-time writers and literary translators - and the practice of admission has repeatedly triggered conflicts in the history of writers' associations, as has the contrast between professional interest representation and cultural network, between trade union and amicale.

literature

  • Ulrich Niederer: SSV - Swiss Association of Writers. In: Theater Lexikon der Schweiz. Chronos Verlag, Zurich 2005, Volume 3, pp. 1717–1718. (On-line)
  • Literature goes for bread: the history of the Swiss Writers' Association. Published by the Swiss Writers' Association (SSV); Editor Otto Böni ... et al., Sauerländer, Aarau 1987.
  • Hans Mühlethaler: The Olten group, the legacy of a rebellious generation of writers. Sauerländer, Aarau 1989
  • Ulrich Niederer: History of the Swiss Writers' Association, cultural policy and individual support: Jakob Bührer as an example Francke, Tübingen / Basel 1994. Zugl. Diss. Phil. I Basel, 1989
  • Farewell to the split, the last few years of the Swiss authors 'group Olten and the Swiss Writers' Association. Peter A. Schmid ... [et al.] (Ed.) Rotpunktverlag, Zurich 2003.
  • Ursula Amrein: "Let's go from Berlin!" The literary and theater politics of Switzerland and the «Third Reich». Chronos, Zurich 2004.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ SSV - Swiss Association of Writers - Theater Lexicon. Retrieved August 3, 2020 .
HLS This version of the article is based onUlrich Niederer's entry in the Historical Lexicon of Switzerland (HLS), which, according to theHLS's usage information, is licensed under the Creative Commons - Attribution - Distribution under the same conditions 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)license. If the article has been revised and expanded to such an extent that it differs significantly from the HLS article, this module will be removed. The original text and a reference to the license can also be found in the version history of the article.