Ruth von Wild papers Nachlass Ruth von Wild (1912-1983)

Ruth von Wild (1912 -1983) was a Swiss teacher who dedicated her life to the care of refugee children. Ruth von Wild grew up in Barcelona as a Swiss citizen abroad. Her parents were from Glockenthal in the canton of Bern. She graduated from the University of Neuchâtel, and taught from 1933 to 1936 at the Swiss School in Barcelona. After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War the school was closed and Wild went to England to earn an English diploma. In Aug. 1938 returned to Barcelona and worked for Switzerland Working Group for Spain children Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Spanienkinder (Ayuda Suiza, SAS). In 1939 she directed a children's colony "Le Lac" in Hameau-du-Lac near Sigean , France. On August 1, 1940 Ruth von Wild took over the management of the children's colony of Talloires, France [Leitung der Kinderkolonie von Talloires]. From August 1940- June 1946 she was a director of the Children's Home in Pringy, France. After the end of the war, from 1946 to 1959, Ruth worked for the charity of the Protestant Churches of Switzerland in the children's home in Brüngsberg /Bad Honnef (North Rhine-Wesfalen) in Germany. From 1961-1974 she was a head of the refugee home "Pelikan" in Weesen (Leitung des Flüchtlingsheims), also for the Swiss Relief Society for Children of Emigrants (SHEK). Died in April 1983. Copyright Holder: Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich. Archiv für Zeitgeschichte - Archivleitung Private papers of Ruth von Wild (August 3, 1912 -April 26, 1983), a Swiss teacher and aid worker for refugees. The collection consists of a diary, diploma, certificates, correspondence, postcards and reports of holiday travels by former employees of the Swiss Working Community for Children of Spain (Ayuda Suiza, SAS) [Schweizerischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Spanienkinder], and for the Swiss Working Community for Children with Disabilities (SAK) [Schweizerischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Kriegsgeschädigte Kinder], personal photo albums on the activities of the children's colony of the Swiss Red Cross in Pringy, France (1944-1945) as well as of the children's home in Brüngsberg (Germany), portrait and group photographs of the Wild’s family, photo album of the "Institution Morave pour jeunes filles", Montmirail-Neuchâtel, Switzerland, circa 1930, letters from Ruth von Wild to their parents Ernst and Helene von Wild from Pringy, France, and other family members, as well consits of various documents concerning the activity of Ruth von Wildf for the SAS, SAK and children's welfare assistance at the Switzerland Red Cross.