Claude Richstein

“Until I was twelve years old, I lived in a good care place. The horror only began afterwards.”

Claude Richstein was born in 1961. His parents could not keep him with them. He was brought to a children’s home and from there to a foster family in Bern who already cared for another foster boy. Here Claude Richstein spent his first years in a loving environment. His foster parents wanted to adopt him, but his biological mother did not give her consent.

At the age of twelve, Claude Rechstein was taken by his guardian to a new foster family in the canton of Valais, as his former foster parents were not prepared to take over the costs for him any longer. A year later he was moved again because his guardian had accused him of stealing cigarettes which was not true. In the children’s home in Aarwangen (AG), where work defined a big part of everyday life, Claude Richstein stayed for the next four years. At the age of 16 he was sent to the ”Pestalozziheim” in Birr (AG). Here he experienced massive violence among the internees for three months. A horror for the youngster.

After his release Claude Richstein lived together with his older foster brother in a shared flat until he was 20. The latter was an important attachment figure for him and a support on his way to a self-determined life for which he was not prepared. Claude Richstein has had many exiting jobs throughout his life and, at the age of 60, has started a new training to become a home carer.

He is grateful for being healthy and having met many people in his life who loved him. He tries to pass on some of this to people who need support today. Claude Richstein draws his strength from his faith; it has helped him to come to terms with what he has experienced and to move on.

Beni Freudiger

“I have been well taken care of in the children’s home.”

Beni Freudiger was born in 1958 in the canton of Solothurn. When his mother got ill, he and his older brother were sent to the children’s home “Marianum” in Menzingen (ZG) in the summer of 1960. His mother and his father, who lived separately, came to visit sometimes. Upon his entry, Beni Freudiger was the youngest. He stayed at the home for 15 years, until it was closed in 1975.

Beni Freudiger was taken good care of in the “Marianum” and was lovingly looked after by the nuns from Menzingen. He was particularly fond of one of the nuns and she of him.

The Mother Superior, who ran the children’s home Klösterli in Wettingen (AG) after the closure of the “Marianum”, always found ways to give the children special experiences. Christmas, for example, was a celebration of joy, and the way to the room with the gifts was always lit with candles. The approximately 60 children had a regular daily routine and fulfilled small assignments in addition to school. However, there was always enough leisure time. Beni Freudiger, for instance, had his own small garden where he grew vegetables.

The Mother Superior found a good commercial apprenticeship for Beni Freudiger. After a stay abroad in England, he applied for a job in an accounting firm and later trained as an accountant. Today, Beni Freudiger is the father of three adult children. Despite having been treated with good care at the children’s home, he did not know family life until he became a father himself. He missed this experience later on.

Since his divorce, Beni Freudiger is often on the road and travels the world. He keeps in touch with a nun who now lives in the motherhouse of the sisterhood in Menzingen. The predominantly negative media coverage of experiences in children’s homes prompted him to go public with his story. For Beni Freudiger it is important to show that there were also other, positive experiences in foster care and that loving care was also possible in the past.

Brigitta Bühler

“For a long time, I knew nothing about this dark side of Swiss history.”

Brigitta Bühler was born in Zurich in 1969. She had a sheltered upbringing and likes to remember her childhood. After completing compulsory education, she did an apprenticeship as a retail saleswoman in a shoe shop. Brigitta Bühler has two children from her first marriage.

Her current partner, Robert Blaser, she met in 2009. Brigitta Bühler only gradually learned about the home placements and administrative detentions her partner had experienced. She herself did not know this aspect of Swiss history. Brigitta Bühler bought books and began to inform herself – which was not always easy for her: the testimonials affected her deeply.

Knowing about Robert Blaser’s story helped her to better understand certain reactions and idiosyncrasies of her partner. Brigitta Bühler supports him in his commitment to the association “Fremdplatziert”, for example in submitting applications for a contribution from the solidarity fund. Again and again, the two of them cannot call or visit the affected persons at home, because they do not want their relatives to know. This makes Brigitta Bühler thoughtful and sad. Therefore, she advises all relatives to listen carefully, to ask and listen again.

Karin Gurtner

“I never solved conflicts with violence if possible.”

Karin Gurtner was born in Basel in 1958. Her mother was very young then and unmarried. Her grandparents were officially appointed as her foster parents by the guardianship authority until 1965. The grandparents loved the girl and gave her the foundation that would sustain her throughout her whole life. With her grandfather she spent many hours in the woods, observed and learnt to respect every form of life.

After her mother had married, she suddenly wrenched Karin Gurtner from her grandparents in 1963. The girl would have given anything to be able to stay with them because the visits from her mother had always been marked by coldness and distance. At the age of eleven, Karin Gurtner was placed in the home for difficult girls “Steig” (SH). In 1975, five placements followed in within a few months, including a stay in prison and then in the Psychiatric Clinic Breitenau (SH), because the authorities did not know where else to put the youth.

At the end of 1975, she was put into administrative detention in the juvenile correction facility “Lärchenheim” in Lutzenberg (AR.) Here the hierarchies among each other were very pronounced. Karin Gurtner gained influence but never used it to her advantage, instead she managed to protect other young people.

Karin Gurtner did not allow herself to be forecd into bourgeoise gender roles. She wanted to go her own way and did training time in electronic design. Later she trained as a beautician and makeup artist and opened her own business. Her mother did not leave her alone even as an adult and made sure customers stayed away. The family dispute continued over the inheritance with Karin Gurtner being accused of having plundered the inheritance of her grandmother, even though she had no access to it.

Karin Gurtner is a fighter. She draws strength from the tree of life Yggdrasil and from a motto of the old norse gods: “Get up and keep fighting!”

Nadine Felix

“Look, ask, engage: this is just as important today as it would have been then.”

Nadine Felix was born in Zurich in 1975. Her mother was an alcoholic and she only survived as a baby because her two older half siblings took care of her. Soon after her birth, she was adopted by a couple. Nadine Felix only found out what had happened then at the age of 35, when she met her birth family. Until she was 14 years old, she believed she was growing up with her biological parents. When her adoptive parents separated, Nadine Felix was suddenly placed in care, completely unprepared and in the middle of 5^th grade. After a time in Chur (GR), she was taken to the “Heim Hirslanden” (ZH) at the age of 14. In a letter from the Chur guardianship authority, she learned that she had been adopted as an infant.

Sometimes, Nadine Felix and her colleagues from the facility were allowed to go out, went to parties and danced the night away. Nadine Felix has kept the shoes she wore then to this day. For a housekeeping year Nadine Felix was to be taken to a closed educational facility. Together with her boyfriend she planned to escape to Italy – unsuccessfully: in handcuffs she was taken to the closed ward of the “Loryheim” (BE). Nadine Felix has never been involved in decision-making processes. She was never asked about her needs, despite having met numerous experts and having been in various therapeutic settings.

When her guardian died, Nadine Felix was released from guardianship at the age of barely 20. She was not supported in the transition to an autonomous life and slipped into drug addiction. After seven years of heroin use, she opted to go to rehab. A year later, her now adult son was born, whom she raised on her own. Nadine Felix completed various trainings, most recently as an educational nursery manager. She managed a nursery for ten years. To treat everybody with respect is important to her – and it is just as important to her to talk about it when this not the case.

Kurt Bönzli

“The fact that my brother and I have contact again today is important to me.”

Kurt Bönzli was born in 1949 in Bern. When his father died, his mother lost parental authority over her four children. Subsequently, all of them were placed in care. Kurt Bönzli, together with one sister, was sent to Beatenberg for a cure and then sent for a short time to a girl’s home where his sisters were also staying. After that Kurt Bönzli spent the years from 1957 to 1966 in the boys’ reform facility Brünnen in Bern-Bümpliz. His older brother, Peter Bönzli, was also placed in this facility.

Here, work was the priority, schooling was neglected. A hard drill prevailed, the boys were beaten and self-determination was an alien concept. Sometimes Kurt took refuge in a hut made from woollen blankets and withdrew for short moments. His sisters lived in the nearby girl’s home – sometimes he could give them a wave across the fence.

At the end of their schooling the boys from “Brünnen” usually were distributed among various jobs. Kurt Bönzli wanted to decide for himself about his education and was finally able to start an apprenticeship as a cook in the city of Bern.

At the age of 20, he was released from guardianship. Kurt Bönzli enjoyed his freedom and was on the road a lot. Cooks were sought after, so he could change his job anytime and find a new one. What he did not want was to be responsible for others. That is why he didn’t want children.

During this time, he had hardly any contact with his siblings. After a heart attack, he decided to change his life. He drank less alcohol and sought contact with his older brother, Peter Bönzli. The relationship is important to him, the two see each other regularly.

Gabriela Pereira

“We children were rendered stateless and our family was torn apart.”

Gabriela Pereira was born in 1964 in Wohlen in the canton of Aargau. Her mother was from Portugal, her father was Swiss. The parents planned to marry. Nevertheless, at the age of 18 months, Gabriela Pereira was placed in an orphanage that was led by nuns from Menzingen. By the time Gabriela Pereira reached the age of 17, a foster family and three Catholic institutions had followed. During the time she spent at the Protestant “home for difficult children” in Freienstein (ZH), she was, like many other institutionalised children, hired out to farmers during the holidays. In all places Gabriela Pereira experienced violence and repeatedly sexual abuse.

When Gabriela Pereira’s father died in 1967, the social authorities denied her access to the inheritance and the money he had deposited as security for the children. Because Gabriela Pereira and her brother had been rendered stateless and lacked the financial means, a departure to Portugal was impossible. It only was when she was a teenager that she was granted a Swiss passport. Only thanks to her mother, who always managed to bring her daughter back home and to wrap the bad experiences into stories with humour, Gabriela Pereira managed to retain her inner liveliness to this day.

After the death of her mother (2003), Gabriel Pereira intensified her personal reassessment and became politically involved. “As long as survivors are left alone with the results of traumatisation, have hardly any financial means to ease consequential health damages and continue to be exposed to administrative coercive measures, there is no reassessment for the survivors,” says Gabriela Pereira.

Mario Delfino

“I am fine – if it weren’t for these stories.”

Mario Delfino was born in Italy in 1955. For the first five years he grew up in an orphanage in Bergamo, where he had a loving carer. Then he was adopted by a Swiss couple and brought to their home in Thalwil (ZH). Here he wasn’t fine: he was often locked up and beaten. Finally, his adoptive mother brought the boy to a children’s home in Altdorf (UR). Mario Delfino experienced the time there as strongly marked by religion but not by violence. After four years, the nuns from Menzingen sent the boy back to Thalwil to his adoptive parents.

At the age of 12, Mario Delfino and two school mates stole a cash box. They found 40,000 Swiss francs in it but returned it to owner by post. A few days later, Mario Delfino was arrested in the schoolyard and taken away in handcuffs. The next four years he spent in the “juvenile reform facility” in Knutwil (LU). The home was run by German monks who inflicted massive physical and sexual violence on Mario Delfino and other boys.

In 1972, when he was 16, Mario Delfino was released from the facility. But his adoptive mother no longer wanted him with her and called the police. The youngster had to wait for three weeks in a detention cell in Horgen (ZH) until the juvenile attorney took time for him. It had been him who had committed Mario Delfino to Knutwil back then and now he envisaged another administrative detention. But when a social worker joined the conversation, Mario Delfino experienced for the first time that someone took time to listen to his story. The social worker took him to her home and found him a job.

Later he moved to Zurich. With the help of Ernst Sieber, a priest for the homeless in Zurich, he found stability in life. Together with his wife Katharina Delfino, he worked as a caretaker in a school in Zurich for 18 years. He is father of two adult sons. Mario Delfino is member of the project team “Our faces – Our stories”.

Heidi Lienberger

“We still feel the consequences of his childhood in everyday life.”

Heidi Lienberger was born in Liestal (BL) in 1958. As the youngest of five children, she grew up well looked-after. When she left home at the age of 18, she was confronted with the world for the first time. Her first husband supported her in finding her way in life. She took on various jobs and today works as a waitress. In earlier years, Heidi Lienberg was very creative and sometimes sold handmade items at a market. Her current partner, Andreas Jost, she met 21 years ago. He addresses things directly, which not everyone likes. It is precisely this open and direct manner that Heidi Lienberg appreciates about Andreas Jost, at least most of the time. She herself is rather reserved.

Her partner has told her about the abuses and the injustice he suffered in his childhood and youth and wrote it all down for her. They talked about it a lot. To Heidi Lienberger it is incomprehensible, how people can treat their wards this way.

They both still feel the consequences in everyday life. An untreated bronchitis in his childhood torments her partner with coughing fits. Nightmares und insomnia keep him from rest at night. More recently, epileptic seizures have been added to the mix which increasingly frightens Heidi Lienberg. In addition, financial restrictions make a self-determined life and social contacts impossible. All of this puts a heavy strain on their relationship and only recently almost caused it to break up.

Heidi Lienberger strongly supports her partner in his commitment to the reassessment of compulsory social measures and placements. She admires his perseverance and his energy for this work.

Alois Kappeler

“It was not a nice life.”

Alois Kappeler was born in 1953 in Galgenen in the canton of Schwyz, the 13^th of 14 children. Two days after his birth he was taken away from his Yenish parents, who lived in a caravan, and taken to a children’s home in Solothurn that was run by the “Seraphisches Liebeswerk”. In the following 18 years, Alois Kappeler was moved again and again – in total he was in far more than 20 different facilities and care places. There he experienced physical and sexual violence again and again.

When Alois Kappeler was of age, he wanted to be released from guardianship, but his guardian opposed it. In his early 20’s, he left his job one day and hid for eight years on an alp in the canton of Grison. After an accident in which he suffered severe head injuries, his guardian found out where he was staying.

Alois Kappeler was admitted to the Cantonal Psychiatric Clinic St. Urban (LU) and four years later transferred to the Psychiatric Clinic Beverin (GR). There he was to be castrated against his will because he was attributed an excessive sex drive. In this context he injured a guard and was moved to the prison Realta (GR). The journalist Hans Caprez from the “Beobachter” made sure he was released and made his story public.

In 1994, Alois Kappeler met his wife Eva through an advertisement in the magazine “Tierwelt”. She became his most important support. Initially he moved in with her in Davos, later they moved together to Wiesen, a village within the municipality of Davos. A day after Alois Kappeler had inquired about work at the municipality, a representative of the authorities was at their door: The couple was placed under guardianship. With legal support, they were only able to free themselves from this in 2004, thus 6 years later.

Afra Flepp

“You can accomplish a lot with very little if it comes from the heart.”

Afra Flepp was born in Zurich in 1947. During her childhood she was repeatedly placed in homes and foster families. First in the canton of Ticino, where she experienced a regime of award and punishment. A short stay at home was followed by a placement in a foster family in the Zurich Oberland. The farmers took the child in because of the board money. After her foster brothers had spied on her in the toilet, Afra Flepp was transferred once again, this time to the Pestalozzi home of the city of Zurich in Redlikon-Stäfa. As one of few she was allowed to attend the public school in the village and sometimes smuggled sweets into the home. For the last part of her compulsory schooling, Afra Flepp was once again placed in a foster family.

While still an apprentice graphic designer, Afra Flepp moved into an own room and became self-employed after her graduation; which was far from obvious for a woman in the 1970s. Until her retirement, Afra Flepp worked in her studio in the city of Zurich which soon became a meeting place for the youth of the neighbourhood. They liked to drop by at Afra Flepp’s, as hardly anything was forbidden and there was a lot to discover.

Afra Flepp first attracted attention as an artist in 1975. The facade painting with clouds and rainbow at the Kreuzplatz in the city of Zurich was talked about. Today she paints precise works of art using a special acrylic spray technique.

Eva Kappeler

“He didn’t know fondue and raclette – they never had that in the facilities.”

Eva Kappeler was born in Davos in 1954. She grew up with seven siblings in a loving family. Her first husband died early (1987), and so she was left alone with her three children. For a year she also ran the family farm on her own. When she got ill due to blood poisoning, the guardianship authorities wanted to take the children away from her. With the support from her family doctor, Eva Kappeler was able to go on holiday for four weeks and to recover. The family stayed together.

Her second husband, Alois Kappeler, Eva Kappeler met through an advertisement in the magazine “Tierwelt”. When she saw him, she knew they belonged together. That was in 1994. After their marriage they moved from Davos to Wiesen, where Alois Kappeler inquired at the municipality about work. He was turned away and the following day a representative of the authorities was at the door: Alois and Eva Kappeler were placed under guardianship which was only dissolved six years later with the help of a lawyer. During this time Eva Kappeler lost her life insurance and all other assets.

Eva Kappeler knew her husband’s story but when she began to read the individual files, she had to put them aside again and again because tears came to her eyes. To this day she supports her husband in his everyday life and in coming to terms with what he has experienced and makes him angry at times. Eva Kappeler can calm him down and listens to him. Good food is important to both, because Eva Kappeler’s husband has never had that before. Music connects them and so they dance as often as possible, with pleasure also with their grandchildren.

Yvonne Barth

“I worked my way up from nothing.”

Yvonne Barth was born in Basel in 1953. Her mother moved again and again and took her two children with her. Yvonne Barth did not feel safe with her. At the age of three, she was sent to the children’s home “Vogelsang” in Basel on monthly basis and in 1958 to a foster family in Davos Wiesen (GR). Yvonne Barth missed her older sister and begged her mother to be placed in the same facility which was arranged in 1961.

Yvonne Barth stayed in the children’s home “Röserental” in Liestal (BL) until she was 12 years old. Here she was often teased by the other kids because she squinted and was walking clumsily due to adhesions on her feet. The girl was not encouraged by the adults: because of her outward appearance, she wasn’t thought of being capable of anything. During this time, animals were important to her: they gave her the closeness and affection that she missed in people.

As an adult, Yvonne Barth continued her education. She trained as a medical massage therapist and opened her own practice. Music always gave her strength – and does to the day. Yvonne Barth was always quick to learn an instrument and still composes her own songs.

She sang her song “Placement in Care from the Perspective of those Children” for the first time in front of an audience at the memorial event for the victims of compulsory social measures in Basel in autumn 2021. It is important to Yvonne Barth to be part of the reassessment – also for all those who are no longer here.

Katharina Delfino

“When my husband was able to talk about everything, he gained inner peace.”

Katharina Delfino was born in Zurich in 1964. Together with her two older brothers, she experienced a carefree childhood. Her parents had their own hairdresser salon where Katharina Delfino helped from an early age. She decided to become a hairdresser too. The training in a hairdressing school was strenuous and accompanied by very long working days, but she got to know a dynamic field of work. With time, she was allowed to go to international shows and also travelled abroad for her jobs, for example to New York or the Philippines.

After a few years, Katharina Delfino needed a break from hairdressing and started to work in a bar in Zurich’s Niederdorf. There she met her future husband, Mario Delfino. When she got pregnant, they moved in together and married. Her husband has told her right from the beginning about his childhood with his adoptive parents and in the facilities. However, she sensed that he couldn’t tell her everything. It was only in 2019 that Mario Delfino revealed to her that he too had been a victim of sexual abuse by Catholic monks.

Together with her husband, Katharina Delfino worked for many years as a caretaker, first in a parish hall, then in a school in the city of Zurich. It is important to her that conflicts and differences are discussed together and that solutions are found together. Her family always takes centre stage for her; they all support each other and are always there for each other.

Michele Delfino

“Because I know what my father experienced, I understand many things better today.”

Michele Delfino was born in 1993 in Zurich. He grew up with his parents, Katharina and Mario Delfino. They worked together as caretakers, first in a parish hall and then in a school. In the early years, the family flat was in the same building so that Michele Delfino could spend a lot of time with his parents. At the same time the many rooms and spaces were an ideal playground and place for discoveries. His parents have given him the best conditions for the start in life. He tries to use his opportunities, especially because his father did not have a good start in life.

From an early age, Michele Delfino knew that his father did not grow up at home. He told him repeatedly about individual experiences, for example about his escapes. Later the Delfino family visited the children’s home in Altdorf (UR), the “juvenile correction facility Bad Knutwil” (LU) and the former residence of the adoptive parents in Thalwil (ZH) together.

Michele Delfino suspected that his father could not talk about all his experiences with his family at that time. A few years ago, when they were also able to talk about the sexual violence his father had experienced, this helped Michele Delfino to pin down and better understand his father’s earlier reactions. The things that happened to his father continue to have an effect and influence the next generation; another reason why it is important for Michele that people talk about it.