Swiss American Historical Society Review
Keywords
Switzerland, indentured servitude, Swiss children, Swiss farms
Abstract
Over a one hundred year period a practice known as verdingen (indentured servitude) operated in Switzerland. Children were removed from their families and sent to work on farms. It is estimated that between 1860 and 1960, one hundred thousand children were verdingt in this way, a quarter of them in the Canton of Bern. Local parishes paid farmers a monthly allowance to provide disadvantaged children with board and lodging. Although some treated their charges well, countless children suffered terrible hardship over many years. A veil of silence fell across entire communities as clergy, social workers and villagers chose to ignore the widespread abuse. Teachers who reported that children were being ill-treated often found that their contracts were not renewed at the end of the school year.
Recommended Citation
O'Connell, Una Suseli
(2023)
"Switzerland’s Banished Children,"
Swiss American Historical Society Review: Vol. 59:
No.
2, Article 2.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_review/vol59/iss2/2