This advertisement appeared in various local newspapers in the run-up to the referendum on Zurich’s revised Social Welfare Act in 1925. It was part of a series of similarly conceived advertisements favouring adoption of the new «Act on the Welfare of Juveniles, Neglected Persons and Drunkards».

Author

The anonymous authors sign variously as «hard-working citizens», «inhabitants of remote farmsteads», «isolated inhabitants of this country», or «citizens who learned the hard way». The advertisements and articles that appeared in newspapers of various political leanings offer insight into the public debate that surrounded the revision of the Canton of Zurich’s welfare law. The law was adopted by voters in Zurich by a clear majority on 24 March 1925 and remained in effect until the repeal of all cantonal welfare laws in 1981.

 

Research questions

Of particular interest in connection with the debate in political circles and in the media are the arguments put forth by the different participants to legitimise the use of administrative detention. What was it that triggered the decision to revise Zurich’s welfare law? On which groups of people did the debate focus? An important element of the IEC’s research was the study of draft versions of the law that were put forward by the cantonal government and the ensuing parliamentary discussions. This was a laborious process that took more than a year to complete. Simultaneously, because the new law was put before the voters of the Canton of Zurich in a referendum, it is also possible to obtain a detailed picture of the public debate leading up to the vote. What is important here is to present an overview of the arguments that were adduced for or against the new welfare law, and to identify which groups and associations were actively involved in the campaign leading up to the referendum.

The advertisements are considered in the context of the period. They were a subject of controversy even in 1925. The slogans that were used in advertisements and, in particular, in newspaper articles from the period give an idea of the way administrative detention was viewed by the broader public and stand in clear contrast – also in their choice of terminology – to the parliamentary debates.

 

S. Knecht/Translation

 

Source

N. N.: Wer gesund ist, soll arbeiten!, in: Volksblatt aus dem Bezirk Affoltern, no. 57, 23.05.1925 (pages unnumbered).

Signature: Staatsarchiv Zürich (StAZH), III AAe 5: 31.