Elisabeth Hermine Abegg (7 December 1901 – 13 July 1974), known as Lily Abegg, was a Swiss journalist who reported on East Asian affairs for several European newspapers from the late 1930s through the mid-1960s and authored multiple books and journal articles from the 1940s through the early 1970s. Her work focused on the political climate of the Middle East and what was then described as the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The t ...

region.

Formative years

Abegg grew up in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

, Japan, where her father Hans Abegg, traded in silk. Following her formative years, which were spent in Japan between 1902 and 1916, she studied political science in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...

, graduating with a doctorate.

Career

Abegg undertook her first trip as a journalist in 1934, during which time she traveled to Japan, where she reported on the cultural and political climate there. From 1934 to 1940, she was the East Asia correspondent of the ''

Frankfurter Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Zeitung'' () was a German-language newspaper that appeared from 1856 to 1943. It emerged from a market letter that was published in Frankfurt. In Nazi Germany, it was considered the only mass publication not completely controll ...

'' in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

. In 1939, she reported from China about the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific T ...

. After returning to Switzerland, she wrote for the ''

Weltwoche ''Die Weltwoche'' (German for "The World Week") is a Swiss weekly magazine based in Zürich. Founded in 1933, it has been privately owned by Roger Köppel since 2006. The magazine's regular columnists include the former president of the Social ...

'', reporting from the Middle East and South East Asia, but returned to her post as FAZ East Asia correspondent from 1954 to 1964. After she returned to Switzerland again in 1964, she served as Asia advisor to the FAZ.

1945 arrest

Abegg, who had been placed on a list of suspected war criminals by United States Army General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was ...

, was arrested by American troops in September 1945 and imprisoned in Sugamo Prison, following the defeat of Japan and the end of World War II. Accused of making anti-American and anti-British propaganda broadcasts that were supportive of Germany and Japan, she was also accused of writing English language scripts for

Tokyo Rose Tokyo Rose (alternative spelling Tokio Rose) was a name given by Allied troops in the South Pacific during World War II to all female English-speaking radio broadcasters of Japanese propaganda. The programs were broadcast in the South Pacific ...

and was alleged to have published propaganda under the alias, Sybille Abe. Abegg denied those allegations during subsequent interviews with news reporters. She was released from prison on January 24, 1946 due to "insufficient evidence," according to a new release that was issued by MacArthur's headquarters. She subsequently returned home to Switzerland.

Written works (abridged list)

Abegg researched and wrote multiple journal articles and books during her lifetime. An abridged list includes the following: * Abegg, Lily. ''China's Erneuerung. Der Raum als Waffe''. Frankfurt, Germany: Societäts-Verlag, 1940. * Abegg, Lily. ''Yamato; la mission du peuple japonais''. Paris, France: Arthème Fayard, 1942. * Abegg, Lily. ''Neue Herren in Mittelost. Arabische Politik heute''. Stuttgart, Germany: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt Stuttgart, 1954. * Abegg, Lily.
Japan Reconsiders
" in ''Foreign Affairs'', April 1, 1955. * Abegg, Lily. ''Im Neuen China''. Berlin, Germany: Atlantis Verlag, 1957. * Abegg, Lily. ''De L'Empire du Milieu a Mao Tse-Toung''. Lucerne, Switzerland: Rencontre, 1966. * Abegg, Lily. ''Japan's Traum vom Musterland. Der neue Nipponismus''. K. Desch, 1973..

Death

Abegg died on July 13, 1974.

Legacy

With her several books about the society and politics of China and Japan, as well as her articles, Abegg helped to broaden popular knowledge about these countries in the German-speaking world.

References

External links

* Wirz, Claudia.
Lily Abegg (1901 – 1974)
(profile of Abegg, in French). Lausanne, Switzerland: ''Avenir Suisse'', August 13, 2014 (retrieved online July 10, 2023). {{DEFAULTSORT:Abegg, Lily 20th-century Swiss journalists 20th-century Swiss women writers Women war correspondents Imprisoned journalists Writers from Yokohama Swiss expatriates in Japan 1901 births 1974 deaths