Else Züblin-Spiller or Else Zueblin-Spiller (1 November 1881 – 11 April 1948) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

journalist and temperance activist. She organised for soldier's welfare in 700 different locations.

Life

Züblin-Spiller was born in

Seen Seen may refer to: * ''Seen'' (album), by Tom Bailey, 2001 * Seen (artist) (born 1961), American graffiti artist * Seen (Winterthur), a district of Winterthur, Switzerland * Shin (letter) Shin (also spelled Šin (') or Sheen) is the twenty-fi ...

in 1881. Her father was Johann Jakob Spiller. Her family moved to a small house in

Wallisellen Wallisellen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Bülach (district), Bülach in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zürich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (German: ''Glattal''). ...

and she was at first trained in textiles. She moved into journalism in 1904 when she began writing newspaper articles for the Jean Frey Verlag printing press. By 1911 she has rose to be

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the newspaper ''Die Schweizerischen Wochenzeitung''. She is known in starting an organisation, ''Schweizer Verband Soldatenwohl'', in 1914 to provide alcohol free food and drink for soldiers involved in the first world war. The first opened on November 22, 1914, and by the end of the war there was 700 similar establishments. In 1916 she partnered with the Federal Department of Military Affairs and the Swiss Red Cross to create a soldier's welfare service. The following year they started to employ sick soldiers which increased the benefit of their work. She worked with

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

and gave talks about the need for action rather than pity. In 1918 she was involved with creating hospitals that were needed for the flu pandemic that was circulating in western Europe. In 1919 she was invited to America where she met her husband Ernst Züblin and they married in 1920. The organisation for soldiers was transformed into a catering organisation for factories and became very successful.

Death and legacy

Züblin-Spiller died in Kilchberg in 1948. There is a street in Zurich named after her, and a commemorative plaque.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Züblin-Spiller, Else 1881 births 1948 deaths People from Winterthur 20th-century Swiss journalists