When Switzerland went on strike

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Poor children queue up for hot soup at the Kern-Schulhaus in Zurich-Aussersihl in 1917 Foto: Gallas, Zürich / Gretler’s Panoptikum zur Sozialgeschichte

Deployment of an infantry battalion in the middle of Zurich. This photo came from the troop journal and is captioned "Contingent against the Bolsheviks, in Zurich in November 1918". The troops were armed with hand grenades and machine guns and had received the order to fire from senior military officials. (Gretlers Panoptikum on Social History) Gretlers Panoptikum zur Sozialgeschichte

Towards the end of the First World War, 700,000 people in Switzerland depended on public support such as soup kitchens and reduced food taxes. This photo shows the Three Roses food hall in Basel in 1917 Photo: Carl Kling-Jenny (Basel State Archives, BILD 13, 606). Staatsarchiv Basel

In Swiss cities, the army deployed troops from rural cantons because they had no relatives among the strikers. This photograph was taken during the general strike in Bern's Waisenhausplatz. The original image is a 13x18 cm glass plate negative. (Swiss Federal Archives) (Schweizerisches Bundesarchiv)

On November 12, 1918, strikers stopped two trains in Biel. These kinds of blockades were highly symbolic. (Gretlers Panoptikum on Social History) Gretler’s Panoptikum zur Sozialgeschichte

Cavalry and workers wearing their Sunday best stand opposite each other on Zurich's Paradeplatz on November 9, 1918. Strike leaders called for discipline and banned alcohol from the rallies. Photo: W. Gallas (State Archives Zurich) W. Gallas (Staatsarchiv Zürich)

There were not always confrontations between the army and civilians. When troops from canton Fribourg started their service in Bern by singing in the streets, many civilians joined in and sang along. (Swiss Federal Archives) Archives nationales

Women prepare daily bread : "Mme J. Medwed's aid organisation, Geneva 1916" is written on the back of this photo postcard. (Gretler's Panopticon on Social History) Gretler's Panoptikum zur Sozialgeschichte

During the national strike in Bern, soldiers guard the loading of postal parcels and letters onto the railways. (Swiss Federal Archives) Schweizerisches Bundesarchiv

Distribution of food by the state food welfare service on Basel's market square, 1917. Photo: Bernhard Wolf-Grumbach. (Basel-Stadt State Archives, NEG 23151) Staatsarchiv Basel-Stadt

A procession of strikers in Grenchen, canton Solothurn, where three young watchmakers were shot by the army on November 14, 1918 after the strike was broken up. (Grenchen City Archives). Stadtarchiv Grenchen

On April 10, 1919, the military justice sentenced three strike leaders in Bern to six months in prison for mutiny. Photo: Photography Keller, Bern. (Swiss Federal Archives) sysadmin

A couple at Oberer Friesenberg cafe restaurant near Zurich in 1920. Initially, workers did not have much free time. The important demands of the 1918 strikers, such as the proportional representation system and reductions in working hours, were implemented over time. However, it took 53 years before women's voting rights were introduced. (Gretlers Panoptikum on Social History) Gretler's Panoptikum zur Sozialgeschichte

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With war raging in neighbouring countries, and Spanish flu, revolutions and poverty - it is hard to imagine what life was like in Switzerland during the 1918 General Strike. This gallery provides a photographic snapshot of the period. 

At first glance a photograph might seem like definite proof of a factual event or time. But photography is always subject to cultural influences, prior information and expectations. 

Historical photographs are particularly challenging. Dates, names and information can be missing and hard to track down. For this 1918 General strike gallery, we gathered information from different archives and experts. 

If you look at the first picture, for example, we see fourteen children, most of whom are carrying buckets. They are wearing dark stockings, so it could be cold. The buildings and wall made of large stone blocks on the right suggest an urban environment. And the mischievous smiling boy in the middle sets a cheerful tone. 

Commentary by Zurich photographer and social researcher Roland Gretler (1937-2018), who created a photo archive on the labour movement (Gretler’s Panopticon on Social History), provides us with information about the children’s lives. In a special edition of the Swiss “Wochenzeitung” of 5 November 1998, Gretler writes that he received the 1917 photograph in an envelope with the inscription “Tante Emilie” (Aunt Emilie). 

But he was unable to find out much about Aunt Emilie, apart from that as a committed socialist she distributed soup to the poor children in Zurich. Gretler points out that soldiers were paid CHF0.80 a day at the time, without being compensated for loss of wages. 

It’s now clear why such a photo appears in information about the general strike. While industrialists made huge profits selling ammunition to the warring parties, at the end of the First World War 700,000 people in Switzerland were dependent on public support like cheaper food taxes.