Anny Peter (1882–1958)

For nearly 30 years, Anny Peter (1882–1958) shaped the Christ Catholic Church of Switzerland as the president of the Association of Christ Catholic Women's Societies. The religious socialist from the circle of Clara and Leonhard Ragaz fought as a teacher for better educational opportunities and prospects for the children of Bally factory workers as well as for girls and women in Solothurn. She emphasized, decades before the introduction of women's suffrage, the duties and potentials of women, particularly mothers, in building a new, peaceful, and just society.

Aline Berger places Peter's life and work in a larger historical context. She illustrates how the efforts of the bourgeois women's movement from before 1968 continue to resonate today and shape Swiss family policy—sometimes counterproductively for current demands. This very tension makes the biography of Anny Peter and her lectures an inspiring and refreshing read.