Swiss humanitarian aid during the Spanish Civil War: The journey of Anna Siemsen and Regina Kägi-Fuchsmann

Abstract

Anna Siemsen’s and Regina Kägi-Fuchsmann’s journey to Spain in May 1937 resulted in two accounts regarding their experiences and views of Swiss humanitarian aid in the Civil War. The comparison between these two narratives makes it possible to study the role and the expression of fear, sadness and indignation at the bombing and the forced displacement of the civil population during the war. They are shared emotions yet expressed by each one in different ways depending on the function of their ideas and their perceptions. The empathy with the displaced people, especially with the children evacuated from Madrid to Valencia and Catalonia, is the main motivation of the participants in the Swiss humanitarian aid to Republican Spain, which raises some moral dilemmas. This empathy is furthermore characterized by a strong sympathy for the civil, social and democratic values represented by the Spanish Republic. Anna Siemsen’s and Regina Kägi-Fuchsmann’s religious and ideological beliefs, however, establish the limits of their empathy.