The Gruppe Olten (Olten Group) was a club of left-wing
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
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Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
writers who convened at
Olten's "Bahnhofbuffet" (Swiss expression for a railway station restaurant) located in the canton of
Solothurn in the
Swiss plateau. It was founded in the aforementioned railway station restaurant and existed from 1970 to 2002.
Initially the group comprised just 22 well-established former members of the Swiss writer’s club (
Schweizerischer Schriftstellerverein, or SSV). Prominent writers including
Max Frisch,
Adolf Muschg,
Peter Bichsel,
Otto F. Walter and
Friedrich Dürrenmatt in 1971 left the SSV (which they considered to be unprogressive) and became members of the Gruppe Olten.
One of the reasons that led to the separation was that the SSV president
Maurice Zermatten
Maurice Zermatten (22 October 1910, in Saint-Martin, Valais – 11 February 2001, in Sion) was a French-speaking Swiss writer.
He was born in Saint-Martin, Valais, a small village situated in the Val d'Hérens, in the canton of Valais. He was f ...
had translated into French the official anti-communist
Civil Defense Book, which commanded citizens on the civil protection of the country in order to strengthen the resistance of the people and to secure the independence of Switzerland. The manual was distributed among all Swiss households during the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
.
For the founding members of the group, writing was inseparably associated with political commitment. Their specified goal, to "build a democratic-socialist society" was included in their
"Zweckartikel" ''"written statement of objectives"''). That goal was discarded in 2000, which led to the departure of
Mariella Mehr. The rest of the "Zweckartikel" reads: "
he Olten Group...supports nationwide and international political attempts that involve the fair distribution of goods, democratizing economy and public institutions, saving the world from military and civilian destruction, and the realization of
human rights."
On 12 October 2002 the Olten Group disbanded in
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
, as did the Swiss writer’s club SSV (in the meantime renamed "Schweizerischer Schriftstellerinnen- und Schriftstellerverband"). A new club, named "Authors of Switzerland" (
Autorinnen und Autoren der Schweiz), was established to replace them both.
Sources and notes
External links
„Autorinnen und Autoren der Schweiz“(in 4 languages)
{{Authority control
Political organisations based in Switzerland
Human rights organisations based in Switzerland
Swiss literature
Olten