Milestones

In 20th century Switzerland, women's organisations and women active in the struggle for women’s rights left behind extensive archive material that was not accepted into state archives. In addition, the Federation of Swiss Women's Organisations (BSF, today alliance F) maintained a library and a collection of brochures that was unique in Switzerland. The main women's organisations therefore planned a joint women's archive with a documentation centre and a public library - but there was a lack of funding. 

Marthe Gosteli had been active in the women's movement since 1949. She witnessed how much historical material from women was simply disposed of. On behalf of the BSF, she campaigned for the preservation of these materials and housed them in her private home. In 1982, she set up the Gosteli Foundation to secure the archive for the long term. The BSF library and a collection of biographical notes compiled by Agnes Debrit Vogel and Gertrud Lüthardt were also transferred to the house of Marthe Gosteli. She financed the archive to a large extent from her own resources. 

The collection grew and the archive became increasingly well-known and important. Marthe Gosteli raised awareness in the public to the importance of women's history in Switzerland. The Burgergemeinde Bern awarded her the Outstanding Citizenship Award in 1992, the University of Bern conferred an honorary doctorate on her in 1995 and the International Society for Human Rights presented her with the Human Rights Award in 2011. But uncertainty about the future of the archive remained. Marthe Gosteli's financial resources were becoming exhausted.

When Marthe Gosteli died in 2017, shortly before her 100th birthday, it was unclear how the Foundation could continue. Thanks to the great commitment of employees, the Board of Trustees and sympathisers from academia and politics, the archive finally gained a new status: Since 2021, it is a recognised research infrastructure of national importance and receives subsidiary funding from the federal government and the Canton of Bern. The Burgergemeinde Bern, the local council of Ittigen and a large number of donors also contribute to its funding. The new status has allowed the Gosteli Archive to shift its focus on expanding services and capacities. Because the history of women's movements in Switzerland lives on!