The dancer and writer Jo Mihaly knew well that the lives of many emigrants were marked not just by material need. They also experienced a kind of “spiritual privation”. To mitigate this need, in 1942 she and a few of her fellow emigrants formed the Kulturgemeinschaft der Emigranten in Zürich [cultural society of emigrants in Zurich]. The Gemeinschaft der Emigranten organised cultural events. Mihaly was the spiritus rector of the organisation; her position was similar to that of a programme director. At Kulturgemeinschaft events, Jo Mihaly's husband, Leonard Steckel, might recite poems by the writer Bertolt Brecht; other emigrants gave piano recitals. Jo Mihaly read from works that had been murdered by the fascists like Erich Mühsam. At discussion evenings, guests talked about the problems of re-creating society in the homeland. The evenings were especially valuable for the refugees, who had a hard day of work in the camps for civilian and military refugees. “Guest performances” were even held in the camps themselves. At the end of the Second World War, the situation changed for the refugees in Switzerland. They could now leave the country and the camps were closed. Thus the Kulturgemeinschaft was also dissolved.

This is the speech that Jo Mihaly held to bid the organisation farewell. In her talk, she remembers the victims of fascism. She reviews the achievements of the Kulturgemeinschaft, but also expresses her gladness that there is no longer any reason for the organisation to exist.