The life of Lotte Schwarz, née Benett, and her writings represent much more than her three geographical coordinates - Hamburg, Zurich, Brüttisellen - might suggest. Born in 1910, her biography reflects this "short century" of extremes, which for her meant the experience of two world wars, Nazi dictatorship, persecution, and exile in Switzerland, followed by a new beginning marked by economic recovery, the Cold War, and significant social upheavals. Lotte Schwarz was actively involved and expressed herself in various ways. Until she was twenty-four, Lotte Schwarz lived in Hamburg. Her professional journey took her from being a distributor of contraceptives to a maid, and then to a librarian, while her political path led her from temperance movements to the women's rights activists of the Weimar Republic and to the Communist Youth.