Lina Zingg was an all-purpose maid, cleaner, cook and nanny – for 50 years and against her will. This is a story of slavery in the midst of middle class society. “On January 26, 2011, Lina Zingg was freed from bondage. For 53 years, she had served one sole mistress. As a maid in a private household. With no days off, no holidays, no wages. She was abused and mistreated. Her martyrdom for all those years was officially sanctioned as a legal guardianship.” These are the opening sentences of the book “Under Legal Guardianship: the Stolen Life of Lina Zingg” written by the journalist Lisbeth Herger. It is a demanding, harrowing book because the story of Zingg isn’t fictional, it’s real. And because this all took place right in our midst – first in the Rhine Valley and then in Zurich – and no one intervened. Because no one noticed or wanted to notice. Because the mistress of the household was so forceful, so eloquent, so persuasive. In contrast, Zingg (not her real name) w