Walter Angst's Biography

Walter Angst was born in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1919, the son of a waitress and of a stonemason who was active in the union movement. Much of his childhood was spent in children's homes and hospitals, as he was sickly.

As a teenager Angst worked on farms tending the animals. Originally hoping to be an artist, he was apprenticed to two cabinet makers and then a furrier. He became active in a local Socialist youth group, and at seventeen ran away to join the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War. He was apprehended, brought before the Juvenile Board, and placed in a home for delinquent youths which was administered by the State of Zurich; here he was once again apprenticed to a cabinet maker. He succeeded in obtaining his release from the detention home after one year, and returned to Zurich to an apprenticeship with master cabinetmaker Willi Klink. He became acquainted with writer and political activist Mira Munkh.

He was drafted into the Swiss Army in 1939, but appendicitis and acute pleurisy forced his discharge and another stay in a sanitarium. After his release in 1941 he returned to Zurich and worked at a series of menial jobs, including dishwashing, ushering in a movie theater, and general secretarial work. In 1943 he obtained a job with the Zurich branch of the "Therma" company, and worked in various positions for eight years.

In 1945 he married Inge Forchheimer, a Swiss from Mannheim, Germany. The couple had two children, Silvia and Gabriela. Angst became active in his union and frequently spoke at meetings and political rallies.

In 1951 Angst emigrated to the United States with his wife and daughters. Upon arrival in New York, they were detained on Ellis Island, apparently because of a mix-up in regard to Angst's medical records, and the family was separated. There Angst made contact with a wide variety of immigrants and refugees.

The family was detained for a week; they were released with the help of Inge's sister Marga, already a resident of Washington, D.C. The Angst family stayed in Washington. Angst's limited English precluded employment in an office, so he worked at a series of carpenter and woodworking jobs. Angst joined the Brotherhood of Joiners and Carpenters, whose practices he criticized sharply. He settled into a job as a cabinet maker for an antique dealer, where he worked for fifteen years fabricating antiques and small new pieces of furniture.

In 1959 Angst became a citizen, having taken eight years to decide to renounce his Swiss citizenship.

In 1968 Angst obtained a job at the Smithsonian as a specialist in restoration work. Here he worked at various aspects of object conservation at the Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History) and the National Collection of the Fine Arts (now the National Museum of American Art). Angst is retired.