Ankara connection
"Guardians of the Sky: The ATS Anti-Aircraft Crews' Silent Vigilance"
During the Second World War, the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) emerged as a beacon of female empowerment and wartime service. With over a hundred different roles available, including serving in anti-aircraft batteries, the ATS played a crucial role in releasing more men for front line duty. Among the 250,000 women who served in the ATS.
. As a proud member, she found herself thrust into the midst of history, standing alongside her fellow sisters in arms. Embracing the call to duty, Eva committed herself wholeheartedly to the war effort.
Her role within the ATS was both vital and innovative. Mastering cutting-edge technology, Eva became proficient in operating the technologie radar, a revolutionary tool used in detecting and tracking German aircraft. With unparalleled diligence and precision, she utilized the radar to spot incoming enemy planes, providing essential intelligence to allied forces and helping safeguard her homeland from aerial threats.
"From Istanbul to Zurich: A Journey of Love and Careers with IBM"
After their time in Turkey, Eva and Otto continued their journey with IBM, moving to London, Paris, and Vienna. In Paris, where IBM Europe's headquarters were located, Otto served as Vice President. They explored each city's culture and cuisine before retiring in Zurich, Switzerland, finding peace and reflecting on their adventures together.
IBM Rebuilds Europe: The Curious Case of the Transnational Typewriter
In a beautiful twist of fate, Eva Thornton and Otto Weideli's paths crossed in Turkey, thanks to Mariane, a brave woman who fled Germany during Hitler's rise. Mariane worked with IBM, where Otto also found solace after leaving Switzerland post-war.
Eva and Otto met through Mariane, bonding over their shared experiences. They married in Ankara and built a life together.
In the decade after the Second World War IBM rebuilt its European operations as integrated, wholly owned subsidiaries of its World Trade Corporation, chartered in 1949. Long before the European common market eliminated trade barriers, IBM created its own internal networks of trade, allocating the production of different components and products between its new subsidiaries. Their exchange relationships were managed centrally to ensure that no European subsidiary was a consistent net importer. At the heart of this system were eight national electric typewriter plants, each assembling parts produced by other European countries. IBM promoted these transnational typewriters as symbols of a new and peaceful Europe and its leader, Thomas J. Watson, Sr., was an enthusiastic supporter of early European moves toward economic integration. We argue that IBM’s humble typewriter and its innovative system of distributed manufacturing laid the groundwork for its later domination of the European computer business and provided a model for the development of transnational European institutions.
