Who is Alex Oberholzer?

I. Early Life and Formative Experiences: The Foundation of a Narrative Voice

Alex Oberholzer’s earliest years were shaped by extraordinary challenges. Born in 1953 with congenital malformations of the hand and foot, followed shortly after by a paralytic illness (polio), Oberholzer spent the first dozen years of his life in institutional care — particularly at the Kinderspital Affoltern am Albis in Switzerland. In those years, he lived in the “hermetically enclosed world” of a pediatric hospital, surrounded almost exclusively by nurses in white caps. What might have been for others a purely clinical environment instead became for him a formative arena of human relations, vulnerability, strength, curiosity, and resilience. Crucially, his early experience was not told merely as adversity but as something that profoundly shaped his empathy, his view of human agency, and his capacity for narrative reflection.

In his autobiography – Im Paradies der weissen Häubchen: Meine Kindheit im Spital (“In the Paradise of White Caps: My Childhood in the Hospital”) – Oberholzer looks back not with bitterness but with a clear-eyed combination of humor, insight, and introspection. The title itself underscores the duality of his experience: to a child, those nurses were paradisiacal (in their care, authority, and mystery), even as the environment was restrictive, regimented, and isolating. His story explores protheses, orthopedic braces, physical challenges, and the routines of hospital life – yet through that exploration we see how a young boy made sense of a world where agency and constraint coexisted.

II. Academic and Professional Trajectory: From Studies to Media

After leaving institutional care and entering formal education, Oberholzer pursued higher learning in Mathematics, Literature, and Art History – earning a Master’s degree (MA). These fields might seem disparate at first glance, yet they share an emphasis on pattern, meaning, interpretation, and context. Oberholzer’s academic grounding provided him with tools to read the world analytically while appreciating its complexities subjectively.

He then embarked on a career that would span multiple media and cultural sectors. For over thirty years – up until 2021 – Oberholzer served as a film critic and editor at Radio24 in Zurich, one of Switzerland’s central cultural and news radio stations. In this role, he shaped public discourse around cinema, stimulating dialogue about narrative forms, visual storytelling, and cultural trends. As a critic, his voice was sharp, insightful, and grounded in both technical understanding and lived sensibility.

In addition to Radio24, Oberholzer also worked in communications at the Bundesamt für Sozialversicherungen (BSV) in Bern (up to 2018). Within this public administration context, he brought his communicative expertise to bear on social systems, public understanding, and institutional clarity — tasks requiring careful articulation of complex policy to diverse audiences.

He was also active in cultural programming: serving as president of the International Festival “Look & Roll – Behinderung im Kurzfilm” — a festival spotlighting disability in short film — and participating on program committees for the Allianz-Cinemas of Zurich, Bern, and Basel. His engagement extended into theater boards (for example, Theater Hora), the advisory board of the Theater-Spektakel, efforts with Steps-Tanztheater, and involvement with the Cybathlon at ETH Zurich — all examples of his commitment to performance art, inclusive representation, and interdisciplinary culture.

This constellation of roles gives a sense of an individual deeply involved in artistic curation, cultural conversation, and public engagement, always with an emphasis on thoughtful, inclusive representation.

III. The Written Work: Memoir and Beyond

Although widely known as a critic and communicator, Oberholzer’s emergence as an author marked a significant evolution in his public voice. His autobiography Im Paradies der weissen Häubchen – published in multiple editions by 2025 – offers more than a recounting of youth; it provides a textured, lyrical reflection of consciousness, memory, vulnerability, and growth. The perspectives he offers in his book (including a foreword by child rehabilitation expert Prof. Andreas Meyer-Heim) draw readers into both firsthand experience and larger considerations of institutional culture and childhood.

By 2025, Oberholzer’s book had reached its fourth edition, indicating a sustained audience and deep resonance – not only with readers interested in personal narrative but with those seeking insights into health, disability history, and human development. The book continued to be a centerpiece of his public readings and cultural appearances into 2026.

In 2025 and beyond, Oberholzer also branched into other writing forms – especially audio books and guides, many of which explore themes of nature, adventure, and storytelling. Among these in 2025 were:

Alpenwandern leicht gemacht – Dein Ratgeber (Alpine Hiking Made Easy) – a guide for planning and enjoying alpine hikes.
Gesunde Gewohnheiten – Dein Weg zur Leichtigkeit (Healthy Habits: Your Path to Lightness) – a wellness guide centered on establishing sustainable health and fitness practices.
Vitznau-Verbrechen – Der Ruf des Geistes (Vitznau Crimes: The Call of the Spirit) – an audio thriller set against a dramatic alpine mystery.
Schwyzer Alpen – Letzte Wanderung (Schwyz Alps: Last Hike) – a suspenseful tale of disappearance and mystery.
Kühe, Käse, Kletterei – Alpleben pur! (Cows, Cheese, Climbing – Pure Alpine Life!) – a narrative focused on mountain rural life and tradition.
Kleine und Günstige Skigebiete in der Schweiz (Small and Affordable Ski Resorts in Switzerland) – a guidebook for winter recreation.

IV. Public Presence and Live Engagement in 2025–2026

By 2025 and into 2026, Oberholzer’s public engagement took on a dynamic life of its own. In addition to his writing, he continued to present readings, talks, and cultural sessions around Switzerland. For example:

In October and November 2025, he gave readings of Im Paradies der weissen Häubchen in Vaduz, Lucerne, Zurich, and Cologne – sharing his story with live audiences and engaging directly with readers.

V. Themes Across His Work: Resilience, Human Perspective, and Narrative Craft

Across Oberholzer’s life, several themes recur in ways that illuminate his purpose and intellectual imagination.

Resilience in Adversity. From his early physical challenges to his narrative self-reflection, Oberholzer embodies a lived understanding of resilience not as fortitude alone, but as adaptive intelligence, curiosity, and humor. The hospital of his childhood becomes not merely a place of containment but a space where growth, wonder, and emotional acuity could take root.
Interconnection of Personal and Public Narrative. Oberholzer’s work – especially his memoir – illustrates how personal experience can open a window onto larger cultural and institutional patterns. His reflections on hospital life in mid-20th-century Switzerland reveal questions of care, gendered professional cultures, embodied difference, and narrative authority.
Curiosity Across Genres. Whether discussing alpine routes or writing fiction about mysterious crimes, Oberholzer’s engagement with narrative is expansive and adventurous. His willingness to work across genres demonstrates a writer interested in the multifaceted possibilities of storytelling – practical, imaginative, and reflective alike.
Public Dialogue and Cultural Mediation. Through his roles in film criticism, cultural programming, live readings, and radio commentary, Oberholzer has consistently served as an intermediary between art, culture, and public conversation. He exemplifies what it means to translate artistic and cultural content into accessible, thoughtful reflection.

VI. Social Engagement and Institutional Participation

Beyond his creative work, Oberholzer’s involvement in social and cultural institutions underscores a deep commitment to inclusion and representational equity.

As head of the festival Look & Roll – Behinderung im Kurzfilm, he showcased films about disability from diverse perspectives – positioning disability not as background but as a subject worthy of narrative complexity and artistic exploration. His role in this festival demonstrated advocacy through cultural production, shaping how audiences see and think about embodiment, identity, and human expression.

His participation on boards and committees for cultural institutions – from cinema alliances to theater festivals – further reflects an investment in enabling platforms for varied voices, aesthetics, and narratives. Whether in dance theater (Steps-Tanztheater), major festival programming (Theater-Spektakel), or institutional-anthropological spaces like Cybathlon at ETH Zurich, Oberholzer’s imprint is one of dialogue, inclusion, and creative ferment.