Her parents were Bertha (née Levy, 1862–1945 in Theresienstadt), a French and English teacher, and Menashe Schweitzer (1856–1929), who taught several subjects at a Jewish primary school.

[1] Already as a child Recha Schweitzer was confronted with antisemitism: a notice in Norden's city park stated that "Dogs and Jews are forbidden.

"[1] In 1897 her family moved to Silesia, where she received home-schooling for a while before attending the lycée in Glogau, where she was mocked by her classmates because she wouldn't write on the Sabbath.

During this time, in addition to her family obligations, Recha Freier worked as a teacher at a German high school in Sofia, and as a writer and folklorist.

[1] Recha Freier contacted the labor movement in Palestine, as well as Henrietta Szold, the founder of Hadassah, who had at her disposal the support, financial and otherwise, of American Jewry.

[1] Szold initially opposed the plan, finding it unfeasible,[1] but eventually accepted the role offered to her by Freier and thus become the director of Youth Aliyah's Jerusalem office.

In 1938, Recha Freier worked alongside people such as Aaron Menschel, director of the Vienna Youth Aliyah office, in an endeavor to save Austrian Jews.

For this purpose she managed to engage the help of notable composers, both Jewish and non-Jewish, such as Ben-Zion Orgad, Mauricio Kagel, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Iannis Xenakis, Lukas Foss and others.

These included Mark Kopytman (Chamber Scenes from the Life of Süsskind von Trimberg, written for the "Testimonium" series, 1982), Josef Tal (Amnon and Tamar, 1958, based on the Book of Samuel), and Yitzchak Sadai (Trail 19, 1982).

[3] Recha Freier, through her activities in the Youth Aliyah, saved over 7,000 young Jews who immigrated to Palestine and were absorbed into the Yishuv.