Dear Sigrid:
 
This may seem odd, but I don't think it was that unusual.  I have in the past
few years been entertained in homes in CITIES in France, where they ahve a
bathroom - bath, sink and bidet - in the house proper, but no toilet.
 
To go "a terre" - literally, "to the earth" - one exits the house to an
exterior, enclosed but not heated passageway which is a few feet long, leading
to a lean-to on the rear side of the house.  In that was a properly tiled
toilet enclosure complete with modern porcelain commode, but with only earth
beneath. This is cleaned out periodically by the night soil people who come
around in a truck, open a trap door in the side of the privy lean-to and suck
up the stuff into a holding tank, in much the same fashion as portable
construction site toilets are cleared.
 
I think lots of people minded going "out back" all along, and where earth
toilets are still used, they can be quite modern and set up to allow for as
little outdoor walking as possible.
 
Hope this is useful,
Karolyn Smardz