In the 1920s, Ettinger was very successful as a composer, his literary operas were performed in Nuremberg, Hamburg, Munich, Kiel and Leipzig. He also worked again as a conductor in Leipzig (1920–1929) and Berlin (1929–1933). In 1933, he emigrated to Switzerland with Austrian nationality because of his birth in Lemberg and settled in Ascona, where he already owned a house. With the Anschluss, he became a German citizen, but his German citizenship was revoked when Jewish emigrants were deported. He lost his house through a bank bankruptcy and received support from the Swiss Israelite poor relief organisation. Ettinger created orchestral works and chamber music, as well as music for cultural films. Ettinger died in Basel in July 1951 at the age of 76 and was buried in Zurich. His wife died a few days after his death.