A significant proportion of cancer patients is treated using MeV electron radiation. One of the measurement methods which is likely to furnish reliable dose values also under non-reference conditions is the dosimetry using alanine and read-out via electron spin resonance (ESR). The system has already proven to be suitable for QA purposes for modern radiotherapy involving megavoltage x-rays. In order to render the secondary standard measurement system of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt based on alanine/ESR useable for dosimetry in radiotherapy, the dose-to-water (D(W)) response of the dosemeter needs to be known for relevant radiation qualities. For MeV electrons, the D(W) response was determined using the Fricke primary standard of the Swiss Federal Office of Metrology. Since there were no citable detailed publications on the Swiss primary standard available, this measurement system is described in some detail. The experimental results for the D(W) response are compared to results of Monte Carlo simulations which model in detail the beams furnished by the electron accelerator as well as the geometry of the detectors. The agreement between experiment and simulation is very good, as well as the agreement with results published by the National Research Council of Canada which are based on a different primary standard. No significant dependence of the D(W) response was found in the range between 6 and 20 MeV. It is therefore suggested to use a unique correction factor k(E) for alanine for all MeV qualities of k(E) = 1.012 ± 0.010.