Idy Hegnauer (12 September 1909 – 19 November 2006) was a Swiss nurse and peace activist, who worked for

Service Civil International Service Civil International (SCI) is an international peace organisation, founded by Swiss pacifist Pierre Cérésole in the aftermath of World War I to foster understanding and a culture of peace between people from different countries. Since ...

Personal life

Hegnauer was born in

Obfelden Obfelden (Swiss German: ''Obfälde'') is a municipality in the district of Affoltern in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History Politically, Obfelden is the youngest municipality in Affoltern, though settlements in the area date back to t ...

, Switzerland. She was the daughter of Jakob Häberling, who worked as a carpenter, and Marie. Hegnauer was a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

. She died in 2006 in

Affoltern am Albis Affoltern am Albis (abbreviated as ''Affoltern a.A.''; Swiss German: ''Affoltere'') is a town and a municipality in the district of Affoltern in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History Affoltern is first mentioned in 1190 as ''Afiltre ...

, Switzerland.

Career

During the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, Hegnauer enlisted in the

(SCI), and worked in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. In Spain, she met her future husband, Ralph Hegnauer, who was also involved in SCI. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Hegnauer worked with the

American Friends Service Committee The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Religious Society of Friends ('' Quaker)-founded'' organization working for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world. AFSC was founded in 1917 as a combined effort by ...

during the

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about Territory, land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation ...

. She helped villagers in

Tur'an Tur'an (, ) is an Arab local council in the Northern District of Israel. It is located at the foot of Mount Tur'an and the Tur'an Valley, near the main road from Haifa to Tiberias, and about north of Nazareth. In it had a population of , mo ...

, Israel, providing them with medical assistance. In 1960, she did a presentation on Algerian refugees in Tunisia, whilst working in the country during the

Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

. Hegnauer helped to raise 900,000 Fr. for the SCI. After the Second World War, Hegnauer also worked in Greece, India, Austria and Yugoslavia. From 1980–1984, she worked at a children's hospital in

, Switzerland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hegnauer, Idy 1909 births 2006 deaths Swiss nurses Swiss pacifists People from Zürich District Swiss Quakers

Personal life

Career

See also

References