Hegnauer was born in
Aarau as the son of industrialist Rudolf Hegnauer and Ida Hegnauer. He was employed at a bank in Argentina before starting to become involved in the
peace movement. He came in contact with the peace organisation
Service Civil International. From 1937 until 1939, he participated in the group
Ayuda Suiza, humanitarian aid activities that Service Civil International did during the
Spanish Civil War. In this group, he met his future wife
Idy Hegnauer, who became a close collaborator in peace activism until the end of his life. He died in 1997 in
Zürich. ==References==