Switzerland has a deep-rooted tradition of hospitality, especially in its Italian-speaking part. During World War II, about 85% of the Jews who sought refuge there found it. In the town of Ascona, many individuals left their mark on these stories of salvation and renewed hope.
Lilly Volkart was born in Zurich in 1897 into a family of 'free thinkers'. Her father was a teacher at the Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Arts and Crafts), and her mother was a florist. Unable to study medicine due to her lack of financial resources, she nonetheless showed a strong inclination for welcoming and supporting the vulnerable. After completing compulsory school, she became the secretary of the first children's hospice in Zurich and, after her father's death, she opened a student pension in his name. In 1921, she began working for a couple of doctors, Max and Minna Tobler-Christinger, as a teacher for their children. It was during a summer stay with these children that she first arrived in Ascona. A few years later, in 1924, she decided to settle in the town and founded a children's colony at Casa Cedro, originally the residence of Mia Hesse-Bernoulli, the first wife of Hermann Hesse. In 1931, she acquired Casa Bianca, which became her Kinderheim, initially intended for stays of two or three months for children, especially those coming from France. In 1942, the federal government asked her to accommodate in her facility about a hundred Jewish children fleeing the Nazis. Lilly accepted without hesitation, also because she had the support of the local population and that of Baron von der Heydt, who provided her with a house on Monte Verità , which he owned.
During the conflict, she hosted more than 120 children from all over Europe, many of whom were of Jewish origin. Despite her innate maternal instinct, pedagogical skills and rare sensitivity, she never had children of her own.
She passed away in Ascona in 1988, and, for her funeral, dozens of men and women from different parts of the world returned to pay tribute to her. She is buried in this cemetery, and her tombstone bears children holding hands with the inscription "Ciao Lilly e grazie" (Goodbye Lilly and thank you).