How an Aargau woman fell into the Nazis' sights

Lili Glarner’s life was marked by defiance, political conviction, and survival against the odds. Born into a respected Swiss family, she embraced communism in the 1930s, a choice that led to her arrest by the Gestapo and a harrowing 15 months in Nazi custody. Decades later, her extraordinary story became the subject of a stage production, Out of Time, bringing her hidden past to light.

Glarner grew up in Wildegg, canton Aargau, the daughter of a prominent doctor. But at 25, she stunned her family by announcing plans to marry her Dutch boyfriend and move to the Soviet Union. The couple never reached their destination. Stranded in Berlin while awaiting visas, they joined a communist resistance group and were arrested by the Gestapo in 1933.

She endured 15 months in detention, including a year in solitary confinement. Her Swiss citizenship and her father’s relentless efforts likely secured her release in 1934. After returning to Switzerland, she married Helmut Zschockke in 1938, and together they raised six children—five daughters and a son. Her political past remained a secret for years. Only after her husband’s death in 1978 did their children learn of her imprisonment. Both Glarner and Zschockke stayed politically active, a stance that labelled them as dangerous during the Cold War. She died of cancer in 1965 at 56, her full story still untold. Decades later, former Bühne Aarau director Peter-Jakob Kelting began work on *Out of Time*, a play about Glarner’s life. When Kelting stepped down, Stephan Kimmig took over, bringing the production to the stage.

Glarner’s life—from her defiant youth to her survival under Nazi oppression—remained largely unknown until the play Out of Time revived her story. Her children discovered the truth only after their father’s death, decades after her release. The production now ensures her experiences, once buried, are remembered as part of Switzerland’s political and social history.