In 1945, she helped to found the Unitarian Service Committee of Canada (now called SeedChange), an international development organization consisting of a small group of aid workers sending supplies to war-torn Europe for relief and reconstruction.

Attired in an army nurse's uniform and military-style hat, she traveled yearly to strife-torn and poverty-stricken parts of the world searching out towns and villages in need of Canadian assistance to recover from drought, war, disease and poverty.

In 1929 she enrolled in the school of Philosophy at the University of Prague where she excelled at languages earning diplomas in Czech, German, English, French, and Spanish.

[1] In Belgium, Dr. Hitschmanova worked as a journalist, but when the Germans invaded that country she escaped to France, eventually ending up in Marseille, where she was able to obtain employment with an immigration service that assisted refugees.

[1] After regaining consciousness, Hitschmanova made her way to a medical clinic run by the Boston-based Unitarian Service Committee.

She became even more familiar with it in January 1942 when she was appointed liaison officer with the Czechoslovak relief agency, Centre d'Aide Tchécoslovaque, but not until 1945 would the USC become her life's major work and mission.

In 1942, Lotta was able to escape from Europe by sailing from Lisbon to New York on a refugee-packed twin-screw steamer designed to carry bananas rather than passengers.

After delivering a USC report to Boston, she quickly departed for Canada, which, unlike the United States, had granted her a visa.

She joined the Czechoslovakian National Alliance and helped raise money for Czech War Services in London, England.

[3] After the war ended, Hitschmanova was offered several jobs including one involving the rehabilitation of children in Czechoslovakia.

Senator Cairine Wilson was made honorary chairman, but Hitschmanova, who filled the position of executive director, was the driving force behind the organization.

[3] In the spring of 1946, she set off on a three-month tour of western Canada to tell audiences about the hunger and destitution in other countries, to furnish particulars about how Canadian contributions in previous years had been employed, and to appeal for funds and clothing.

This home-made creation of Hitschmanova's was modeled on the outfit worn by American army nurses – olive-green for winter and khaki for summer.

[12] Dr. Lotta, as she was known, became a symbol of personal dedication, and made the Unitarian Service Committee at its well-publicised address of 56 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario, a household name through her numerous radio and television ads.

"[13] The organization does this by focusing on activities that build food and livelihood security for small-scale farmers and preserve the agricultural biodiversity necessary to feeding a growing and changing planet.

The variety called ACLotta contains a day-length insensitive gene which allows the plant to flower in countries with shorter days.

[14] In 2002, USC Canada created the Lotta Hitschmanova Endowment Fund, which will collect money from bequests and donated securities.

The RCMP, who during the Cold War had targeted various people and organizations, believed that Hitschmanova, as a Czech refugee, may have been sympathetic to Communism.