The Woman Behind the Nobel Peace Prize: Bertha von Suttner and Alfred Nobel

Anne Synnøve Simensen will give a talk about the woman who inspired Alfred Nobel to establish his peace prize.  The lecture is based on Simensen’s recent book, whicih tells the story of the secretary-turned-peace-activist who later became the first woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.  Bertha genuinely believed that the world was at the brink of ridding itself of war forever. Europe was in an age of great change, aristocracy was in decline, and industrialization and the growing social movements shook the established order. In these times Bertha found her voice as an author and became Europe’s most ardent advocate of peace. Her passionate and patient determination influenced many people, such as the inventor of dynamite to support her cause and some of her ideas live on today.