Please enjoy this article written by a student in DMHS's "Introduction to Journalism" class!
Answer this question, what do Malala Yousafzai, Barack Obama, Mahatma Gandhi, and Adolf Hitler have in common? You’re probably racking your brain for an answer, but have found none. The answer is this, they have all been nominated for at least one Nobel Peace Prize.
Surprised?
It was the year 1939, six years before Adolf Hitlers’ death and six years after he came to power, when he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Why was he nominated?
If you’re nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize then it is assumed that you have done something for the greater good of humanity. Mahatma Gandhi was the leader of an Indian non-violence program. Malala Yousafzai stood up for what she believed in: women’s rights to have an education. Sure, anyone can be nominated, but why would the man who had just invaded Poland and started World War II be nominated for doing something for the greater good?
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| Adolph Hitler and Nazi supporters |
You might be wondering what exactly he did; he started World War II, he forced all European Jews to Concentration Camps, or he killed them in gas chambers, and the final result was about 6,000,000 deaths of Jews. There were also more that were forced to death during Hitlers’ time of power.
Who nominated him. Erik Gottfrid Christian Brandt, a Swedish Politician was the person who nominated Hitler.
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| Brandt on left, Hitler on right |
When the nomination was first put out there were several protests from the people of Germany and Europe. Brandt was not allowed to give any lectures for a long time, this was a big deal back then because lectures and speeches were most of your job as a politician.
The nomination from Brandt calls the führer, “a God-given fighter for peace,” and “the Prince of Peace on earth.” He later said that Mein Kampf (an autobiography by Hitler), “is the best and most popular piece of literature.” He also expressed later with complete confidence that Hitler could, “pacify Europe, and possibly the whole world.”
Right now you are probably taken aback, aghast.
I don’t blame you.
But, there is more to the story.
Brandt later says that the letter was complete irony, or in other words a joke. He was trying to protest against the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, for agreeing to give part of Czechoslovakia to the Nazis as a sign of peace since the British would have been overpowered by the Nazis.
Hitler did not take this well; he was very angry. Even if he had won he would not accept it. He couldn't, because he banned all Germans from accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in 1935.
Later, the Nobel Laureates decided there would not be a winner for the year 1939.
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| The Nobel Prize |
i had no idea
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