"Inform me, convince me, and then I will do something for the movement." are the fateful words expressed by 19th century industrialist, Alfred Nobel, to his longtime acquaintance, Bertha von Suttner, an Austrian peace activist who became the inspiration for the Nobel Peace Prize. In drawing up his legendary will in 1895, Nobel expressed his personal admiration for her visionary work with the arbitration movement that was popular in Europe at the turn of the century. Alfred Nobel died on December 10, 1896. Since 1901, the prestigious Nobel Prizes have been awarded on December 10 which is the anniversary of his death. And although the archetype for the Peace Prize, Bertha von Suttner would wait to be recognized by the Nobel Committee until 1905 when she became the first woman to be nominated for the award.

Few people have an accurate remembrance of Alfred Nobel. As the inventor of dynamite, he forever changed both the industrial as well as military landscape. Ironically, Alfred Nobel was a committed pacifist who believed that his invention would discourage the use of technological developments within warfare. He stated, "I wish I could produce a substance or a machine of such frightful efficacy for wholesale devastation that it would make wars impossible." Because of his friendship with Bertha von Suttner, however, he was eventually convinced of the merits of mediation in resolving international disputes.

Today virtually no one recognizes the name Bertha von Suttner. Within her lifetime, however, she acquired international acclaim by writing the novel, DIE WAFFEN NIEDER (LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS) which was published in 1889 and soon became a bestseller in twelve languages! In 1913, a silent film was made from this historic book. Bertha von Suttner became a famous voice for the cause of peace, promoting the concept of World Peace Congress. By the invitation of President Theodore Roosevelt, she visited the United States to share her visionary ideas with the American people. Bertha von Suttner died one week before the outbreak of World War I in June, 1914. Overnight, her legacy to the world community was held suspect by the increased national hysteria fanning through Europe. The great figure of the modern peace movement was tragically overlooked and vanished into obscurity.

A great peacemaker of the 19th century, Bertha von Suttner deserves to be remembered in the year 2001 which is the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize.