Helga Herz

Overview

Helga Herz born Güstrow, Mecklenburg, Germany August 9, 1912 (d. 2010). Second-generation American peace activist with Detroit WILPF and Wayne State University Center for Peace; Librarian, Center for Peace and Conflict Studies. Carried on the work of her mother Alice Herz, the first American to die of self-immolation, protesting Vietnam War, 1965.

Quotations

On her mother's death: “She was trying to give her final witness to her abhorrence for all war.” (Detroit News, March 18, 1965; photo 40 days with peacemakers)

Anna Haag

Overview

Anna Haag (née Schaich) born Althüttte, Württemberg, Germany July 10, 1888 (d. 1982). German pacifist writer and politician. Opposed Nazis in her wartime diary. First woman in postwar state legislature; introduced proposition, “No one may be forced to military service with a weapon,” which later became national law; revived WILPF.

Quotations

“The collective moral deterioration of the German people, their thirst for gulping down false ideals (race, master race, world mission, etc.) with all their appalling consequences prove just how submissive a nation can become whose members have been deprived of thinking for themselves.” (Diary, Jan. 6, 1940, p. 107; photo annahaaghaus.de)

Nadja Halilbegovich

Overview

Nadja Halilbegovich born Sarajevo, Bosnia July 29, 1979. Author and poet; musician; peace activist and lecturer; wounded age 12 Sarajevo.

Quotations

"War taught me that every human being has a dark and bright side. It is our choice to fight the darker side and show our warm and beautiful feelings or to let ourselves be weak and hopeless, bitter and mean." (Michael Collopy, Architects for Peace, 2001; photo Wikipedia)

Olga Havlova

Overview

Olga Havlová (née Šplíchalová) born Prague, Czechoslovakia July 11, 1933 (d. 1996). Co-leader of nonviolent Velvet Revolution with husband Vaclav Havel 1989; co-founded Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Persecuted 1979 (VONS).

Quotations

"I voted for a number of women, because they notice things which are more concrete and pointed, and concern practical life." (Radka Kvačková interview, Sept. 6, 1995; photo Wikipedia)

Hedwig of Silesia

Overview

Hedwig, Duchess of Silesia born 1174 (d. 1243) Peacemaker; could never hear of bloodshed without doing all in her power to prevent it. Forged peace between Henry of Silesia and Conrad of Musovia. (Thurston Attwater, Saints IV: 175; portrait Canterbury Tales blog)

Helga Hernes

Overview

Helga Hernes (née Jahncke) born Deutsch-Krone, West Prussia (now Wałcz, Poland) January 16, 1938. Norwegian diplomat, cabinet member, and expert on women's issues. Two-time State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with Gro Brundtland, 1988-89, 1990-93; Norwegian ambassador to Austria, Slovakia, and Switzerland; advisor at Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), 2005-present. Sponsored international conference on small arms, 1998; co-edited Women and War, 2011.

Quotations

"Since the end of the Cold War, the breakdown of security—through low intensity conflicts, civil wars, internal wars and a variety of transnational organized criminal activities—has cost millions of lives, predominantly among civilians. Violence has severe impacts, especially on women and children, and security problems are even more acute in refugee camps, which are commonly the scene of large-scale rapes, forced prostitution and other abuses. This highlights the need for the international community to put the consequences of armed conflict for civilians at the core of its thinking about disarmament, rather than insisting it stay at the periphery. It also underlines the necessity of promoting women's participation and representation in decision-making positions." (UN Institute for Disarm. Research, Geneva, Nov. 23, 2005; photo tv2.no)

Irmgard Hofer

Overview

Irmgard Höfer born Fürth, Bavaria, Germany June 17, 1953. German peace activist; special education teacher. President, German WILPF. Traveled via Peace Train to Beijing Women’s Conference, 1999. Resigned from Green Party over its assent to Kosovo bombing, 1999. Led peace cycling tour, Stuttgart, 2012; led “music blockade” of Büchel nuclear base, 2013.

Quotations

“[A]ctions of nonviolent resistance seem to me highly legitimate in view of the ready alert status of nuclear weapons for emergency use, what I regard as a crime against humanity. These genocidal weapons, with their huge and arbitrary destruction potential in a few hours could wipe out all life on Earth.” (letter to prosecutor, Oct. 13, 2013; photo wilpf.de)

Zoia Horn

Overview

Zoia Horn (née Polisar) born Odessa, Ukraine March 14, 1918 (d. 2014). American librarian jailed 21 days for refusing to divulge information about Harrisburg Seven antiwar protesters, 1972. Publicly opposed Patriot Act.

Quotations

“Toleration is meaningless without toleration for the detestable.” (Zoia! Memoirs of Zoia Horn, Battler for People's Right to Know, 1995, p. 123; photo 123people.com)

Kada Hotic

Overview

Kada Hotić born Kuka Grad, Bosnia March 11, 1945. Bosnian Muslim. Bosnian war survivor; husband, son, and brothers murdered in Srebrenica massacre, 1995. Co-founded Mothers of Srebrenica, 1995. Set example of forgiveness.

Quotations

“Maybe one day we can close the story of war and move toward genuine reconciliation. Everyone has suffered. When those men killed my son, they killed themselves. I forgive them, and so I live.” (New York Times, May 3, 2012; photo klix.ba)

Danuta Hubner

Overview

Danuta Hübner born Nisko, Poland April 8, 1948. Polish economist; Exec. Director UN European Commission for Econ. 2001, European Commissioner Econ. Policy 2004-9 during great recession; Eur. Parliament 2009; promoted Irish peace.

Quotations

"The continuation of the Union's support to the International Fund for Ireland. . . is a clear manifestation of the deep and on-going commitment of the Union to the peace and reconciliation process in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The approach of the IFI. . . has produced remarkable results in paving the way towards a better and peaceful future for the people in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Together with the PEACE Programme, it has become a successful example to inspire others in promoting reconciliation in troublesome regions all over the world." (Oct. 12, 2006 Europa Press Release; photo danuta-hubner.pl)

Arianna Huffington

Overview

Arianna Huffington (née Stassinopolous) born Athens, Greece July 15, 1950. Author and columnist opposed US intervention in Balkans, Iraq War and expansion of Afghan War.

Quotations

"Just as the Athenian army was lost in the quarries of Sicily, the American army is being lost in the deserts of Iraq." (March 13, 2008)

"[The war in Afghanistan is] the gold standard of a dumb war, immoral and unnecessary." (Dec. 13, 2009; photo Wikipedia)

Sabiha Husic

Overview

Sabiha Husić born Donja Večeriska, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Yugoslavia July 1, 1971. Muslim war refugee; psychotherapist; Director Medica Zenica aiding Balkan War victims, 2007; organized Network for Victims and Witnesses for women survivors of rape and sexual violence, 2011; Joan Kroc WomanPeacemaker, 2013.

Quotations

“I believe that small steps bring significant changes, no matter how small they seem to others.” (Joan Kroc WomenPeacemakers 2013)

“From an early age, my parents taught me and my siblings that the most important thing was to be a good human being and help others. Before the war I had different thinking about all this, but during the war I recognized the importance of those values.” (Maryam Rokhideh interview; photo medicamondiale.org)