Greta Stendahl

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Overview

Greta Stendahl born Karlsborg, Sweden March 11, 1883 (d. 1968). Quaker pacifist, peace activist, and suffragist. Swedish pioneer of peace education. WILPF leader. President, Swedish schools Peace Association; leader of Nordic teachers' peace covenant. Co-founded first peace education society, whose purpose was "to promote the creation of the ethical and social spirit which must form the necessary basis for the relationship between peoples," 1916. Aided refugees during World War II. (1934 photo Bla Boken Nykterhetsfolkets Kalender)

Carola Stern

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Overview

Carola Stern (née Erika Assmus) born Ahlbeck, Usedom, Pomerania, Germany November 14, 1923 (d. 2006). German human rights leader; co-founder and first chair German Amnesty International 1961; Carl von Ossietzky Medal 1972; American spy in E. Germany until flight to west 1951; co-founded journal L ’76 for Czech dissidents.

Quotations

“I always say: the smartest thing I did in my life was to found Amnesty International.” (Wikipedia; photo ksts.de)

Monika Stocker

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Overview

Monika Stocker born Aarau, Switzerland July 1, 1948. Swiss politician, peace advocate; Green party member Swiss National Council 1987-91; co-sponsor 1000 Women for Nobel Prize 2005; co-president PeaceWomen Across the Globe; president feminist Swiss Christian Peace Service (cfd) 2010.

Quotations

“Knowing that there is a network of female energy, against the insanity of war and violence, is vital for me and for many others.” (10 Years PeaceWomen Across the Globe; photo neuewege.ch)

Ceija Stojka

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Overview

Ceija Stojka born Kraubath, Austria March 23, 1933. Romani musician, painter, and author. Auschwitz survivor; writes on human rights and survival in concentration camps.

Quotations

“If the world does not change now, if the world does not open its doors and windows, if it does not build peace—true peace—so that my great-grandchildren have a chance to live in this world, then I cannot explain why I survived Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, and Ravensbruck.” (quote and photo Romanielders.org)

Sophia Sturge

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Overview

Sophia Sturge born Edgbaston, Birmingham, England January 5, 1849 (d. 1936). British peace campaigner; Quaker absolute pacifist; pioneer in women’s international peacemaking; supported Indian independence; promoted arbitration and world peace; worked with Neutrality League to stop World War I; helped enemy aliens in war; postwar relief for German children; niece and namesake of pioneer woman abolitionist.

Quotations

“It has been a great hope, and a pleasure, to have been brought into contact with so many women from different nations and I do hope we shall all be better friends in the future, and that we may be able to do something, by knowing each other better, to prevent war between the nations of Europe ever being possible again.” (to Aleksandra Gripenberg, July 30, 1890, McFadden, Golden Cables of Sympathy; p. 30 portrait geni)

Trudie Styler

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Overview

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Trudie Styler born Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England January 6, 1954. Actress and film producer. Co-founded Rainforest Foundation to save endangered species and peoples, 1989. Showed Chinese repression of peaceful protest in documentary Moving Mountains, 1994. UNICEF Ambassador, 2004

Quotations

“The legacy of Tiananmen Square lives on in these and other prisoners who continue to languish in secret labor camps, in state prisons, and under house arrest. As long as they are bound, none of us are free.” (CNN, Jun. 3, 2011; photo imdb)

Barbro Sundback

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Overview

Barbro Sundback born Ǻland Islands December 22, 1945. Finnish legislator, vice-president Nordic Council, 2005; founded Ǻland Peace organization, 1992; opposed Iraq War, nuclear weapons.

Quotations

"The main obstacle to peace is the conception that war is somehow inevitable. That concept is built into the patriarchal structures of our society, and the people who uphold it are probably the ones who are themselves ready to use violence to achieve their goals. If you believe violence is a solution, it becomes one." (Apr. 16, 2007, World Peoples Blog; photo world-citizenship.org)

Valgerour Sverrisdottir

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Overview

Valgerður Sverrisdóttir born Eyjafjörður, Iceland March 23, 1950. Icelandic politician. Minister of Industry and Commerce, 1999-2006. First female Foreign Minister of Iceland, 2006-07; oversaw sending of Icelandic peacekeepers to Sri Lanka, 2006; allocated 1 million dollars to UN Peacebuilding Fund, 2006.

Quotations

“It is a fact that violations of fundamental human rights are frequently among the roots of conflict and war. The protection of human rights promotes the reinforcement of security and peace in the world.” (Nov. 16, 2006; photo Wikipedia from US Navy)

Helena Swanwick

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Overview

Helena Swanwick (née Sickert) born Munich, Bavaria June 13, 1864 (d. 1939). British internationalist, feminist, pacifist; delegate to League of Nations 1924, where she was first woman to speak on international politics; opposed World War I; leader of WILPF.

Quotations

"Women do, I believe, hate war more fervently than men and this is not because they are better than men, or wiser, but because war hits them much harder and has very little to offer in return." (Roots of War, p. 405, 1938; photo spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk)

Marjorie Sykes

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Overview

Marjorie Sykes born Mexborough, Yorkshire, England May 11, 1905 (d. 1995). Quaker; Gandhian peacemaker. Teacher at Tagore's Peace University, 1939-41; carried on Gandhi's Basic Education Program at his Sevagram Ashram, 1949-59; trainer of nonviolent Peace Army 1959-64; Nagaland Peace Mission, 1964-67.

Quotations

"The only power that can be opposed to the brutalities of violence is the power of human love."(Feb. 2, 1975, Claremont, CA; photo Martha Dart)