The fact that Adolf Hitler was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in his time is an often-told piece of information. And as strange as it may sound nowadays, this information is true. However, not much is known that this nomination was actually a sarcastic joke that fell victim to the quirks of the Nobel nomination system.
Hitler was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1939 by Swedish politician Erik Gottfrid Christian Brandt
Not everyone had the honor of nominating people for the award. The Norwegian Nobel Committee was only accepting nominations from individuals holding certain positions at the higher echelons of the organisation, including university professors, previous Nobel Peace Prize winners, and members of the national assembly or national government.
As a member of the Swedish Parliament, Brandt fit these descriptions, but apparently he was not meant to be serious about his candidacy proposal. Brandt was part of the centre-left Social Democratic Party and was an antifascist. Hitler’s nomination was intended as an ironic reference to other members of the Swedish parliament, who nominated the then British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain.
By the time Chamberlain took office in 1937, Hitler had begun to aggressively expand Germany’s army and set his sights on German-speaking Europe. Chamberlain had an approach to appease Hitler. The horrors of the First World War were still fresh in his mind, so he wanted to avoid armed conflicts with Nazi Germany.
The Munich Agreement, signed by Germany, Britain, France, and Italy on September 30, 1938, allowed the German annexation of the Sudetenland in western Czechoslovakia, provided that Hitler made no further claims for territory in Europe.
After the deal, Chamberlain returned home and famously declared that he had secured the peace. This development led to him being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by 12 Swedish lawmakers.
Of course, this peace was not as assured as one might imagine, and many in Chamberlain’s time, including Brandt, seem to have been skeptical of this self-proclaimed success.
If you look at Brandt’s letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, it can be clearly seen that he was extremely sarcastic. According to the Nobel Peace Center, when we look at what is written in this letter, it is summarized as follows: “In Mein Kampf – perhaps the world’s best and most popular peace book and peaceful achievement, the annexation of Austria – alongside the Bible – it was previously documented. Adolf Hitler, with his radiant love for peace, freed his citizens in the Sudetenland, refrained from using force and made his homeland great and powerful. Hitler will probably bring peace to Europe and possibly the entire world if left alone by his warmongers.” In the same letter, he said, “If some Swedish parliamentarians had not nominated British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain as another candidate, I would not have found this moment to be the right time to nominate Hitler. This candidate proposal does not seem to be well thought out. Although it is true that Chamberlain contributed to maintaining world peace by having a good understanding of Hitler’s struggle for peace, the final decision was Hitler’s and not Chamberlain’s! Hitler must be thanked above all for the continued peace in the wider European lands; and it is this man who hopes for peace in the future.
As might be expected, this cynical approach was not well received at the time. Anti-fascists in Sweden were outraged by his candidacy, accusing Brandt of being “crazy, inept and betraying working class values”. His classes were canceled and he received a series of violent threats from the public.
History next to Brandt
Many didn’t believe the nomination was satire, but history is apparently on Brandt’s side. Appeasement efforts II. It did not stop World War II, although some argue that this policy strengthened Hitler’s aggression and opened the way directly to war.
It is also clear that Brandt remained strongly anti-fascist throughout the war. He criticized his own party for not accepting more Jewish refugees from Germany to Sweden, and was one of the first politicians to speak out about rumors of German extermination camps in Poland.
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