Women Preventing War
INSPIRATIONAL, 13 Jul 2015
Dietrich Fischer – TRANSCEND Media Service
In 1905, Norway declared its independence from Sweden. Norwegian and Swedish troops faced each other along the border, ready to fight. The Norwegians were fewer in number, and did not really expect to win, but they had a great urge to beat up the Swedes who had ruled Norway since 1814, when it was taken from Denmark and given to Sweden, because Denmark had fought on Napoleon’s side who lost the war.
What prevented the Norwegian and Swedish armies from getting at each other were large numbers of women from both countries, who camped out together at the borderline, between the two opposing armies. The soldiers’ conscience did not allow them to hurt their own women. Finally, Sweden agreed to grant Norway independence without a fight.
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Dietrich Fischer, born in 1941 in Münsingen, Switzerland, got a Licentiate in Mathematics from the University of Bern 1968 and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from New York University 1976. 1986-88 he was a MacArthur Fellow in International Peace and Security at Princeton University. He has taught mathematics, computer science, economics and peace studies at various universities and been a consultant to the United Nations.
Excerpted from Dietrich Fischer’s Stories to Inspire You – TRANSCEND University Press-TUP.
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 13 Jul 2015.
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