Bertrand Russell: A Peace Hero

This window panel featuring Bertrand Russell was spotted by a contact visiting Vienna.

Russell has been designated a 'Peace Hero' by Peace Museum Vienna, alongside Immanuel Kant, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, Albert Einstein, Aung San Suu Kyi, Malala Yousafzai and numerous others.

The museum's project Windows for Peace, installed in and around Stephansplatz in the centre of the city, brings the good work of these heroes to public attention again. 'As a street museum, it is open twenty four hours a day and charges no admission fees!' proclaims PMV's website.

Vienna is home to a peace heroine of its own, Bertha von Suttner, who is also featured in the exhibit. Her 1889 pacifist novel Die Waffen nieder! (Lay Down Your Arms!) overcame opposition and rejection from publishers to eventually become a bestseller, which has been widely translated and adapted. An international pacifist journal, over which she presided as editor between 1892-1899, was named in its honour. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Picture from a Peace Museum Vienna leaflet

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