Bertha founded the Austrian Peace Union,
And was active in the Bureau of International Peace
In Bern, attending men’s meetings she was not allowed in,
And wrote, in ‘the Future,’ internationalization would not cease.
Nobel had said to her “My factories may well
Put an end to war before your congresses.”
She took this kindly – Alfred, she claimed, would ‘sell’
His scientific innovation and technical progresses
To bring humankind forward. Alright, he said,
And made a promise to her in that stead:
“Teach me, convince me, and I will do something great
For the movement.” And then she did that, as we know:
This promise resulted in his gift to Peace when dead,
Of the Prize, itself, the result to which Bertha’s work led.
June Edvenson 