Category Archives: sonnets

Germany’s annexations proceeded from 1938 to ‘41, Said Churchill, “So now this bloodthirsty gutter-snipe Must launch his mechanized armies upon new fields Of slaughter, pillage and devastation” – stopped by no one, As Germany attacked Russia, which became their ‘Achilles heel.’ “We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, WeContinue reading “1939 – 1945 – World War II, #3”

With Hitler’s rise, we see a rabble-rouser, The ‘Nazis’ consolidating – from a grab-bag of discontents, The Weimar Republic’s own decisions and power Ineffective, unable to stop rising unemployment. Nationalism became embraced with such adulation, Preying upon Germany’s WW I disgrace, The notion that Jews held too much station, And a Great Depression, the ‘nailContinue reading “1939 – 1945 – World War II, #2”

Total deaths in World War II are estimated At over 60 million, 3 percent of the world’s population. Fifty-eight percent were deaths among civilians; This war’s thirst for blood was almost never sated. Highest civilian losses were in China, and the USSR, With military deaths split between aggressors and defenders. About 6 million Jews wereContinue reading “1939 – 1945 – World War II”

It’s not as if the Peace Prize was never used to court Useful and important political or social agendas. However, to dwell on these might unjustly thwart The prize’s mission and belittle its significance. The Nansen International Office for Refugees Was to be disbanded when the need was met, But the work with refugees neverContinue reading “1938 – The Nansen International Office for Refugees”

Robert Cecil, a barrister and member of Britain’s Parliament, Worked with the Red Cross during World War I, and went In 1919 to the Peace Conference , helping set up the League of Nations. After the war he stayed involved in peace negotiations And was the founder of the League of Nations Union, A U.K.Continue reading “1937 – Lord Edgar Algernon Robert Gascogne Cecil”

Carlos Saavedra Lamas won the prize For his vigorous efforts to end South American fighting In the El Chaco War, where deliberations that arose Resulted in reduced army forces, exchanges of prisoners, and righting A border dispute by negotiation. Argentina’s Justice Minister, He also worked hard on the South American Antiwar Pact. Signed by many,Continue reading “1936 – Carlos Saavedra Lamas”

When the Nazis knock on your front door, Do you bravely open it? Swallow the dread? When you do not know what they will do for Their Fuhrer, their cause, and you may end up dead? After his camp internment by Hitler, many Sought his release by initiating global campaigns, And many leaders and statesContinue reading “1935 – Carl Von Ossietzky – 2”

He joined the German Peace Society but, too, enlisted In World War I, an engineer on the Western Front, Where Germans with long range artillery did their damnedest To take Paris, then stalled out in France, and shunted All efforts to dislodge them. Ossietzky, after the war, Became a full-time writer and peace activist. HeContinue reading “1935 – Carl Von Ossietzky”

Henderson was British, raised in a poor family. Whose future seemed linked to the Ironfounders’ industry, He became a Member of Parliament and later Foreign Secretary, And was known as the chief architect of disarmament activity: At the League of Nation’s Disarmament Conference he excelled, Until told that his party’s position at home had beenContinue reading “1934 – Arthur Henderson”

Angell was British, educated in England and France, Who moved to the U.S. and then back to Europe, to advance As a journalist.  From correspondent to Paris editor, And from many contacts, he became a writer. Publishing The Great Illusion made him globally famous. He detailed that war is a losing economic quantity For bothContinue reading “1933 – Norman Angell”