Dunant must not be forgotten
Dunant must not be forgotten
sv. The life and work of Henry Dunant deserve the utmost respect and appreciation even 107 years after his death. As the founder of the “Comité international de secours aux blessés”, he made an indispensible contribution to the formation of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
In 1901, Henry Dunant received the first Nobel Peace Prize together with Frédéric Passy, founder of the “French Peace Union”. At that time, he had lived already for nine years as a pensioner in the Bezirksspital (County Hospital) Heiden in the canton of Appenzell. The Nobel Peace Prize meant for him his rehabilitation, as he had been ostracised for years because of financial problems in Calvinist Geneva and had even been excluded from the Red Cross Society.
Exhibition “Strong women around Henry Dunant”
In 1998, the world-wide only museum for the founder of the Red Cross was inaugurated in the former district hospital of Heiden, in which the topicality of his commitment to a world without war and social need is represented. Proactive, outstanding women of the 19th century had a significant effect on Henry Dunant as innovators and companions. First and formost there is his mother, Anne-Antoinette Dunant-Colladon, who already early on trained his understanding for poor and needy people. She is introduced together with other women such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of the bestseller “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, Florence Nightingale, founder of modern Western nursing, the Austrian pacifist Bertha von Suttner among others in the exhibition “Strong Women around Henry Dunant” until 22 April 2018 at the Henry Dunant Museum (Asylstrasse 2, CH-9410 Heiden, <link http: www.dunant-museum.ch>www.dunant-museum.ch).
A picture and reading book for every age
The richly illustrated book “Who is Henry Dunant?”, published by Verlag Zeit-Fragen, dedicated to the parents of author Lisette Bors and the children of the world, keeps alive the memory of Henry Dunant’s life and work. It is invaluable for peace education and teaching the importance of mutual help among people and countries. •
The book is available in five languages. It costs 26.- CHF or 20.- Euro. It can be ordered directly from the publisher or in any good bookstore.
German: Bors, Lisette. Wer ist Henry Dunant? Zurich, 2010,
ISBN 978-3-909234-08-0
French: Bors, Lisette, Qui est Henry Dunant? Zurich, 2010,
ISBN 978-3-909234-09-7
Italian: Bors, Lisette, Chi è Henry Dunant? Zurich, 2010,
ISBN 978-3-909234-11-0
English: Bors, Lisette, Who is Henry Dunant? Zurich, 2010,
ISBN 978-3-909234-10-3
Spanish: Bors, Lisette, Quien es Henry Dunant? Zurich, 2010,
ISBN 978-3-909234-12-7
“This richly illustrated book contains colourful drawings and photos, and has been created with great care. It explains Henry Dunant’s life and work and can be read at any age. It provides interesting knowledge for both children and adults.
The first part allows children to discover the meaning of Henry Dunant. The narrative, accompanied by full-page illustrations, offers parents, grandparents, teachers, educators an excellent opportunity to teach children important values of our civilisation.
The second part reports in detail about the different stages of the formation and development of the Red Cross in Switzerland and other countries. This book is perfect as a gift and will enrich families for a long time.
Due to the high quality of both the content and the production, this book is appreciated by paediatricians and dentists as an enrichment for the waiting room. Also community and school libraries like to present this book in their exhibition.
The message of Henry Dunant has remained up to date: ‘Civilization means mutual help from person to person, from country to country.’
By dealing with the contents of this book is becomes also clear why Henry Dunant was awarded in 1901 the very first Nobel Peace Prize.”
Nicole Duprat, Primary teacher from France
