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"In Armenia, Nansen is used as a boy's first name", Carl Emil Vogt talks about Fridtjof Nansen Featured

May 5th, 2024
David Glaser
geneveMonde

We had the opportunity to ask essential questions about Fridtjof Nansen (League of Nation's High Commissioner for repatriation of prisoners of war after WWI and for Refugees) to one of the specialists who knows him the most : Carl Emil Vogt. This Norwegian historian is also an author. In 2007, he published "Nansen's struggle against famine in Russia", and in 2011 his biography "Fridtjof Nansen, The man and the world", which was nominated for the Brage Prize. In 2014, he published a biography of the Eidsvoll man Herman Wedel Jarlsberg, and in 2017 he co-authored "Et uønsket folk " (An unwanted people), the development of a "gypsy policy" and the extermination of Norwegian Roma.

geneveMonde.ch : Can you give us a brief introduction about who was Fridtjof Nansen, what were his main achievements and what he means to you?

Carl Emil Vogt : Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930) was a prolific scientist, explorer, diplomat and humanitarian. His scientific field of interest was broad and impressive. He did his doctoral thesis in what we today call Neuroscience - he did advanced research on the central nervous system. He went on, however, to an important career in oceanography. He played a major role in Norwegian politics in the years leading up to the independence from Scandinavian big brother Sweden in 1905. He later became Norway's first ambassador to Great Britain and special envoy to Washington before he just after the First World War engaged for a lasting peace in the new League of Nations and in leading several humanitarian projects for refugees, prisoners of war and famine victims in Russia and Ukraine. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1922.

gM : What was Fridtjof Nansen's role in polar exploration and how did he make history in this field? What other great figures did he go on exploration missions with? We can see him in some photos of the Fridtjof Nansen with Frederick George Jackson in 1896, for example, but there must have been many other important encounters...

C- E V : Nansen made his fame in the 1880s and 1890s as an explorer. Together with a small team he achieved the first ever crossing of Greenland (one of the last "unexplored'" pieces of land on the Globe) in 1888-89. In 1893-1896 he headed a more ambitious expedition also scientifically, to deliberately freeze in a specially built vessel called "Fram" ("Forward" in Norwegian) drift in the ice from Northern Siberia over the Arctic Ocean towards Greenland. A main goal was to reach the North Pole. The expedition was a success, but the Pole was not conquered.

Nansen met with and learned from many important figures in Polar Exploration, like the Swedish explorer Adolf Nordenskiöld, and British explorers in the Royal Geographic Society - he was a great friend and even proposed to Robert Falcon Scott's widow, Kathleen. The most famous of Nansen's fellows on his expeditions was Otto Sverdrup. Nansen also supported Roald Amundsen who conquered the South Pole in 1911 - he used Nansen's ship 'Fram' for the expedition.

Nansen met a lot of resistance especially in the conservative and anti-communist political camp for his cooperation with Lenin's Soviet Regime, Carl Emil Vogt

gM : How did Fridtjof Nansen contribute to the natural sciences and understanding of the polar regions?

C-E V : Nansen's contribution to neuroscience was important, he was one of a few scientists documenting the synapses - the small gap between the nervous cells in the brain, thus proving wrong the theory that the brain cells were joined in a network - (the reticular theory). Some say he should have been among the laureates for the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1906.

In Oceanography he has contributed in many ways, for instance in developing instruments - the Nansen bottle for water samples is an example - and in discovering that the Arctic Ocean was much deeper than believed. He documented ocean currents and movement of water, and had theories of climatic change for instance.

After Nansen's expeditions there could be no more popular speculation of a great continent around the North Pole or some kind of Garden of Eden in the middle of Greenland. He reached some of the last so called white spots on the world map.

gM : Fridtjof Nansen was also a diplomat and a statesman. How were his diplomatic skills put to use, particularly in the context of the League of Nations? Did he encounter resistance because of his atypical background?

His diplomatic skills were somehow unorthodox - he was no statesman or bureaucrat - he was a famous explorer and celebrity, admired by many people. He had great authority and could cut through red tape. He believed in contacts man to man and often disregarded instructions from for instance the Norwegian Foreign Ministry. He did not necessarily follow protocol. He was of great use in the diplomacy between Western governments and the Societ authorities in 1920-1921 when the Soviet government was not diplomatically recognised and the Soviets did not trust the capitalist West. Then Nansen could function as a go-between.

Nansen met a lot of resistance especially in the conservative and anti-communist political camp for his cooperation with Lenin's Soviet Regime. His background actually opened many doors, as even Lenin thought they should not be afraid of Nansen - he was considered a naïve radical intellectual.

His most important humanitarian projects were being appointed the League of Nation's High Commissioner for repatriation of prisoners of war after WWI (1920-22) and the first League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (1921-1930). He also headed large European famine relief Projects in Russia and Ukraine (1921-1923).

gM : What was the concept of the "Nansen passport", and how was it revolutionary a that time?

C-E V : The Nansen Passport was an Identification Document which was accepted as an Arrangement (i.e. an agreement that is not legally binding) by around 50 governments. It made lives easier for hundreds of thousands of refugees from Tsarist Russia and Armenians from the Ottoman Empire. A few other groups were also included in the protection system. It was a group based system, you were defined as a refugee if you were deprived of your citizenship by the Soviet or Kemalist governments. Refugees without papers suddenly had easier ways to basic public services, travel, work etc. A major reason for the Nansen passport's success is that it only described a recommended standard of state behaviour and was not a legally binding Convention.

The judicial work that was started with the Nansen Passport system is the base for the United Nations High Commissioners refugee work today, Carl Emil Vogt

gM : How did Fridtjof Nansen's experience as a navigator and explorer influence his later involvement in humanitarian affairs?

C-E V : It did at least influence it in a very important way - he went to the famine stricken Volga Region in 1921 to see for himself and document the horrors with his own camera. This expedition may actually have been his most dangerous one, as many relief workers died from famine related epidemics.

gM : How does Fridtjof Nansen's legacy manifest itself in the world today, whether in science, diplomacy or human rights?

C-E V : Most important, in my opinion, is his legacy in refugee work. The judicial work that was started with the Nansen Passport system is the base for the United Nations High Commissioners refugee work today. His slogan Love of man is Realpolitik (real politics) is an important reminder, that relieving the social suffering and poverty is important to avoid wars and have prosperity for more people all over the world.

gM : What is his legacy in Norway?

C-E V : Nansen's legacy in Norway is first and foremost as a skiing pioneer, sportsman and explorer. He is not so much remembered as a scientist and humanitarian.

The Norwegian Government chose to name their extensive aid packages - both military and humanitarian - for Ukraine "the Nansen Program'", Carl Emil Vogt

gM : How has Fridtjof Nansen's work inspired other explorers, scientists and humanitarians over the decades?

C-E V : Nansen has inspired many young people through the ages, especially in Norway, to dare to explore and compete with themselves in the nature. They used to read his best-selling books and admire his example. His humanitarian work inspires even today. Nansen inspired Roald Amundsen to reach the South Pole.

gM : Have you heard about the Nansen Detector, a cosmic waves detector developed by English scientists located in Geneva and who work for CERN? What does that tell about Nansen?

C-E V : I was not aware! I know that it is an asteroid with his name and the Norwegian Government chose to name their extensive aid packages - both military and humanitarian - for Ukraine 'the Nansen Program' to help the Ukrainians in their heroic fight against the unprovoked, unlawful, shameful and barbaric Russian aggression. All this tells that he has a name both in humanitarian history and in the world's memory. In Armenia Nansen is used as a boy's first name.

gM : Finally, what fundamental lesson can we learn from Fridtjof Nansen's life and career?

C-E V : We can learn that every single one of us should engage in making the world a better place. It matters! We have no right to blame 'the politicians' or 'the elites' if we do not ourselves engage in the topics of the day - be it climate change, war, or injustice - from the Palestinians of Gaza to the Uigurs of China. We can learn that idealistic engagement for the small and weak is important - Nansen fought an anti-imperialist battle for the Inuits of Greenland and the Armenians. Love of man is real politics!

Photo of Carl Emil Vogt courtesy of Cappelen Damm, bibliography available here.

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