About Your Chapter

Red Cross History - Henry Dunant

The force that drew many men and nations together in the Red Cross movement was supplied by Henry Dunant of Geneva, Switzerland. He is often spoken of as the founder of the Red Cross and in one sense of the word he was. He was not, however, an organizer, or a public figure. He was a private citizen who accidentally became acquainted with the human wreckage caused by war.

The Battle
In 1859 Dunant was traveling in northern Italy. He was a young businessman of 30, and he had only one object in view--to get the support of the Emperor of France for a business project in Algeria. The fact that the emperor was then leading his army against the army of Austria did not deter the enthusiastic young promoter. He did not see the emperor, but he could not escape seeing the casualties left by the Battle of Solferino, where the French victory over the Austrians left 40,000 dead and wounded on the battlefield.

On the day of the battle Dunant had arrived in the nearby town of Castiglione. He joined in the work of relief, sent his coach to bring supplies, and wrote to his friends in Switzerland for aid. Then he returned home, never again to be just like the young man who had set out to discuss a business deal with an emperor. Solferino changed Dunant.

The Book
If Dunant had merely helped the wounded, the world would probably never have heard of him; but he had to go further than that. What he had seen gave his conscience no rest. He resolved to write an appeal against such terrifying inhumanity as he had witnessed, on the chance that he might move people to prevent or reduce the suffering of soldiers. The result was A Memory of Solferino (Un Souvenir de Solferino), printed in Geneva in October 1862. This famous book, mailed by the author to influential people throughout Europe, excited them beyond all expectation.

Dunant was not present at the Battle of Solferino itself, but he collected information that enabled him to write an accurate description of it. To this he added his eyewitness story of the deserted battlefield and of the makeshift hospitals of Castiglione. The closing pages he devoted to the questions and proposals that held the germ of the Red Cross movement. He emphasized the need for trained volunteers and the necessity for international cooperation for the sake of humanity.

The distribution of the book was the first step in arousing international interest. Further concern was stirred up by the personal correspondence and private conversations of Dunant, in each of which he was unusually persuasive. The power of his book was always behind him to be drawn upon. One passage supplied the phrase that was to be repeated again and again as an expression of the Red Cross ideal: "Tutti fratelli." Dunant reported that the women of Castiglione treated all the wounded alike, though they came from many nations, because, as the women said, "Tutti fratelli," which means, "All are brothers."

Dunant put his finger on what was needed next. Merely exhorting people to be humane is not enough. There must be preparation for relief: "The whole problem lies in serious preparation for work of this kind, and in the actual formation of the proposed societies."

Move Toward Organization
Dunant was not an "organization man," but one of the readers of his book was the head of a group engaged in local relief work. He was a fellow townsman of Dunant, the chairman of the Geneva Society for Public Welfare, Gustav Moynier. He placed Dunant's proposals before his society on February 9, 1863, and became the chief force that would shape Dunant's vision into an organization. The Society approved the appointment of a committee of five men to continue work on Dunant's material.

This committee, which later at Moynier's suggestion called itself the "permanent international committee," decided to call an international conference in Geneva. The committee was chaired by General Dufour, Switzerland's leading soldier; the secretary was Dunant; the other members were Moynier and two physicians, Dr Appia and Dr Maunoir. These men laid the groundwork for an international humanitarian agreement, the Geneva Convention, and for the related system of national societies now known as Red Cross societies.

Conference of 1863
The international conference met in Geneva on October 26, 1863. Thanks in large part to Dunant's preparatory work, it was attended by delegates favorably disposed toward the proposals of the committee. In all, 36 people attended, including representatives from 14 European countries. The conference had two important results: It increased the influence of the organizing committee; secondly, it produced resolutions for consideration by governments and possible approval by a diplomatic conference. At its final session the conference declared "that Monsieur Henry Dunant... and the Geneva Public Welfare Society... have deserved well of humanity and earned... universal thanks."

Diplomatic Conference of 1864
The diplomatic conference met in Geneva on August 8, 1864, with 24 delegates attending from 16 governments. The United States sent observers, who made their influence felt in favor of the proposed treaty through informal talks with the delegates. Drawing on the experience of the United States Sanitary Commission during the Civil War, the American observers showed that a volunteer organization could work effectively with government in accordance with the principles Dunant had proposed. The conference agreed on the terms of the first Geneva Convention and agreed also that the symbol of the movement should be a red cross on a white background. Dr Appia, of the founding committee, wore this symbol on his arm for the first time during the Prussian-Danish War of 1864. In time the whole movement became known as the Red Cross, and the organizing committee took the name of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Decline of Dunant
The decline of Dunant almost from the moment of his greatest success is the most amazing fact of his amazing story. The Geneva Convention placed in international law the main ideas of which he was the prophet. What next? He was secretary of the founding committee, but committee affairs were in the hands of Gustav Moynier. His business prospects were not improving , and he had spent a great deal of strength, time, and money on the promotion of his humane ideas.

By 1867 Dunant was bankrupt, had resigned from the committee, had exiled himself from Geneva, and had begun wandering from city to city. He had no remaining circle of friends, no regular employment, and his only certain income was a small allowance from his family. He finally found a stopping place in the village of Heiden, Switzerland, where he made some new friends. One of them ran a hospital, which Dunant entered in 1892, and in which he spent the last 18 years of his life.

Dunant Rediscovered
A young Swiss journalist found out in 1895 that Dunant was living in a Heiden rest home and got permission to interview him. The resulting article was widely printed. Once Dunant had been rediscovered, he again began to receive messages of respect and honor, as well as some gifts of money. In 1901 he was one of the two recipients of the first Nobel Peace Award. From that time forward he did not lack attention, and he stayed in touch with the outside world as much as his health permitted. He died at Heiden on October 30, 1910. The anniversary of his birth, May 8, 1828, is now celebrated as World Red Cross Day.

Dunant's Power
Dunant remains a mysterious person, despite the pages written about him. As a boy he was quiet and spent his time mainly in study, in enjoying family picnics, and in taking solitary walks in the lovely country around Geneva. As he grew older, he exhibited personal magnetism. He could stir people to enthusiasm by his writing and private talks, although none of the projects in which he was interested turned into a permanent occupation.

For an idea to attract Dunant, it apparently had to be something grand and almost impossible to achieve. Surely, the basic ideas behind the Red Cross looked impossible enough to suit the most idealistic: to muster and train volunteer help in peacetime; to get national governments to agree on neutral aid to the wounded; to protect medical and nursing personnel; and to furnish necessary relief supplies. Also, the ideas that appealed to Dunant had an international flavor. In his early maturity he worked with groups that sought to draw young men of all nations into a Christian union. He was influential in the founding of the international YMCA, which had its first meeting in Paris in 1855. At other periods he was interested in projects for the bringing together of Christians and Jews, for the founding of Jewish settlements in Palestine, and for promoting international peace. Dunant was brought up a Protestant and was early led toward piety and good works, in which the example of his mother was particularly strong. As a young man, he belonged to the Geneva League of Alms and worked to relieve poverty and illness. In his old age he disclaimed membership in any particular church. "I am a disciple of Christ, as in the first century, simply that," he wrote.

Nothing in Dunant's early history, however, prepared him for the realities of war. The casualties of Solferino shook him to the depths and brought on the "craving" mentioned in the following passages from his great book:

The moral sense of the importance of human life; the humane desire to lighten a little the torments of all these poor wretches; the furious and relentless activity which a man summons up at such moments: all these create a kind of energy which gives one a positive craving to relieve as many as one can.

The moral energy of Dunant made him the prophet of the Red Cross. His craving to bring relief to humanity in pain has made itself felt throughout the world.

Your Location: Home : About Your Chapter : Red Cross History - Henry Dunant