Lesotho

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Remembering Lotta on International Women’s Day 2025

Development often starts with a woman. Support leadership programs for women through the USC, 56 Sparks Street, Ottawa. [Lotta Hitschmanova, 1978.]

Today is International Women’s Day, a time to celebrate the achievements and lasting impact of remarkable women like Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova C.C. (1909-1990), whose message of compassion, hope and peace has never been more relevant than in 2025.

Dr. Lotta, as she was known, was a beloved Canadian humanitarian who arrived penniless in Canada in 1942, as a Jewish Czech WWII refugee. Continue reading →

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Lotta was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize!

I made a recent discovery: humanitarian Lotta Hitschmanova was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, not once, but twice, in 1961 and in 1962!

A second discovery, the name of the nominator: Calgary resident, Arthur Smith, at the time a Conservative Member of Parliament.

Here is how he framed the nomination: Continue reading →

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Would Lotta have marched?

Lotta Hitschmanova, Cyprus, 1950s

“It seems to have been an instinctive desire on her part to bring out the leadership qualities she knew were in so many talented women she met, and an intuition that their ideas on human development would match her own.”

As millions of women and men around the world march to the cry of “women’s rights are human rights” – amid calls for greater tolerance, social justice, dignity and respect – a tiny candle of remembrance lights itself in honour of our women’s rights pioneers of times passed.

Lotta Hitschmanova (1909-1990) was one of those early pioneers.

Continue reading →