When one of Alfred Nobel's brothers died in 1888, a French newspaper mistakenly believed that the deceased had been the famous Swedish chemist. The inventor of dynamite thus had the rare privilege of being able to read his own obituary: "The merchant of death dies [...] Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding a way to kill more people more quickly than ever before". Disgusted by the severe judgment of history and with no direct descendants to inherit his wealth, Nobel wanted to redeem himself from his deadly finding with awards that generously rewarded the contribution of scientists and writers to the good of humanity, as well as those who had excelled in their work in favor of peace.

This year's Nobel Peace Prize went to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. This coalition of 486 organizations from 101 different countries succeeded just a few months ago in getting 51 UN member states to sign a Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This recognition is an important moral boost for ICAN, although its prospects for success are not very promising. The treaty, of course, has not been signed by any of the current nuclear powers, but neither has it been signed by all those countries which, as is the case of Spain, are part of military alliances with countries possessing atomic weapons. Nor does the tense international climate, with the North Korean challenge hotter than ever, seem conducive to nuclear disarmament initiatives.

But undoubtedly on few occasions have the members of the Swedish Academy been able to tune in more adequately to the dismay that Nobel experienced when reading his own obituary. It is not difficult to imagine what feelings the creator of dynamite would have harbored if he had known the infernal power of these other explosives. Few causes, therefore, can arouse more unanimous adherence among all people of good will.

For the historian, however, nuclear weapons pose a truly diabolical dilemma. The atomic bomb is the most destructive weapon ever created by man. A nuclear war between the great superpowers - as was constantly feared during the Cold War - would mean the destruction of humanity itself. But that is precisely why the great powers have not dared to go to war with each other since then, so can it be said that nuclear weapons have saved millions of lives? In any case, the threat of their ever being used, especially by someone who despises the lives of his people as much as those of his enemies, continues to cast a dark shadow of anguish over humanity.