Lecture : Albert Schweitzer

Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) was a doctor, pastor, theologian, philosopher and musician. An Alsatian steeped in German and French culture, a prolific writer, an opponent of nationalism and then of nuclear weapons, and a pioneer of humanitarian aid, he remained faithful to his Protestant faith and humanist ideals throughout his life.
Even before winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953, he became famous for his ethic of respect for life and the hospital he founded in Lambaréné, in the middle of the equatorial forest, which made him an emblematic figure.
From Kaysersberg and Gunsbach to Gabon, via Strasbourg, Paris and Berlin, Matthieu Arnold draws on previously unpublished sources to guide us in the footsteps of a multi-faceted Albert Schweitzer.

Matthieu Arnold, professor of history at the Protestant theology faculty of the University of Strasbourg, is a correspondent of the Académie des inscriptions et belles lettres. A specialist in the Reformation and Protestantism in the twentieth century, he is the author, published by Fayard, of a biography of Luther (2017). In early 2025, the same publisher will publish a long-awaited biography of Albert Schweitzer.