Oslo (AFP)

Depicted as "the Prince of Peace on Earth", Adolf Hitler was proposed for the Nobel Peace Prize 80 years ago, on the brink of the bloodiest conflict in history, demonstration by the absurd that to be nominated is a breeze.

From the Führer to the pop star Michael Jackson, the Nobel has, in nearly 120 years of existence, seen its share of applications unlikely, far-fetched or aberrant.

In January 1939 Swedish Social Democrat Erik Brandt suggested to the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award the prize to Hitler.

The ruler, apparently, is praised for his "ardent love for peace" while Nazi Germany has just annexed Austria and invaded the Sudetenland.

His letter makes huge waves in Sweden, where many do not grasp his sarcastic side.

For Brandt explains that he wanted to protest against the appointment of the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, craftsman of the Munich agreements of 1938 by which Czechoslovakia is partly ceded to the Germans.

The proposal will eventually be withdrawn, but.

"History ... shows how dangerous it can be to use irony in a heated political climate," says historian Asle Sveen.

- Stalin and Mussolini too -

It also illustrates the ease with which a person or organization, whatever its merits, can compete for the most prestigious award in the world.

The Nobel Committee accepts all the proposals. Only conditions: that they are sent before the deadline of January 31 and that they emanate from one of the thousands of individuals entitled to do it (parliamentarians and ministers of all the countries, former laureates, certain professors of university , current and past members of the Nobel Committee ...).

"There are so many people who have the right to nominate that it is not hard to be nominated," says influential committee secretary Olav Njølstad.

In 1935, is proposed, seriously this time, by German and French academics, a few months before his country invaded Ethiopia. , one of the victors of the Second World War, is also in 1945 and 1948.

Once the nominations are received, only a handful of them are retained in a "shortlist" that is scrutinized by the committee and its advisers.

"Neither Hitler nor Stalin nor Mussolini have been seriously considered for the price of peace," says historian Geir Lundestad, former secretary of the committee. "What surprises me most is that many dictators around the world have refrained from being nominated."

As the number of applications has exploded in the last two decades, generally exceeding 300 per year today, it is not surprising that some are detonating.

"One or two" are distinguished by their crazy side "at regular intervals", according to Mr. Njølstad.

- From pop to peace? -

The list of candidates is kept secret for at least 50 years but a sponsor can publicly announce the identity of his "foal".

The king of pop Michael Jackson found himself in the race for the Nobel in 1998. He will be accused of pedophilia after his death in 2009.

"The Romanian parliamentarians who proposed Michael Jackson judged this appointment quite serious, but it was also not studied by the committee," says Lundestad.

The unusual nature of an application depends on the views and times, the merits of an individual may fade over time.

Some names are nevertheless out of the ordinary: the Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, later tried for genocide, or ... the International Football Federation proposed in 2001.

The round ball has "made it possible to establish good relations between peoples," argued the Swedish MP behind this candidacy.

Not totally new since "father" of the World Cup football, had also been proposed in 1956, says journalist Antoine Jacob, author of "History of the Nobel Prize".

"Artists' names come to us regularly, but it's a more recent trend," says Njølstad.

His predecessor, Mr. Lundestad, had himself evoked in 2001, during the centenary of the Nobel Prize, the idea that such as Bob Geldof, Bono or Sting could one day be crowned.

Among the nominations known this year for the Nobel, to be awarded on October 11, are two major protagonists of the UN General Assembly at the end of September: Donald Trump and the young Swede Greta Thunberg, muse of the fight against climate change.

"It's easy enough to be nominated," says Lundestad. "It's a lot harder to win."

© 2019 AFP