In a series highlighting prominent figures who have left their mark and contributions in the development of journalism and media, the Qatar Press Centre (QPC) has continued its "Pioneers of World Journalism".

The centre is showcasing the stories of media figures, their successes, and their inspiring experiences for generations of journalists and media professionals.

Among these is Carl von Ossietzky, the German journalist and activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1935, despite being arrested on charges of high treason for publishing information related to Germany's secret military rearmament.

Ossietzky was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1889.

At high school, he was not a distinguished student, and he left school at the age of 17 to become a government administrative official.

Ossietzky soon pursued a career in journalism and succeeded in it.

His first journalistic article was published in the pages of the newspaper *Free People.

Ossietzky later wrote on topics about theatre, women's issues, and the early problems of automobile use. He also focused on political and cultural developments during the Weimar period.

On July 5, 1913, he wrote an article criticising a pro-military court ruling in Erfurt, and was subsequently summoned to appear before the court.

His opposition to Germany's military policy in its final years and its armaments led him to become a pacifist, opposing all forms of war and violence.

In 1916, he was drafted into the army despite his deteriorating health and was forced to join the army during WWI.

The massacres left him frightened and alarmed.

Ossietzky became a voice against militarism and Nazism, becoming the secretary of the German Peace Society in Berlin, where he founded the monthly *Mitteilungsblatt, which first appeared in 1920.

He also became a regular contributor, under the pseudonym Thomas Mörner, to the monthly *Moinsten Monatsheften.

Ossietzky later served as foreign editor of the *Berliner Volkszeitung, the Berlin people's newspaper, known for its anti-war, neutral, and democratic editorial policy.

He joined the *Tagebusch, a political weekly, in 1924.

In the same year, Siegfried Jacobson took over as editor of *Die Weltbühne.

During his tenure, a series of investigations were published on Germany's violation of the Treaty of Versailles by rebuilding its air force and training pilots in the Soviet Union.

He also published an article by Walter Kreiser.

However, Ossietzky, as the editor-in-chief, was tried for high treason and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

He was mistreated in prison by the guards, forced to perform hard labour despite suffering a heart attack. He also contracted tuberculosis, and the government refused to release him.

In 1934, his colleagues in the German League supported the idea of nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Nobel Committee praised him as a defender of freedom of expression and a symbol of peace.

This was the first time the award was given to an individual at odds with his country, and it helped mobilise public opinion in the fight against Nazism.

When he was announced as the winner of the Nobel Prize in 1935, the German government prevented him from traveling to Norway to receive his award.

The German press was also prohibited from commenting on the award.

Ossietzky remained under constant surveillance until his death from tuberculosis in a Berlin hospital in 1938, after five years in prison.