The Amazing Journey of Lars Ahlfors' Fields Medal
arXiv:2506.12850
Abstract
This is the story of the first Fields Medal awarded to Lars Ahlfors. It was smuggled out of Finland in 1944, pawned in Sweden during World War II, and returned to Helsinki in 2004. This article is based on an interview with Ahlfors' second daughter Vanessa Gruen, and established biographical sources.
This version was submitted to the College Mathematics Journal, likely to be published in the March 2026 issue. Photographs are included, courtesy of Riitta-Leena Inki of the University of Helsinki; typos fixed