| Russell-einstein Manifesto |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT RUSSELL-EINSTEIN MANIFESTO | |
| international relations | |
| peace | |
| albert einstein | |
| essays by bertrand russell | |
| nuclear weapons policy | |
| 1955 | |
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BACKGROUND The first detonation of a nuclear weapon took place on ''). On August 18 , 1945, the ''Glasgow Forward'' published the first known recorded comment by Bertrand Russell on atomic weapons, which he began composing the day Nagasaki was bombed. It contained threads that would later appear in the manifesto: The prospect for the human race is sombre beyond all precedent. Mankind are faced with a clear-cut alternative: either we shall all perish, or we shall have to acquire some slight degree of common sense. A great deal of new political thinking will be necessary if utter disaster is to be averted. After learning of the bombing of Hiroshima and seeing an impending nuclear Arms Race , Joseph Rotblat , the only scientist to leave the Manhattan Project on moral grounds, remarked that he "''became worried about the whole future of mankind''." Over the years that followed Russell and Rotblat worked on efforts to curb nuclear proliferation, collaborating with Albert Einstein and other scientists to compose what became known as the Russell-Einstein Manifesto. PRESS CONFERENCE, JULY 9, 1955 The manifesto was released during a press conference at Caxton Hall , London, chaired by Rotblat. Russell began the conference by stating: "I am bringing the warning pronounced by the signatories to the notice of all the powerful Governments of the world in the earnest hope that they may agree to allow their citizens to survive." A SYNOPSIS OF THE MANIFESTO The manifesto called for a conference where scientists would assess the dangers posed to the survival of humanity by Weapons Of Mass Destruction (then only considered to be nuclear weapons). Emphasis was placed on the meeting being politically neutral. It extended the question of nuclear weapons to all people and governments. One particular phrase is quoted often, including by Rotblat upon receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995 : Remember your humanity, and forget the rest. THE BEGINNINGS OF THE PUGWASH CONFERENCES The manifesto called for an international conference, and was originally planned by Nehru to be held in India . This was delayed by the outbreak of the Suez Crisis . Aristotle Onassis offered to finance a meeting in Monaco , but this was rejected. Instead, Cyrus Eaton, a Canadian industrialist who had known Russell since 1938 , offered to finance the conference in his hometown of Pugwash, Nova Scotia. The Russell-Einstein Manifesto became the Pugwash Conferences' founding charter. SIGNATORIES TO THE MANIFESTO
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