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Marcie Fairchild
December 3, 2007
Albert Einstein 2
Abstract
As an ardent pacifist, Einstein spent his life promoting peace through embracing an
international government and rejecting authoritarianism and militarism. During the First World
War, Einstein began to publicly advocate pacifist methods. This continued after the war with his
participation in the League of Nations and the German League for Human Rights. In 1933 with the
Hitler’s fascist rule opposed everything Einstein stood for including the sanctity of life, the
importance of intellectual freedom, and the futility of militarism. In 1938 with the world on the
brink of the second world war in two decades, physics and military technology collided with the
possibility of the atomic bomb utilizing Einstein’s equation e=mc2. At the request of other
scientists, Einstein signed letters to President Roosevelt encouraging atomic research. After the war,
without the risk of the “Nazi menace”, Einstein spoke out against the menacing nature of man
responsibility for the atomic bomb. Albert Einstein’s actions following the detonation of the atomic
bomb in the context of his pacifist nature speaks to his view on the social responsibility of scientists.
Albert Einstein 3
Albert Einstein: Pacifism, the bomb, and the social responsibility of scientists
While society often depicts scientists as aloof and disconnected from the world they live in,
the implications of their work are certainly not. Few scientists see, in their lifetime, these
implications affect humankind as Albert Einstein did. In a unique combination of world affairs,
scientific discovery, and political policy, theory from Einstein’s paper on special relativity came to
life as the most destructive weapon ever used. The life of Albert Einstein provides an interesting
combination of scientist and politician, “father of the bomb” and social advocate, pacifist and
activist. Additionally, these events set a unique precedent for the social responsibility of scientists.
As a German patent clerk, Albert Einstein began publishing scientific papers in 1901. In
1905, Einstein’s annus mirabilis, he published multiple papers, one of which he later received the
Nobel Prize for. In the years following these publications, Einstein focused on science and in 1914
moved to Berlin to accept the position as Director of Research at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in the
midst of the First World War (Hoffmann, 1973). Einstein’s first public affirmation of the pacifist
movement came later that year. He along with three other supporters signed the “Appeal to
European Response” (also called “Manifesto to Europe”) in response to “Appeal to the World
Kultur” (also called “Manifesto to the Cultured World”) (Rotblat, 1979; Sonnert, 2005). This
manifesto rejected the nationalistic promotion of the war effort in Germany. While Einstein was
not secretive about his political views, he was still primarily a physicist. His politics, unlike his
scientific theories, were largely undeveloped and lacked cohesive underpinnings. Although a
member of the New Fatherland Association, a group focused on bringing peace and establishing an
the completion of his general theory of relativity. He wrote to a friend in early 1915 “in spite of the
troubling, disgusting war I work quietly in my room” (Rowe & Schulmann, 2007, p. 61). Later that
Albert Einstein 4
year, Einstein began to look beyond the confines of his desk into the struggling war torn world and
wrote an essay on the psychological origins of war. Georg Nicolai, author of the 1914 manifesto
and a confidant of Einstein’s future wife, Elsa, perhaps sparked Einstein’s interest in the pacifist
Einstein was thrust into public acclaim with the confirmation of his theory of relativity in
1919. Though he detested fame, he embraced the influence and responsibility that accompanied his
fame (Rowe & Schulmann, 2007). He used the success of his science as a platform to promote his
social agenda. In the following years, Einstein further developed his political views and composed
countless letters, publications, and essays pleading for the development of an international
government. Einstein was active with the League of Nations, specifically the Committee of
governing body. He was also a member of the German League for Human Rights and spoke out
against fascism and war calling for people to refuse military service (Rosenkranz, 1998).
In 1933, Einstein’s politics quickly shifted as Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany.
Foreseeing the destruction of Europe that was looming, he turned from idealism to survival. More
insightful than most of his pacifist counterparts, Einstein saw the goals of Hitler to include the
occupation of Europe (Rotblat, 1979). The Fascist regime of the Nazis contradicted everything
Einstein stood for including the sanctity of life, the importance of intellectual freedom, and the
countries to thwart the Nazi takeover of Europe. Reflecting in on his convictions in a 1953 letter
Einstein wrote, “I am a dedicated but not an absolute pacifist; this means that I am opposed to the
use of force under any circumstances except when confronted by an enemy who pursues the
destruction of life as an end in itself” (Neuenschwander, 2004). A 1933 political cartoon in The
Brooklyn Eagle depicted Einstein taking up the sword of preparedness and laying down the wings of
Albert Einstein 5
non-resistant pacifism (Rosenkranz, 1998). In July of that year, Einstein wrote to Alfred Nahon
recanting his militant pacifism. He reasoned that if smaller countries like Belgium did not develop
their military, they would be overrun and no longer exist. This letter, at Einstein’s request, was
published in La Patrie humanie for other pacifists to read. Einstein received criticism for abandoning
pacifism in many forms including publicly by Brent Dow Allison in a 1934 article entitled “Speak,
Einstein, for the Peace for Europe.” In his response, Einstein justified the change by concentrating
on the change in the political circumstances. He writes, “I do not believe that under present
circumstance passive resistance is an effective method, even if carried out in the most heroic
manner…The confirmed pacifist must therefore at present seek a plan of action different from that
of former, more peaceful times”(Rowe & Schulmann, 2007, p. 286). The plan Einstein encouraged
was one in which the peace-seeking countries united to impede the effort of the controlling Nazi
regime. Einstein watched from Princeton, New Jersey for years as the Fascist government marched
across Europe devaluing the human life and eliminating intellectual freedom. In the article “Ten
Fateful Years” (1938) Einstein writes, “In Europe to the east of the Rhine free exercise of the
intellect exists no longer, the population is terrorized by gangsters who have seized power, and
youth is poisoned by systematic lies” (Rowe & Schulmann, 2007). The future of Europe continued
to dim as Nazi power systematically persecuted an entire race, the Jewish race of which Einstein was
a part. Einstein fought the spread of fascism by pouring out publications speaking out against the
In 1938, the worlds of theoretical physics and military technology collided when nuclear
fission was discovered by Otto Hahn, Fritz Strassmann, and Lise Meitner (Hoffmann, 1973). It was
only then the implications of the equation e=mc2, published in Einstein’s 1907 1 paper, were realized.
1 The origin of e=mc2 is often referenced as the 1905 paper “Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper” (On the
electrodynamics of moving bodies). The equation did not explicitly appear in this form until 1907 in “Über die vom
Relativitätsprinzip geforderte Trägheit der Energie” (On the Inertia of Energy Required by the Relativity Principle).
Albert Einstein 6
This equation articulated the relationship between mass and energy; the idea mass could theoretically
be converted to energy. With the discovery of nuclear fission, this theoretical conversion became a
reality. In 1939, Leonard Szilard, a friend and contemporary of Einstein, informed him of the
discoveries. In fact he “never thought of” a chain reaction (Fara, 2005, p. 29). Along with the
excitement of the discussion of scientific discovery came the sobering reality of the consequences if
a chain reaction was successful. With Nazi power growing in Europe, Szilard and Einstein
acknowledged the danger of such a weapon in their control. To counter, they penned a letter to
President Franklin Roosevelt encouraging the support of atomic research. Six months later, when
little progress had been made, Einstein signed another letter to the president. This letter came with
an increased urgency for action. These letters contributed to the founding of the Manhattan Project.
Einstein was never a part of the project. Federal Bureau of Investigation head J. Edgar Hoover sent
out classified “anti-Einstein memos” in addition to tapping Einstein’s phone lines and intercepting
mail. This led to Army Intelligence banning Einstein from the project (Jerome, 2005). In 1941,
Vannever Bush contacted Einstein for help solving a problem on gas diffusion through membranes.
The problem was related to the Manhattan Project, but was phrased in academic terms to Einstein
so he would not gain insight into the scientists’ progress. Although he did not have direct
connection with the project, Einstein assumed progress in developing the atomic bomb was being
made and conversed with scientists around the world on the ethical implications of the bomb,
including Niels Bohr. With a working bomb months away, scientists consulted Einstein about the
implications of detonating such a bomb. In March 1945, Szilard convinced Einstein to write
another letter introducing him to the president. It was Szilard’s intent to meet with Roosevelt to
plead with him not to use the bomb, but due to Roosevelt’s unexpected death, the meeting never
occurred. Succeeding president Harry Truman did not hesitate in the decision to use the atomic
Albert Einstein 7
bomb. On December 8, 1945, with the rest of the world, Albert Einstein was informed of the use
of the atomic bomb on Japan. This event sparked Einstein’s most intense political activity.
With the Nazi power defeated and the second world war in three decades at a close, Albert
Einstein more fervently than ever worked for world peace. Advocating against the further
poured out publications and letters worldwide. Instead of considering Einstein a developer of
peace, the world considered him the “father of the bomb” (Feld, 1979). The July 1 cover of Time
magazine depicted “Cosmoclast Einstein” in the foreground with a giant mushroom cloud inscribed
with “e=mc2” towering over microscopic battleships in the background(Fara, 2005; Rowe &
Schulmann, 2007). In a 1945 piece in the Atlantic Monthly, Einstein responded to his critics saying, “I
do not consider myself the father of the release of atomic energy. My part in it was quite indirect. I
did not, in fact, foresee that it would be released in my time. I only believed that it was theoretically
possible” (Rowe & Schulmann, 2007, p. 376). Einstein repeatedly rejected responsibility for the
atomic bomb stating his only involvement was signing a letter to President Roosevelt (Feld, 1979).
Undertones of personal remorse appeared in a December 1945 address “The War Is Won, but the
Physicists find themselves in a position not unlike that of Alfred Nobel. Alfred Nobel
invented the most powerful explosive ever known up to his time, a means of destruction par
excellence. In order to atone for this, in order to relieve his human conscience he instituted
his awards for the promotion of peace and for achievements for peace. Today, the
physicists who participated in forging the most formidable and dangerous weapon of all
times are harassed by an equal feeling of responsibility, not to say guilt. And we cannot
desist from warning, and warning again, we cannot and should not slacken in our efforts to
make the nations of the world…aware of the unspeakable disaster they are certain to
Albert Einstein 8
provoke unless they change their attitude toward each other and toward the task of shaping
In this speech, Einstein addressed the current situation and its gravity. He also acknowledged a
sense of responsibility the physicists felt, himself included, and called them to a plan of action.
Much like Nobel, inventor of dynamite, fostered peace for posterity through an endowment, it was
necessary for the physicists involved with the construction of the atomic bomb to take action to
promote peace. Einstein’s vehicle for this was the pen, drafting countless articles and
correspondence urging the importance for international government and warning of the destruction
of nuclear weapons. In 1950 Major George Fielding Eliot collected all the information (scientific,
military, and political) known about the hydrogen bomb in a volume titled The H-bomb. Einstein
provided the introduction simply restating his opinion of the absurdity and danger of the arms race
and the need for disarmament and an international government (Einstein, 1950).
Although Einstein publicly rejected responsibility for the atomic bomb, he exhibited a social
responsibility to educate and advocate on the destruction of the bomb and preventative measures.
This was in character with the active political stance he took throughout his life. For Einstein,
science was the facts, the undisputable reality. It was the application of the facts that created
blessing or a curse to man, depends on man himself and not the instrument” (Rotblat, 1979, p. 24).
Even in the 1945 “The War Is Won, but the Peace Is Not” speech, Einstein essentially washes the
scientists’ hands placing the blame on the government to whom the bomb was given. Dwight
Neuenschwander in an address as part of the World Year of Physics stated it this way, “Nature
makes fission chain reactions possible. That’s how the world is. What we ought to do about it
presents a different kind of question, namely, what ethical principles guide our decisions about use?”
(2004). The scientist is not responsible for science, for the science already exists; the scientist is only
Albert Einstein 9
revealing it. Robert Oppenheimer, physicist and contemporary of Einstein, reflecting on the life of
Einstein acknowledged he made special relativity beautiful, but by 1932, the experimental evidence
had mounted to a point that even sans Einstein the theory still would have been developed.
With any knowledge comes responsibility, but one cannot be responsible for other’s actions
regarding that knowledge, only oneself. Albert Einstein was not responsible for the atomic bomb
because he unveiled the theoretical conversion of mass to energy. Nor was he responsible for the
atomic bomb because he informed President Roosevelt of the possibility of its creation. Einstein
did, however, have a responsibility as a scientist and human to provide the world with his knowledge
and insight. With countless manuscripts, Albert Einstein fulfilled this responsibility. Einstein
embraced a social responsibility to promote humanity, peace, and the pursuit of truth. In his final
publication, the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, signed a week before his death, Einstein encouraged
others to fulfill their responsibility. “There lies before us, if we choose, continued progress in
happiness, knowledge, and wisdom. Shall we, instead, choose death, because we cannot forget our
quarrels? We appeal, as human beings, to human beings: Remember your humanity and forget the
References
Einstein, A. (1950). Introduction. In G. F. Eliot (Ed.), The H Bomb (pp. 13-15). New York: Dider.
Feld, B. T. (1979). Eintstein and the politics of nuclear weapons. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 35(3),
5-16.
Hoffmann, B. (1973). Albert Einstein: Creator and rebel New York: New American Library.
Jerome, F. (2005). Einstein on race and racism. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Neuenschwander, D. E. (2004). Taking Einstein’s ethics into the 21st century: "Remember your humanity".
Paper presented at the Sigma Pi Sigma Congress. Retrieved 30 Oct. 2007, from
http://www.spsobserver.org/2006/observer_einstein.pdf.
Rosenkranz, Z. (1998). Albert through the looking-glass: The personal papers of Albert Einstein. Jerusalem:
Rotblat, J. (1979). Einstein the pacicfist warrior. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 35(3), 6.
Rowe, D. E., & Schulmann, R. J. (2007). Einstein on politics: His private thoughts and public stands on
nationalism, Zionism, war, peace, and the bomb. Princeton: Princeton University Press.