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Article ID: CBB001211599

Was Einstein Really a Pacifist? Einstein's Forward-Thinking, Pragmatic, Persistent Pacifism (2008)

Holmes, Virginia Iris (Author)

Peace and Change: A Journal of Peace Research
Volume: 33, no. 2
Issue: 2
Pages: 274-307

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This article examines Einstein's pacifist convictions, as revealed by public and private statements throughout his life, with particular attention to two periods when his identity as a pacifist might be most challenged: (a) the start of the Nazi regime in Germany in 1933, when he continued to claim a pacifist identity but argued that refusal of military service was no longer appropriate or effective in current circumstances; and (b) the aftermath of the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan in August 1945, when critics, including some Japanese, pointed to his early groundbreaking work in physics as having made the bomb possible and his efforts in 1939 to urge the United States government to produce such a bomb before Germany. The author argues that Einstein maintained a constant pacifist identity throughout his life, interweaving it with a commitment to social justice, insightful concerns about the relationship between Jews and Arabs in Palestine, and a core belief in supranational world government as the truly effective avenue to ending war. Although his sense of pacifism evolved significantly in response to historical developments, he thoughtfully and clearly articulated his reasoning behind these shifts.

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