Göttinger Manifest
Encyclopedia
The Göttingen Manifesto was a declaration of 18 leading nuclear scientists of West Germany
against arming the West German army with tactical nuclear weapons in the 1950s, the early part of the Cold War
, as the West German government under chancellor Adenauer
had suggested.
and Nagasaki.
After World War II the Cold War
began. Germany was divided, and both German states were frontier states in the Cold War. After the Korean War
(1950 - 1953), West Germany founded its own army, the Bundeswehr
, in 1953. There were many protests against the remilitarisation of West Germany
. A few months after the foundation of the West German army, the Eastern German state founded an army, too.
In 1953 the hydrogen bomb was invented. A short time later both superpower
s, the USA and the Soviet Union
, had a so-called overkill potential. In the whole world and especially in the frontier states of the Cold War there was a great fear of nuclear war
at that time. A few years later, in the Cuban Missile Crisis
, it was felt the existence of mankind was under threat.
The Göttinger 18
wrote the following manifesto on April 12, 1957:
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
against arming the West German army with tactical nuclear weapons in the 1950s, the early part of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, as the West German government under chancellor Adenauer
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
had suggested.
Historical situation
In the Second World War some of the signing scientists had been members of the Uranverein, a nuclear research project of the Nazi regime. The war ended with the nuclear destruction of the cities of HiroshimaHiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
and Nagasaki.
After World War II the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
began. Germany was divided, and both German states were frontier states in the Cold War. After the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
(1950 - 1953), West Germany founded its own army, the Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
, in 1953. There were many protests against the remilitarisation of West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. A few months after the foundation of the West German army, the Eastern German state founded an army, too.
In 1953 the hydrogen bomb was invented. A short time later both superpower
Superpower
A superpower is a state with a dominant position in the international system which has the ability to influence events and its own interests and project power on a worldwide scale to protect those interests...
s, the USA and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, had a so-called overkill potential. In the whole world and especially in the frontier states of the Cold War there was a great fear of nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
at that time. A few years later, in the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
, it was felt the existence of mankind was under threat.
The Göttinger 18
Göttinger 18
The Göttingen Eighteen was a group of eighteen leading nuclear researchers of the newly founded Federal Republic of Germany who wrote the Göttingen Manifesto on April 12, 1957, opposing Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and Defense Secretary Franz-Josef Strauß's move to arm the West German army, the...
wrote the following manifesto on April 12, 1957:
The Manifesto
| The plans to arm the Bundeswehr Bundeswehr The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities... with atomic weapons worry the signing atomic researchers very much. Some of them wrote to the responsible authorities in the last months. Today it's a question of public interest. The signing people feel responsible to inform the people about things that every expert but not the normal people know. 1. Tactical nuclear weapons have the same destructive effect as normal atomic bombs. "Tactical" means only, that they will be used against operating troops on the ground too, not only against civilians. Every tactical atomic bomb or granate has a similar effect as the first atomic bomb of Hiroshima Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M... . Because of their large number, tactical atomic weapons in sum will have much more destructive potential. As "smart" they are declared only in comparison to the "strategic" hydrogen bomb. 2. There is no elemental limit known for the development of the live destructing effect of strategic nuclear weapons. A tactical atomic bomb can destroy a small town, but an H bomb is able to make a countryside of an area like the Ruhr area Ruhr Area The Ruhr, by German-speaking geographers and historians more accurately called Ruhr district or Ruhr region , is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million , it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany... uninhabitable for a long time. Through the diffusion of the radioactivity today it would be possible to kill the whole population of West Germany by using H bombs. We know no technical possibility to protect a large population from this. We know, it is very difficult to take political consequences by this facts. We, as non-politicians, will nobody attest the competence. Our profession is pure science and its application and to force young people to work in our science, but we are responsible for the consequences of our research. By this fact, we cannot keep silent to all political questions. We admit ourselves to the freedom, like the western world defends against communism today. We do not deny that the fear of the H bomb has an important rule on peace keeping in our world and protecting freedom in a part of the world. But we do not believe that this way of peace and freedom protection works for all time, and are frightened of the killing consequences in the case of failure. We cannot give advice for the politics of the Great Powers. But we believe, for a small country like the Federal Republic of Germany the best way of peace keeping and protecting itself would be a voluntary abdication of having all kinds of nuclear weapons. None of the signatories would work on a military nuclear project. At the same time we challenge research on peaceful use of nuclear energy. Fritz Bopp, Max Born Max Born Max Born was a German-born physicist and mathematician who was instrumental in the development of quantum mechanics. He also made contributions to solid-state physics and optics and supervised the work of a number of notable physicists in the 1920s and 30s... , Rudolf Fleischmann Rudolf Fleischmann Rudolf Fleischmann was a German experimental nuclear physicist from Erlangen, Bavaria. He worked for Walther Bothe at the Physics Institute of the University of Heidelberg and then at the Institute for Physics of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Medical Research... , Walther Gerlach, Otto Hahn Otto Hahn Otto Hahn FRS was a German chemist and Nobel laureate, a pioneer in the fields of radioactivity and radiochemistry. He is regarded as "the father of nuclear chemistry". Hahn was a courageous opposer of Jewish persecution by the Nazis and after World War II he became a passionate campaigner... , Otto Haxel Otto Haxel Otto Haxel was a German nuclear physicist. During World War II, he worked on the German nuclear energy project. After the war, he was on the staff of the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Göttingen... , Werner Heisenberg Werner Heisenberg Werner Karl Heisenberg was a German theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to quantum mechanics and is best known for asserting the uncertainty principle of quantum theory... , Hans Kopfermann Hans Kopfermann Hans Kopfermann was a German atomic and nuclear physicist. He devoted his entire career to spectroscopic investigations, and he did pioneering work in measuring nuclear spin... , Max v. Laue Max von Laue Max Theodor Felix von Laue was a German physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1914 for his discovery of the diffraction of X-rays by crystals... , Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Heinz Maier-Leibnitz was a German physicist. He made contributions to nuclear spectroscopy, coincidence measurement techniques, radioactive tracers for biochemistry and medicine, and neutron optics... , Josef Mattauch Josef Mattauch Josef Mattauch was a German physicist known for his work in the investigation of the isotopic abundances by mass spectrometry. He developed the Mattauch isobar rule in 1934.-Mattauch-Herzog geometry mass spectrometer:... , Friedrich-Adolf Paneth, Wolfgang Paul Wolfgang Paul Wolfgang Paul was a German physicist, who co-developed the non-magnetic quadrupole mass filter which laid the foundation for what we now call an ion trap... , Wolfgang Riezler, Fritz Straßmann, Wilhelm Walcher Wilhelm Walcher Wilhelm Walcher was a German experimental physicist. During World War II, he worked on the German nuclear energy project, also known as the Uranium Club; he worked on mass spectrometers for isotope separation. After the war, he was director of the Institute of Physics at the University of Marburg... , Carl Friedrich Frhr. v. Weizsäcker Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker Carl Friedrich Freiherr von Weizsäcker was a German physicist and philosopher. He was the longest-living member of the research team which performed nuclear research in Germany during the Second World War, under Werner Heisenberg's leadership... , Karl Wirtz Karl Wirtz Karl Eugen Julius Wirtz was a German nuclear physicist. He was arrested by the allied British and American Armed Forces and incarcerated at Farm Hall for six months in 1945 under Operation Epsilon.-Education:... |
German original text
| Die Pläne einer atomaren Bewaffnung der Bundeswehr erfüllen die unterzeichnenden Atomforscher mit tiefer Sorge. Einige von ihnen haben den zuständigen Bundesministern ihre Bedenken schon vor mehreren Monaten mitgeteilt. Heute ist eine Debatte über diese Frage allgemein geworden. Die Unterzeichnenden fühlen sich daher verpflichtet, öffentlich auf einige Tatsachen hinzuweisen, die alle Fachleute wissen, die aber der Öffentlichkeit noch nicht hinreichend bekannt zu sein scheinen. 1. Taktische Atomwaffen haben die zerstörende Wirkung normaler Atombomben. Als "taktisch" bezeichnet man sie, um auszudrücken, daß sie nicht nur gegen menschliche Siedlungen, sondern auch gegen Truppen im Erdkampf eingesetzt werden sollen. Jede einzelne taktische Atombombe oder -granate hat eine ähnliche Wirkung wie die erste Atombombe, die Hiroshima zerstört hat. Da die taktischen Atomwaffen heute in großer Zahl vorhanden sind, würde ihre zerstörende Wirkung im ganzen sehr viel größer sein. Als "klein" bezeichnet man diese Bomben nur im Vergleich zur Wirkung der inzwischen entwickelten "strategischen" Bomben, vor allem der Wasserstoffbomben. 2. Für die Entwicklungsmöglichkeit der lebensausrottenden Wirkung der strategischen Atomwaffen ist keine natürliche Grenze bekannt. Heute kann eine taktische Atombombe eine kleinere Stadt zerstören, eine Wasserstoffbombe aber einen Landstrich von der Größe des Ruhrgebietes zeitweilig unbewohnbar machen. Durch Verbreitung von Radioaktivität könnte man mit Wasserstoffbomben die Bevölkerung der Bundesrepublik wahrscheinlich schon heute ausrotten. Wir kennen keine technische Möglichkeit, große Bevölkerungsmengen vor dieser Gefahr sicher zu schützen. Wir wissen, wie schwer es ist, aus diesen Tatsachen die politischen Konsequenzen zu ziehen. Uns als Nichtpolitikern wird man die Berechtigung dazu abstreiten wollen; unsere Tätigkeit, die der reinen Wissenschaft und ihrer Anwendung gilt und bei der wir viele junge Menschen unserem Gebiet zuführen, belädt uns aber mit einer Verantwortung für die möglichen Folgen dieser Tätigkeit. Deshalb können wir nicht zu allen politischen Fragen schweigen. Wir bekennen uns zur Freiheit, wie sie heute die westliche Welt gegen den Kommunismus vertritt. Wir leugnen nicht, daß die gegenseitige Angst vor den Wasserstoffbomben heute einen wesentlichen Beitrag zur Erhaltung des Friedens in der ganzen Welt und der Freiheit in einem Teil der Welt leistet. Wir halten aber diese Art, den Frieden und die Freiheit zu sichern, auf die Dauer für unzuverlässig, und wir halten die Gefahr im Falle des Versagens für tödlich. Wir fühlen keine Kompetenz, konkrete Vorschläge für die Politik der Großmächte zu machen. Für ein kleines Land wie die Bundesrepublik glauben wir, daß es sich heute noch am besten schützt und den Weltfrieden noch am ehesten fördert, wenn es ausdrücklich und freiwillig auf den Besitz von Atomwaffen jeder Art verzichtet. Jedenfalls wäre keiner der Unterzeichnenden bereit, sich an der Herstellung, der Erprobung oder dem Einsatz von Atomwaffen in irgendeiner Weise zu beteiligen. Gleichzeitig betonen wir, daß es äußerst wichtig ist, die friedliche Verwendung der Atomenergie mit allen Mitteln zu fördern, und wir wollen an dieser Aufgabe wie bisher mitwirken. Fritz Bopp, Max Born, Rudolf Fleischmann, Walther Gerlach, Otto Hahn, Otto Haxel, Werner Heisenberg, Hans Kopfermann, Max v. Laue, Heinz Maier-Leibnitz, Josef Mattauch, Friedrich-Adolf Paneth, Wolfgang Paul, Wolfgang Riezler, Fritz Straßmann, Wilhelm Walcher, Carl Friedrich Frhr. v. Weizsäcker, Karl Wirtz |