Einstein, Albert

Typed speech, signed ("A. Einstein") and dated with numerous autograph corrections, 2 pages (11 x 8 1/2 in.; 280 x 215 mm), [Princeton, New Jersey], 5 June 1948, docketed at top in pencil "Message from Professor Albert Einstein to Conference of Religion, meeting at Town Hall, Wednesday, June 16th—to be mimeographed." Green quarter-cloth folder, with mimeographed version laid in.

Einstein addresses the Conference of Religion for Moral and Spiritual Support of the United Nations.

At a Town Hall meeting, held under the auspices of the Church Peace Union, Einstein warns of the dangers of the atomic bomb and supports a supra-national authority or world government: "As everyone knows—or as everyone should know—any future war would indubitably spell the annihilation of all civilized humanity. Not enough of us, however, are fully aware of the fact that a lasting peace can no longer be secured by the ever-increasing arming of nations. Peace can be secured solely by the setting up of a supra-national organization, vested with the authority to pronounce, and with the power to enforce binding decisions. Without such a world government, a disastrous armaments race and ensuing war seem inevitable."

Einstein questions whether America recognizes these facts, noting that some hold the Soviet Union responsible for obstructing the work of a United Nations. He then raises a series of provocative questions: "Is it not equally true that any despotic regime is all the more bolstered in its home country, the more that country is threatened from outside? Is Russia really a greater threat to the United States than the United States is to Russia? Which of these two countries ... has suffered more from outside interference, or indeed by foreign invasions? Can one—indeed, should one – successfully attempt to contain the spread of an ideology—any ideology—by brute force? Did we truly support in the countries within our sphere of influence the popular demand for social democracy and justice, or did we not instead coddle the obsolete remnants of a feudal order? Let us all consider these questions soberly and without bias. Then, we shall by the same token, free ourselves from the hysteria that threatens to drag us into a preventive war."

He recognizes the difficulty of living according to the Christian maxim "love thy neighbor as thyself," but trying to do so would provide a "spiritual basis for the solution of our burning international problems. It is in this spirit that I appeal to the Church Peace Union and to all of you to use your high authority and invaluable influence towards achieving these ends."