Quotes by Joseph Rotblat

About Joseph Rotblat:

Sir Joseph (Józef) Rotblat was a Polish physicist, a self-described "Pole with a British passport". Rotblat was the only physicist to leave the Manhattan Project (1942–46) on the grounds of conscience. Rotblat's work on nuclear fallout was a major contribution toward the ratification of the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. A signatory of the Russell–Einstein Manifesto (1955), he was secretary-general of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs from their founding until 1973. He shared, with the Pugwash Conferences, the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize for efforts toward nuclear disarmament.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

I have to bring to your notice a terrifying reality: with the development of nuclear weapons Man has acquired, for the first time in history, the technical means to destroy the whole of civilization in a single act.

Joseph Rotblat

But the first the general public learned about the discovery was the news of the destruction of Hiroshima by the atom bomb. A splendid achievement of science and technology had turned malign. Science became identified with death and destruction.

Joseph Rotblat

At a time when science plays such a powerful role in the life of society, when the destiny of the whole of mankind may hinge on the results of scientific research, it is incumbent on all scientists to be fully conscious of that role, and conduct them...

Joseph Rotblat

I did not imagine that the second half of my life would be spent on efforts to avert a mortal danger to humanity created by science.

Joseph Rotblat

The most terrifying moment in my life was October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I did not know all the facts - we have learned only recently how close we were to war - but I knew enough to make me tremble.

Joseph Rotblat

Let me remind you that nuclear disarmament is not just an ardent desire of the people, as expressed in many resolutions of the United Nations. It is a legal commitment by the five official nuclear states, entered into when they signed the Non-Prolife...

Joseph Rotblat

All nuclear weapon states should now recognize that this is so, and declare - in Treaty form - that they will never be the first to use nuclear weapons. This would open the way to the gradual, mutual reduction of nuclear arsenals, down to zero.

Joseph Rotblat

But the nuclear powers still cling tenaciously to their weapons.

Joseph Rotblat

I appeal to my fellow scientists to remember their responsibility to humanity.

Joseph Rotblat

Indeed, the very first resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations - adopted unanimously - called for the elimination of nuclear weapons.

Joseph Rotblat

Long before the terrifying potential of the arms race was recognized, there was a widespread instinctive abhorrence of nuclear weapons, and a strong desire to get rid of them.

Joseph Rotblat

The chief task was to stop the arms race before it brought utter disaster. However, after the collapse of communism and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, any rationale for having nuclear weapons disappeared.

Joseph Rotblat

As for the assertion that nuclear weapons prevent wars, how many more wars are needed to refute this arguments? Tens of millions have died in the many wars that have taken place since 1945.

Joseph Rotblat

If the militarily most powerful - and least threatened - states need nuclear weapons for their security, how can one deny such security to countries that are truly insecure? The present nuclear policy is a recipe for proliferation. It is a policy for...

Joseph Rotblat

The decision to use the atom bomb on Japanese cities, and the consequent buildup of enormous nuclear arsenals, was made by governments, on the basis of political and military perceptions.

Joseph Rotblat

The present basic philosophy is nuclear deterrence.

Joseph Rotblat

This means that the only function of nuclear weapons, while they exist, is to deter a nuclear attack.

Joseph Rotblat

To sum up, there is no evidence that a world without nuclear weapons would be a dangerous world. On the contrary, it would be a safer world, as I will show later.

Joseph Rotblat

We are told that the possession of nuclear weapons - in some cases even the testing of these weapons - is essential for national security. But this argument can be made by other countries as well.

Joseph Rotblat

When the START 2 treaty has been implemented - and remember it has not yet been ratified - we will be left with some 15,000 nuclear warheads, active and in reserve. Fifteen thousand weapons with an average yield of 20 Hiroshima bombs.

Joseph Rotblat

Author Bio

  • NameJoseph Rotblat
  • DescriptionPolish-born British-naturalised physicist
  • BornNovember 4, 1908
  • DiedAugust 31, 2005
  • CountryUnited Kingdom; Poland
  • ProfessionPhysicist
  • AwardsNobel Peace Prize; Fellow Of The Royal Society; Knight Commander Of The Order Of St Michael And St George