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When the first atom bomb was dropped on Japan and brought World War Two to an end, Schweitzer felt that human beings had discovered the opposite to Reverence for Life.
In the succeeding years he followed closely the development of nuclear power. He corresponded with the experts in the subject, including Albert Einstein, an old friend, and Robert Oppenheimer, for some time head of the American Atomic Energy Commission.
When the US State Department was developing the hydrogen bomb and persecuting anyone who revealed or protested against their plans, Schweitzer was approached by a number of important people with requests that he should speak out against the dangers of radiation and fallout. They pointed out that his words were listened to by the whole world, and that he was independent and could not be threatened with the loss of his livelihood as American citizens could. This made him the ideal person to warn the world what was going on.
This so alarmed the US authorities, that instructions were issued from as high as President Eisenhower himself to try to stop him speaking out. The CIA had a number of secret files on him in the attempt to discredit him.
Reluctant at first, he was finally convinced that it was his duty to tell the truth. He studied the subject with his usual meticulous care, and in broadcasts from Radio Oslo in the late 1950s he spelt out to the peoples of the world for the first time the exact consequences of the hydrogen bomb explosions.
This started a world-wide series of protests from scientists and public alike. Shortly afterwards President Eisenhower called off the h-bomb tests. |
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