The War is Won, but the Peace is Not- Albert Einstein- Essay Summary

SUMMARY:

Albert Einstein makes his speech "The war is won, but the peace is not" on, the loss of peace in the world even after the end of the war. He speaks on the duties of physicists and the trust they have in the governments. He then says how the world governments have failed to keep their word. To make the fact more clear, he specifies the Jews’ pathetic state in this world. Let’s see his speech content.

• He begins the speech by saying the importance of the Nobel Prize. It was created for the promotion of peace and achievements of peace by Alfred Nobel, the scientist who invented the most powerful explosives. Then he states the reality, how this world is at peace without war yet with no peace. He says, “The war is won, but the peace is not”.

• He connects physicists with the construction of the use of atomic bombs and how they are all harassed by their responsibility for creating such a harmful weapon of all time.

• It’s the physicists who have to warn the world about its dangers and how they can be avoided with proper behavior between nations.

• He now points out why the scientists invent it and what they do with it. The scientists invent such highly dangerous weapons to overpower the evils of mankind before finding weaponry and they trust the Americans and the British Governments to use their inventions to keep mankind in peace.

• But that was a failure. The promises made in the Atlantic Charter (it’s a statement issued on 14 August 1941 that set out American and British goals for the world after the end of World War II) were not fulfilled by both Governments.

• The world's great powers fought together and divided for peace. The freedom of fear, the freedom of want, the freedom of liberation, and the freedom of justice were promised.

• But in vain. The fear has just increased. People all over are suffering starvation and others are living in abundance. The ones who fight for their social equality are fired with liberal armies.

• Territorial and arguments of power were out of date though these are the basic essential demands of justice and common welfare.

• Now Alfred shortens his views to a specific case. The case of Jews. The community has suffered in both periods, pre-war and post-war. The community to which he himself belongs.

• Nazi violence of killing people with gas chambers was world-known news. Though when Hitler was on the verge of taking over Romania and Hungary the Jew-rescue-plan was dropped to nil. They were all left to die. As no country will come forward to accept these immigrants and they were also forsaken from Palestine.

• Yet, he marks the heroic efforts made by the small countries of the Scandinavian, the Dutch, the Swiss nations, and individuals in Europe who used their whole powers in helping the Jews.

• He also marks the helping hands of the Soviet Union, which was the only one among the big powers that was merciful enough to open the doors to hundreds and thousands of Jews.

• Keeping the history, he questions today’s state of Jews in the world. Has it changed? No.

• The one-fifth of Jewry that escaped was also not provided any space to live. Europe and Palestine forbade them, leaving them to hunger and cold. No other country today is willing to offer them a place. Where they might enjoy peace and security.

• Why are the Jews forbidden to enter Palestine? People say the reason is democracy. But no, it’s actually the Western powers to maintain the banishment of the White Paper (The paper called for the establishment of a Jewish national home in an independent Palestinian state within 10 years. It also limited Jewish immigration to 75,000 for five years and ruled that further immigration would then be determined by the Arab majority. Jews were restricted from buying Arab land in all but 5% of the Mandate. The proposal did not meet the political demands proposed by Arab representatives and was officially rejected.)

• By stating the unchanged world chaos even after the end of the war, Alfred says “the picture of our post war is not bright.”

• Then he speaks about the duties of the authorities. Physicists have no connection to politics yet they know stuff that the politicians do not possess. It’s their duty to speak up and remind them to be responsible because once lost cannot be regained.

• Alfred concludes by saying that the decision-makers hold the destiny of human civilization and so he prays to the spirits that made Alfred Nobel create the Nobel Prize to create the spirit of trust and confidence, generosity, and brotherhood among men which is necessary. If not, humankind is doomed.

~ Literpretation Team for Education