50 Years of Anti-Nuke

“Differentiate between tactical and big atomic weapons,” said Konrad Adenauer, Germany’s first chancellor following World War Two. “The tactical weapons are nothing more than the development of the artillery.”

The chancellor advocated arming the German military with nuclear warheads. However, Atomic physicist Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker thought differently.

In 1957, Weizsäcker penned a manifesto against the possession of nuclear weapons, which was signed by 17 prominent researchers, including four Nobel Prize winners.

Germany becomes a nuclear power

When newspapers published the so-called Göttinger Declaration on April 12, 1957, it received resonance throughout the world: In Germany, the “Fight against Atomic Death” movement was founded.

Despite the appeals of anti-nuclear groups, the German parliament approved the nuclear armament of the Bundeswehr as part of NATO in 1958.

In the same year, the British Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) was founded. Today, the organization has tens of thousands of members -- but that hasn’t kept Britain from maintaining nuclear weapons.

“We’re not frustrated,” said CND chairwoman Kate Hudson, despite a recent major setback.

Britain to extend nuclear capacity

In March, Britain’s Lower House of Commons approved a plan to replace its four ballistic submarines, which are due to go out of service in 2023. These Vanguard-type submarines carry Britain’s 16 nuclear missiles.

Opponents of the plan say it undermines hopes for international nuclear disarmament. Britain, the US, China, Russia and France have all signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which calls for complete nuclear disarmament.

However, the nearly 40-year-old document does not stipulate a timeframe for disarmament.

“The total number of missile heads is significantly declining,” said nuclear weapons expert Shannon Kile from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). “But deterrence and clout should continue.”

“It’s mostly about deterrence”

According to its Emergency Plan 8022, the US sees the deployment of a nuclear missile as a last resort in the face of a direct threat. The report names North Korea, Iran, Syria and China as possible targets.

“China and Russia also emphasize the smaller, more scurrilous nuclear powers,” said Vitaly Fedchenko, an Asia expert at SIPRI.

Although all official nuclear powers have reserved the right to strike first, the likelihood of this is slim. “It’s mostly about deterrence,” said Fedchenko.

“However, new dangers arise with the non-official nuclear powers,” he added. “There the control mechanisms aren’t as pronounced as in the US or Russia.”

Suppression of anti-nuclear opinion

In these countries, anti-nuclear protestors hardly have a voice. In Pakistan and India, nuclear warheads are seen as a sign of political power and are an object of national pride. In China and North Korea, criticism against the government is often repressed.

Israel has never officially confirmed the possession of nuclear weapons -- the nuclear scientist Mordechai Vanunu, who went public with his country’s nuclear program, was charged with treason and espionage and sentenced to 18 years in prison.

“We have colleagues in these countries who are subjected to entirely different dangers than we are,” said Jens-Peter Steffen, consultant at the organization International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW).

“What’s missing is widespread awareness among the population,” said Steffen. “The opposition only has very limited opportunity to express their opinion.”

Kate Hudson from CND said it’s not enough to phase out nuclear weapons in our own countries. “We also have to convince other countries to do it too,” she said. “But as long as we claim we need them for defense, we can’t take this right away from others either.”