War and peace in the nuclear age

War

When does war actually begin? According to a well-known saying, truth is always the first casualty of war. If that is true, then every war begins long before acts of military violence, namely with propaganda and lies. War begins when we do not treat each other as human beings and peoples born with equal rights in accordance with the UN Charter – when the “right to exist” (of whomever) is up for debate. Then we wage war, regardless of whether we are dressed in military uniforms or the fine threads of leadership representatives, whether we are soldiers, academics or workers (Adler 1919).
  If we lose what Albert Schweitzer called “reverence for life”, we sink below the civilisational level of animals. In animals, within a species, “an order secured by hereditary behaviour is the rule [...], which […] generally eliminates deadly conflict,” as Swiss zoologist Adolf Portmann says (Portmann, p. 67). That is why we humans must ensure a secure life in dignity through humanistic ethics. This intellectual current runs through all ages and appears in all cultures.
  The fundamental problems facing humanity are not technical in nature, but lie in the way we organise our coexistence. When our intelligence is used for hostile purposes, we continue to escalate the spiral of “sharper swords and harder shields”, and humanity wastes its energy and time in the process. In war, all knowledge can be used as weapons instead of for the good of humanity.

Nuclear research

When modern physics discovered the forces within atomic nuclei, the age of nuclear research began. It opened up undreamt-of possibilities which, under wartime conditions, were unfortunately exploited for weapons development. During the Second World War, there was a race to develop so-called atomic bombs, which were ten thousand times more powerful than chemical explosives. Nuclear weapons kill indiscriminately, en masse, infinitely far and permanently beyond the battlefield.
  The bombing of cities in Japan – as previously in Europe – were deliberate attacks on the civilian population planned by the responsible “bomber” generals, from Arthur Harris and Hermann Göring to Curtis LeMay, with the intention of demoralising the population’s will to fight and turning them against their governments – the classic definition of terror. The perpetrators themselves used this term. Such actions were already prohibited under the law at the time (Hague Convention of 1907) and were classified as war crimes under the Geneva Convention of 1949. But according to John Warden’s doctrine, the American Air Force continues to this day to attack civilian targets in order to destabilise a country.

Nuclear war

According to documented statements by top commanders such as Eisenhower (Coulmas, p. 14 ff.), the bombing of the two undefended cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was militarily insignificant and not decisive for the end of the war, as was later claimed and is still claimed today in justification. At the time, there were diplomatic initiatives on the part of Japan, of which President Truman was aware, as he personally noted in his “Potsdam Diary” on 17 July 1945 (Coulmas, p. 18). But the US government ignored the possibility of a negotiated solution. Instead, the atomic bombs were dropped to demonstrate that the US possessed them and would not shy away from using them. They were also intended to send a message to the Soviet Union and ultimately ushered in the Cold War.
  Last but not least, the dropping of these two bombs with different fissile materials (uranium and plutonium) served as a test on previously undamaged cities and their populations. In order to study the spontaneous progression of the so-called atomic disease, which occurred on a massive scale, and other long-term effects, communication between Japanese hospitals and abroad was blocked. Japan was even forced to reject medical aid offered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (Coulmas, p. 18). In short, it was a monstrous war crime and crime against humanity disguised by the fog of war.

Working for peace

This world needs neutral mediators and humanitarian aid workers. Switzerland, which acted as a diplomatic “great power” (Rings 1966) during the Second World War thanks to its many good offices, must return to this role. Experience shows that protecting life and preserving humanity require at least as much courage and sacrifice as any kind of military heroism. And they – mediators and aid workers – help to protect civilians from being brutalised during warfare. We have long known what war does to people and what people do in war.
  War is a social catastrophe and a disease of the soul, in which power alone prevails and humanity is lost. When we prioritise power, we act against our social nature, against our humanity. Hostile striving for power, as taken to extremes in war, is a psychological aberration that severely disrupts human coexistence.
  Humanity must succeed in breaking out of this spiral. Even the war planners and bomber marshals were once children – children who lived their lives in a culture of war, thus proving that violence begets more violence.
  This presents us all with a clear task: our children should become courageous and compassionate citizens who want to follow a constructive path and take responsibility for the well-being of all people.
  Since the 20^th century, insights from depth psychology have shown how a human child can succumb to the temptations of power in all its forms or be made more immune to them. This peace work begins in families and at school. Exposing children and young adults to good books, such as “The Day of the Bomb” (German original: “Sadako will leben”) contribute greatly to the project of advancing peace. •

Sources and literature:

Adler, Alfred. The other side. A mass psychological study on the guilt of the people. in: The Collected Clinical Works of Alfred Adler, Vol. 4 – Journal Articles: 1914–1920. Published 2003 by The Classical Adlerian Translation Project, USA
Boyle, Francis A. The Criminality of Nuclear Deterrence. Atlanta, GA: Clarity Press, 2002
Coulmas, Florian. Hiroshima. Geschichte und Nachgeschichte (Hiroshima. History and aftermath). Munich: C.H. Beck, 2005
Overy, Richard. Rain of Ruin. Tokyo, Hiroshima and the Surrender of Japan. Allen Lane: London, 2025.
Pohlmann, Dirk. youtu.be/IaWqdcMd7Vc
Portmann, Adolf. Tötungshemmung und Arterhaltung als biologische Probleme in Die Frage der Todesstrafe. Zwölf Antworten (The inhibition of killing and the preservation of species as biological problems in The Question of Capital Punishment: Twelve Answers), ed. by Johannes Schlemmer, Munich: Piper, 1962, 65–78
Rings, Werner. Advokaten des Feindes. Das Abenteuer der politischen Neutralität (Advocates of the enemy. The adventure of political neutrality). Zurich: Buchclub Ex Libris, 1966