8 Quotes & Sayings By Joseph Rotblat

Joseph Rotblat was born in Poland in 1929. He received his undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Warsaw, where he also worked on the atomic bomb project. He worked at the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy in Moscow for three years before moving to England. He married a Polish mathematician, Anna Radziwiłł, and they settled near Cambridge Read more

As a student of C. P. Snow, Rotblat became interested in the problem of nuclear disarmament.

In 1956, he was elected to the British Academy, one of the most prestigious learned societies in the United Kingdom.

1
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 disaster. Joseph Rotblat
2
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
3
The Cold War is over but Cold War thinking survives. Joseph Rotblat
4
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 themselves accordingly. Joseph Rotblat
5
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
6
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
7
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-Proliferation Treaty. Joseph Rotblat