Scientists unite for peace. The Göttingen Manifesto against nuclear weapons

1957

In 1957, 18 distinguished German nuclear scientists signed a joint manifesto addressed to the federal government. In view of the proposed acquisition of atomic weapons by the Federal armed forces, the scientists warned of the dangers of atomic weapons and urged that Germany voluntarily desist from developing atomic weapons. From the Max Planck Society, the following scientists signed the manifesto: Otto Hahn, Werner Heisenberg, Max von Laue, Josef Mattauch and Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker.