HIROSHIMA/NAGASAKI REMEMBRANCE 2025 Dick’s talk 8-10-25 on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)

 

HIROSHIMA/NAGASAKI REMEMBRANCE  2025

Dick’s talk 8-10-25 on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)

I.                Chronology of The Bomb

II.             Chronology of the Resistance

 

I.  Chronology of the Bomb

Naming the Bomb

The first test of the atomic bomb occurred on July 16, 1945, and was named “Trinity. “  J. Robert Oppenheimer, head of the Manhattan Project that created the atomic bomb, had been reading John Donne’s poetry and was inspired by the line: “Batter my heart, three person’d God.”   Donne was a 17^th c. British poet and priest.  Apparently Jewish Oppenheimer did not intend to imply a connection with Christian theology.

The Bomb dropped on Hiroshima August 6, 1945, was named Little Boy.  The Bomb dropped on Nagasaki was named Fat Man.  Few euphemisms have equaled these in sheer egregiousness.

 

Following Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the development of nuclear weapons saw rapid acceleration and proliferation. The Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb in 1949, breaking the US monopoly. This led to a nuclear arms race, with the US developing the hydrogen bomb in 1952 and other nations like the UK, France, and China following suit. 

• 1949: The Soviet Union successfully tested its first atomic bomb, ending the US monopoly on nuclear weapons. 
• 1952: The United Kingdom tested its first atomic bomb. 
• 1952: The US tested the first hydrogen bomb, significantly more powerful than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs. 
• 1954: The US conducted the "Bravo" test, a massive hydrogen bomb test that caused radioactive fallout and impacted nearby populations. 
• 1960: France tested its first atomic bomb. 
• 1964: China tested its first atomic bomb. 

 

 

 

 

II.Chronology of the Resistance

 

The period was marked by a focus on both developing more powerful weapons and building up arsenals, alongside attempts at arms control and international treaties. 

 

24 January 1946:  UN calls for elimination of atomic weapons.

1955: The Russell-Einstein manifesto was issued, warning of the dangers of nuclear war and advocating for peaceful resolutions. 

Late 1960s onward: Attempts at arms control and disarmament treaties were pursued, including the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).  This Treaty has several loopholes which can be exploited by the other Nations to have their own Nuclear program.  But although about 25 Nations might have gained nuclear weapons, the Treaty prevented all but  9.   Although the NPT did not ultimately prevent nuclear proliferation, in the context of the Cold War arms race and mounting international concern about the consequences of nuclear war, the treaty was a major success for advocates of arms control because it set a precedent for international cooperation between nuclear and non-nuclear states.

1996: The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) opened for signature, aiming to ban all nuclear test explosions. 

 

These efforts for control of nuclear weapons continued in

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (the TPNW). Thanks to indefatible efforts of the United Nations and to several NGOs like ICAN, the treaty that aims to prohibit all activities related to nuclear weapons, including development, testing, production, and possession. It was adopted on July 7, 2017, and entered into force on January 22, 2021, after receiving 50 ratifications.    As of February 2025, 73 states have ratified or acceded to the TPNW, and 94 have signed it, 

Before the Treaty, nuclear weapons were abhorred by world populations.  Now the weapons are illegal under international law.  The TPNW is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively ban nuclear weapons, marking a significant step towards their elimination.   A step.  The 9 nations with the weapons refused to sign.

But the  States that have signed, known as the Parties to the Treaty, have continued the struggle,  meeting on the risks for humanity of nuclear conflict, the status and operation of the Treaty, the total elimination of nuclear weapons, victim assistance, environmental remediation, and international cooperation and assistance.  
    

     What’s the best metaphor for the nuclear predicament facing us—the futility of the resort to force in the nuclear age?  We live on the brink of global nuclear destruction, “with no more than a mechanical or human mistake between us and the end of the world”?   Or: “ . . .We are hanging by one arm from a branch that sticks out over the brink”?  Abolition of the weapons would give us solid ground, where instead of heaping up weapons that can destroy our civilization, we could find peaceful means for handling disputes in the international sphere, the hope of the United Nations.  Then perhaps these artifacts of mass destruction will take their place “alongside the naval cannons of the past…played on by small children.” (Johanthan Schell, The Abolition).

     Humans have taken important steps to limit the weapons.  Now the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has brought us significantly closer to global abolition.   What can we do?  The most obvious thing is to ally ourselves with organizations advocating for that goal.  My latest Anthology of Nuclear WEAPONS RESISTANCE ORGANIZATIONS lists thirty.   https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2025/04/omni-supporting-nevada-desert.html