In mid-February 1955, Einstein received a letter from Russell, a famous British philosopher, telling him that due to the race to manufacture nuclear weapons, the future of mankind was really worrying, and he hoped to unite several countries with Einstein as the leader. A famous scientist issued a declaration to avoid a war that would destroy mankind.

After receiving the letter, Einstein immediately wrote back and said: "You are familiar with the work of these organizations. You are the general and I am the soldier. As long as you give the order, I will follow." Then the famous " "Russell-Einstein Declaration": "In view of the fact that nuclear weapons will certainly be used in a future world war and that such weapons will certainly pose a threat to the survival of mankind, we call on the governments of the world to publicly declare their purposes. We Called that any disputes between them should be resolved by peaceful means."

In the history of the entanglement between modern science and international politics, 1955 is a very special time coordinate. There are three famous figures in this year. Scientists' declarations were published one after another. On April 12, 18 atomic physicists and Nobel Prize winners from the Federal Republic of Germany jointly issued the "G?ttingen Declaration". On July 9, the famous British philosopher B. Russell announced the Russell-Einstein Declaration in London, which he personally drafted and signed by 10 other famous scientists, including Einstein. On July 15, 52 Nobel Prize winners jointly issued the "Mainau Declaration" on the shores of Lake Constance in Germany.

The purpose and tone of the three declarations are very similar. They all warn that nuclear war using hydrogen bombs will bring devastating disasters to mankind, urge governments to abandon the use of force as a means to achieve political goals, and express the strong sentiments of scientists. sense of social responsibility. But their impact is not the same. Some are lively for a while and then disappear without attracting public attention. Only the publication of the Russell-Einstein Declaration led to an international conference, the Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs, and triggered a famous international peace movement of scientists, the Pugwash Movement.