The Stockholm Appeal was an initiative launched by the World Peace Council on 19 March 1950 to promote nuclear disarmament and prevent atomic war.

Background

On 15 March 1950, the World Peace Council approved the Stockholm Appeal, calling for an absolute ban on

nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission, fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (thermonuclear weap ...

. The appeal was initiated by the French physicist, communist and 1935 Nobel laureate in Chemistry

Frédéric Joliot-Curie Jean Frédéric Joliot-Curie (; ; 19 March 1900 – 14 August 1958) was a French chemist and physicist who received the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with his wife, Irène Joliot-Curie, for their discovery of induced radioactivity. They were t ...

. About two weeks after the start of the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, the initiative's first publication called ''Peacegram'' claimed that the appeal has already earned 1.5 million signatories. The total gathered petitions were allegedly signed by 273,470,566 persons (including the entire adult population of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

). The appeal was also signed by many prominent public figures, artists, and intellectuals. The text of the appeal read:

We demand the outlawing of atomic weapons as instruments of intimidation and mass murder of peoples. We demand strict international control to enforce this measure. We believe that any government which first uses atomic weapons against any other country whatsoever will be committing a crime against humanity and should be dealt with as a war criminal. We call on all men and women of good will throughout the world to sign this appeal.

Anti-Communist responses

The United States dismissed the Stockholm Appeal, with the U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson branding it as "a propaganda trick in the spurious 'peace offensive' of the Soviet Union." Liberals in the United States, led by W.E.B. Du Bois established the Peace Information Center (PIC) to publicize the Stockholm Appeal, but the

U.S. Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

alleged that the PIC was acting as an agent of the

, and thus required the PIC to register with the federal government. Du Bois and other PIC leaders refused, and they were indicted for failure to register. Anti-communists in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

responded to the Stockholm Appeal ( French: ''L'Appel de Stockholm'') by setting up the group to counter the Communist propaganda with their own: one of their first posters was ''La Pelle de Stockholm'' ("The Spade of Stockholm") digging the graves of the countries in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

that had been subjugated by the Soviets.

Notable signatories

Jorge Amado Jorge Amado ( 10 August 1912 – 6 August 2001) was a Brazilian writer of the modernist school. He remains the best-known of modern Brazilian writers, with his work having been translated into some 49 languages and popularized in film, includi ...

, Brazilian writer and member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters * Herbert Aptheker, American historian and political activist * Louis Aragon, French poet * Pierre Benoit, French novelist and member of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

, American composer and conductor *

Rudolf Carnap Rudolf Carnap (; ; 18 May 1891 – 14 September 1970) was a German-language philosopher who was active in Europe before 1935 and in the United States thereafter. He was a major member of the Vienna Circle and an advocate of logical positivism. ...

, German philosopher and advocate of logical positivism * Marcel Carné, French film director * Marc Chagall, Russian-French artist * Maurice Chevalier, French actor and cabaret singer *

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

, French politician and later

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...

(1995–2007). ''L'Humanité''. 8 May 1995 (in French). * Frank Marshall Davis, American journalist, poet and activist *

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relativel ...

, American sociologist, historian and activist * James Gareth Endicott, Canadian clergyman and Christian missionary * Ilya Ehrenburg, Soviet-Jewish writer, journalist and historian *

Lion Feuchtwanger Lion Feuchtwanger (; 7 July 1884 – 21 December 1958) was a German Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Republic, Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht. ...

, German-Jewish novelist and playwright * Vincent Glinsky, American sculptor * Dashiell Hammett, American novelist and screenwriter * Leo Hurwitz, American documentary filmmaker *

, French physicist, 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate and President of the World Peace Council (1950–1958) * Lionel Jospin, French politician and later

Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (), officially the prime minister of the French Republic (''Premier ministre de la République française''), is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of its Council of Ministers. The prime ...

(1997–2002) * Alfred E. Kahn, American journalist, publisher, and head of the Jewish People's Fraternal Order * Rockwell Kent, American painter and graphic artist * Robert Lamoureux, French actor, screenwriter and film director * Artur Lundkvist, Swedish author, critic and member of the Swedish Academy *

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

, German writer, essayist and 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureateJeannine Verdès-Leroux. "Qui a signé l'appel de Stockholm ?". * Moa Martinson, Swedish author of proletarian literature *

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

, French painter and sculptor * Yves Montand, Italian-French actor and singer * Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet, diplomat and 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate * Noël-Noël, French actor and screenwriter *

Erwin Panofsky Erwin Panofsky (March 30, 1892 – March 14, 1968) was a German-Jewish art historian whose work represents a high point in the modern academic study of iconography, including his hugely influential ''Renaissance and Renascences in Western Art ...

, German-Jewish art historian *

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

, American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

saxophonist and composer * Gérard Philipe, French stage and film actor *

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

, Spanish painter, sculptor and poet *

Jacques Prévert Jacques Prévert (; 4 February 1900 – 11 April 1977) was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. His best-regarded films formed part of the Poetic realism, poetic ...

, French poet and screenwriter * Eberhard Rebling, German musician * Pierre Renoir, French stage and film actor * Muriel Rukeyser, American-Jewish poet and activist * Armand Salacrou, French dramatist *

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

, Irish playwright, critic and activist * Dmitri Shostakovich, Soviet composer and pianist * Simone Signoret, French film actress * Michel Simon, Swiss stage and film actor * Henri Wallon, French psychologist, philosopher and politician * Harry F. Ward, English-American

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

minister and Christian socialist * Maria Wine, Swedish-Danish poet *

Urho Kekkonen Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986), often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as Prime Minister ...

, Finnish Prime Minister * Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, former Italian Prime Minister *

Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Previously, he served as a general in the Constitutional Army during the Mexican Revo ...

, former President of Mexico

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stockholm Appeal 1950 documents Anti–nuclear weapons movement 1950 in Sweden World Peace Council