In Memoriam: Hans Blumenfeld

1 February, 1987

“In 1908 my high school teacher in Hamburg, Germany, tried to indoctrinate us with the principle of the Ancient Romans: ‘si vis pacem, pare bellum’. He presented a fairly good case: since Germany had become Europe’s strongest power, the continent, for the first time in its history, had enjoyed 40 years of unbroken peace; as long as Germany remained strong, peace would prevail. …I objected…War could be avoided, I felt, only by an agreement to limit armaments…. …“1987 may well be the last year of the stopgap of ‘MAD”. There is still time to reverse course and to base International relations on the rule of law. — Hans Blumenfeld

Hans died January 30, 1987, in Toronto, in his 96th year. Hans Blumenfeld was a life member of Science for Peace and was honored by this title when he placed the Franz Blumenfeld Peace Foundation in trust with Science for Peace. This was a memorial to the memory of his brother who was killed in the First World War in Germany.

His final paper for Science for Peace, from which the above abstract was taken, is available from the Bulletin on request. Its title: “Does Deterrence Deter War?”

ed. note: An appreciation by George Ignatieff appears in the March 1987 Bulletin at scienceforpeace.ca/in-memoriam-hans-blumenfeld-2