The first contribution on the subject of peace is an old one, from 1932. Its author is Albert Einstein, who wrote a letter to Sigmund Freund. In it, he writes that he is a militant pacifist. One who fights for peace. A highly current letter, with the request – “Let our weapons be weapons of the mind, not tanks and bullets”.

Albert Einstein – For a militant pacifism

“There would be enough money, enough work, enough food if we were to distribute the world’s wealth properly instead of making ourselves slaves to rigid economic doctrines or traditions. Above all, we must not allow our thoughts and efforts to be diverted from constructive work and misused for the preparation of a new war. I am of the same opinion as the great American Benjamin Franklin, who said: there has never been a good war and never a bad peace.

I’m not just a pacifist, I’m a militant pacifist. I want to fight for peace. Nothing will abolish wars unless people themselves refuse military service. Great ideals are initially fought for by an aggressive minority. Isn’t it better to die for a cause you believe in, like peace, than to suffer for a cause you don’t believe in, like war? Every war adds another link to the chain of evil that prevents the progress of humanity. But a handful of conscientious objectors can dramatize the general protest against war.
The masses are never bellicose unless they are poisoned by propaganda. We must immunize them against propaganda. We must immunize our children against militarism by educating them in the spirit of pacifism. It is a pity that in Europe the people have been educated with the wrong goals. Our schoolbooks glorify war and conceal its horrors. They indoctrinate children with hatred. I would rather teach peace than hate, love than war.
Textbooks need to be rewritten. Instead of perpetuating age-old conflicts and prejudices, a new spirit should fill our education system. Our education begins in the cradle: the mothers of the whole world have the responsibility to educate their children in the spirit of peacekeeping.
It will not be possible to eradicate warlike instincts in a single generation. It would not even be desirable to eradicate them altogether. People must continue to fight, but only for what is worth fighting for: and these are not imaginary borders, racial prejudices or greed for enrichment that drape themselves under the banner of patriotism. Let our weapons be weapons of the mind, not tanks and bullets.

What a world we could build if we used the forces unleashed by war for reconstruction. A tenth of the energy used by the warring nations in the world war, a fraction of the money they squandered on hand grenades and poisonous gases, would be enough to help people in all countries to live in dignity and prevent the catastrophe of unemployment in the world.

We must face up to making the same sacrifices for the cause of peace that we have made without resistance for the cause of war. There is nothing that is more important and dearer to my heart. What else I do or say cannot change the structure of the universe. But perhaps my voice can serve the greatest cause: Concord among men and peace on earth.”