Foreword
George Willoughby
The war institution, a most diabolic machine invented by the human mind, has dominated nearly the whole history of humankind, but specially the twentieth century. In this brief period of a hundred years, the world experienced two major conflicts encompassing several continents, the fire-bombing of cities of Europe and Japan, the development and use of the nuclear bomb on two cities of Japan and most recently the hi-tech bombing of Iraq. In this violent century millions and millions of unarmed civilians were slaughtered and massive upheaval of populations, accompanied by severe economic and social disruption, resulted. In recent years we have witnessed the rapid development of ‘hi-tech’ instruments of death and destruction and the outbreak of dozens of ‘little wars’, all adding to the pollution of the earth’s air, water and environment, and leaving in their wake massive population movements and severe economic and social disruptions. As the century came to a close the powerful nation states continued to spend massive resources on the war machine, preserving stockpiles of nuclear bombs, rockets and other hi-tech means of destruction.
Yet this century of institutional violence against humanity was not able to stamp out the flame of justice, freedom and humanity. This book turns the light on a long neglected chapter of twentieth-century history: the stories of many who spoke out and acted to bring an end to the war institution. It is about ordinary people in many European countries and in the United States of America who envisioned a world freed of war and militarism. It records the efforts of groups in many countries to give support to individual war resisters to advocate and to work for the elimination of the war institution as a policy and practice of the nation state.
It recounts the efforts of these tiny groups, often working under heavy social and political oppression, to link up with similar groups in other nations to arouse support. They were humble, ordinary people, often prophetic pioneers pointing the way to the future through the brave work of organisations such as the Religious Society of Friends, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and the War Resisters’ International, just to mention a few of the most active and dynamic ones.
This book tells the story of the War Resisters’ International, a worldwide organisation of war resisters founded in a small town in Holland called Bilthoven, which, two years later in 1923, was moved to Great Britain. One thing special about the WRI is that in accepting members it does not make any kind of discrimination: religion, faith, conviction, sex, race or colour. The International received support and active contributions from people like Arthur Ponsonby, A. J. Muste, Jessie Wallace Hughan, Elinor Byrns, Romain Rolland and Mahatma Gandhi.
Soon after completing his college education in 1944, the author of this book, Devi Prasad, joined Gandhi in his educational experiment, in which he continued for 18 years. Then he was the General Secretary of the War Resisters’ International for a little over 10 years and Chairman for three years. Devi Prasad continues to be active in the pacifist movement and often writes on the subject. His direct experience first with Gandhi and his movement and then with the pacifist movement has moved him to work on this book.
Without doubt the voices of the past will be renewed by others who will cry out in alarm and plead for change. A new generation of voices, hopefully tempered by the devastating history of the past century, will hammer home the connection between militarism and economic power, and affirm the power of active nonviolence as an alternative to the military war machine in settling conflicts between nation states.
In some future time I believe that humanity will acknowledge its debts to these peaceful and nonviolent visionaries, and honour them for their courage and foresight in challenging the prevailing wisdom and practice, and for pointing the way to a world of total and universal disarmament, a world at last free of militarism and the war institution. The world must heed and act on this vision; it is not too late.
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