My PoLiTiCaL vIeWs

I considered myself a pacifist and humanitarian, and in later years, a committed democratic socialist.I once said, "I believe Gandhi's views were the most enlightened of all the political men of our time. We should strive to do things in his spirit: not to use violence for fighting for our cause, but by non-participation of anything you believe is evil."

I opposed tyrannical forms of government, and for this reason (and my Jewish background), opposed the Nazi regime and fled Germany shortly after it came to power. I initially favored construction of the atomic bomb, in order to ensure that Hitler did not do so first, and even sent a letter to President Roosevelt, encouraging him to initiate a program to create a nuclear weapon. Roosevelt responded to this by setting up a committee for the investigation of using uranium as a weapon, which in a few years was superseded by the Manhattan Project.