Abstract
FOR the second time in twenty–five years the whole world is plunged into war; and already it has brought death to hundreds of thousands and disaster and unhappiness to millions. Prof. P. Kapitza, in a broadcast from Moscow on July 6, said that he was speaking in particular to British men of science and intellectuals and he reminded them that he had worked for some time in Cambridge under Lord Rutherford where he made numerous friends and carried away many pleasant memories. He wished to discuss the relations of the War to science and culture. The attitude of Fascism to science is that of a woodcutter who uses his axe to disable people instead of to cut wood. It is actuated by non–sensical theories leading to the desire for a dominant race. This is the opposite to the outlook of the Soviet Union, which is working for race equality and for the use of science and cultural achievement for the raising of the standard of living and the advancement of knowledge. In keeping with this the whole population shows the greatest interest in science. People in Great Britain often ask what is the attitude of the Soviet Union towards the man of science in his work. He could say that he and his colleagues are encouraged, as in England, to carry out what work they wish.
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Soviet Men of Science and the War. Nature 148, 79 (1941). https://doi.org/10.1038/148079a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/148079a0