The two years following my arrest while in hiding in the summer
of 1943 left a brutal scar on my life. Perhaps people are tired
of hearing stories about prison and deportation, but I believe
that those who lived through these events must make the effort
- as best they can, and it is not always easy - to recount what
happened in order to keep the memory alive.
In the Eysses concentration camp where we were taken, the expression
"solidarity" soon served to indicate a practice that
saved the lives of many of us when we were later emprisoned at
Dachau-Landsberg. It consisted in taking two spoonfuls of the
thin broth we received to fill another bowl to be given to the
weakest and the sickest among us. It was a gesture that gave us
a sense of great dignity.
Sharing is the only valid lesson that life teaches us, and I have
never forgotten this. The same thread connects "solidarity",
those two spoonfuls of broth that gave a young man dignity, with
the idea I wish to talk about now, that of an association called
"Physics without Frontiers". First, however, I want
to trace another thread, illustrated by a number of episodes from
the life of Einstein that still set an example today and prompt
us to fight to rid the world of chauvinism, even the chauvinism
of scientists.
For decades our community has been characterized by a harmonious
mixture of origins, ethnic backgrounds and nationalities within
research groups that could not exist without that important international
component. Far from being a hindrance, we are convinced that this
diversity is itself the source of the richness of the whole. Our
group, which is highly motivated and enthusiastic, has always
paid attention to its members in difficulty.
As Europeans, many of us feel directly affected by the war in
the Balkans, which is conditioning the security of our future.
It is impossible to remain indifferent towards a region that,
like others, has contributed and continues to contribute to European
culture. We know that there are scientists in the region that
are attempting to practice very high quality physics, and it is
indispensable that we try to help them.
The resulting essay has been translated into Italian and published in the book
Scienza e società. Dieci Nobel per il futuro. (Marsilio, Venezia 1995).
