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Merton writes to Allan Forbes about the nuclear arms race, the possibility of the Unites States initiating a pre-emptive atomic weapons strike, and the error in thinking there could be a "limited" nuclear war. They also discuss religious roots of non-violence in the Quaker and Mennonite communities and the Catholic non-violence of Dorothy Day.
Allan Forbes, Jr. was "a documentary filmmaker, writer, and peace activist" who "helped found Council for a Livable World with Leo Szilard, the physicist who worked with the Manhattan Project, then tried to get the US government to promise not to use the atomic bomb against Japan." He writes to Merton from Philadelphia. (Source: Marquard, Bryan. "Allan Forbes; pacifist found direction in war." Obituary from The Boston Globe, online edition. 24 February 2006. Bellarmine University Library, Louisville, KY. 4 April 2008. ‹http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2006/02/24/allan_forbes_pacifist_found_direction_in_war/›.)
Please click here for general restrictions concerning Merton's correspondence.
See also Cold War Letters #65, #72, and #97, published in Witness to Freedom, pp. 48-49, 51, and 61-62; and see also the "Szilard, Leo" file for more information about the Council for a Livable World.
If the person in correspondence with Merton has full text records in the Merton Center Digital Collections, there will be a numeric link to them below.
This Record Sub-Group is not divided into Series and is arranged chronologically.
Click icons for links: ✓="Published | Library Record", ✉="Scanned" | 🗷="Scanned, Viewable Only at Merton Center"
| # | Date | From/To | First Lines | Pub ✓ | Notes |
| | y/m/d | Merton | | Scan ✉ | |
| 1. |
1962/04/no? |
transcript from Merton |
Your good letters have been reaching me with their encouraging comments. I do indeed wish it were |
✓ |
[Cold War Letters #65 - copy from bound set]
«detailed view» |
| 2. |
1962/05/12 |
TLS to Merton |
Thank you for your long and welcome letter which just arrived. J. Laughlin and I have been in touch |
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«detailed view» |
| 3. |
1962/05/no? |
transcript from Merton |
It was a bit of a jolt to see that your letter was dated February 5th. I cannot remember answering |
✓ |
[Cold War Letters #72 - copy from bound set]
«detailed view» |
| 4. |
1962/08/no? |
transcript from Merton |
Your letter of a month ago has been waiting for a brief answer: I have wanted to set things |
✓ |
[Cold War Letters #97 - copy from bound set]
«detailed view» |
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