Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Lessons for Today

Christoph von Lieven (ICAN)

Chuck Johnson (IPPNW international)

13 August 2025, 5:00 pm (CEST)

please register at: https://tinyurl.com/S4PseminarAug2015

80 years after the Trinity test and two atomic bombs dropped by the US on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we are still haunted by the images of death and destruction, and the stories of the survivors.  Their lessons are as important today as they were at the dawn of the nuclear age - perhaps even more so, since post-Cold War generations did not experience the dread of nuclear war that previous generations felt and still understand. 

The talks will center on the difference between looking at nuclear weapons through a geo-political and military lens and looking at these genocidal weapons with a focus on the human impacts of their use, as told by those who survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with analysis and explanations of how these weapons threaten us today by scientists and health professionals. 

Christoph von Lieven studied economics in Hamburg and worked for Greenpeace for 20 years – most recently as a campaigner for peace and nuclear disarmament. He has been involved in the peace movement for many years and comes from the Movement for Human Rights and Social Justice. Christoph has three adult children and lives in El Salvador, in Hamburg, among others, after various stops.

Chuck Johnson has worked for nearly fifty years as an activist, writer, and fundraiser.  Chuck has served as Policy Director of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) since 2018.  He founded IPPNW’s Geneva Liaison Office two and a half years ago and is its first director.  From 2018 until 2024, Chuck was on the board of the Geneva-based International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), serving as board chair from 2020-21. IPPNW and ICAN were awarded Nobel Peace Prizes in 1985 and 2017, respectively.