Finding Aid

This collection contains materials related to the Nuremberg Actions Concord Campaign to stop arms shipments to El Salvador. The materials reflect a series of demonstrations that involved fasting, vigils, and direct actions on the train tracks outside of the Concord Naval Weapons Station (CNWS), the largest munitions depot on the west coast and a major supplier of munitions to Central America during the Contras era. The protests gained national attention after S. Brian Willson was hit by a train that was ordered not to stop. A few days later, over 7,000 people converged at the site, Jesse Jackson and Joan Baez among them, and peacefully tore up 120 feet of railroad tracks and ties using simple tools and their bare hands. Protesters took action in solidarity with Brian Willson and his message for an end to war in El Salvador. 

In addition to materials on Brian Willson and Nuremberg Actions, this collection also contains materials related to the direct actions on the tracks and the trial of Billy Nessen. Billy was arrested as the alleged "mastermind" behind the dismantling of the railroad tracks and charged with Conspiracy and Property destruction, both felonies. 

Though Willson suffered the loss of his legs and a severe skull fracture, he continues his anti-war activism to this day.