Albert Einstein is widely considered to be one of the most brilliant scientists who ever lived. He also had a surprisingly deep side and compassion for others. Sadly, the latest unearthed letter from Einstein to fetch a hefty selling price has more to do with his seemingly prescient anticipation of anti-Semitism stemming from the growing tide of nationalism in Germany Written in 1922, the letter finds the physicist discussing his recent fleeing from Berlin after the country’s Foreign Minister, Walter Rathenau, who was Jewish, was assassinated by far right extremists. German officials warned Einstein that he could be targeted himself and that he should leave the city for his own safety.
“I am doing quite well, in spite of all the anti-Semites among my German colleagues,” he wrote to his sister, Maja. “I’m very reclusive here, without noise and without unpleasant feelings, and am earning my money mainly independent of the state, so that I’m really a free man.” And Einstein wasn’t just seeing the writing on the wall, he was true to his convictions. A year after Hitler seized power in Germany, Einstein renounced his citizenship and moved to the United States.
0 Comments