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Significant TLS in German, signed “A. Einstein,” one page, 8 x 10, The Institute for Advanced Study School of Mathematics letterhead, November 24, 1933. Letter to Theodore Menzel, a German national and American resident who wrote to Einstein with a remarkable expression of sympathy and shame with how the new German government had mistreated him, imploring him “not to blame the misled German people.” Einstein's prescient reply, in full (translated): "Your noble and refined words have given me unusual pleasure. You are entirely correct that the people in Germany are not as bad as the behavior of the state and of the leading voices makes it appear. However, there is a great danger that the better elements will be destroyed, suppressed, or even corrupted. For the time being, we may still hope that at least a part of the world remains protected from such a downfall." In very good to fine condition, with light toning and soiling, and two file holes to the left edge. Encapsulated in a PSA/DNA authentication holder.
Accompanied by a TLS by Einstein's wife, signed "Elsa Einstein," in part (translated): "It truly does one good to encounter people who declare the kind of convictions that you do. God knows, such experiences are very rare."
Also includes Menzel's retained copies of three letters to the Einsteins, offering incredible insight into one German's views on the horrific rise of the Nazi Party in his homeland. His first letter, dated November 22, 1933, in full (translated): "It was with great dismay that I read just now in the German New Yorker Staatszeitung, which serves me here in the Midwest as my only link to my German homeland, that the Prussian state has ordered the confiscation of all your property in Germany.
Although I am personally a complete stranger to you, most esteemed Professor, I am compelled to express to you and your spouse my deepest sympathy for this brutal act that the current German government, truly a divine scourge for our poor German people, has permitted itself in regard to you, the greatest German of all time.
I am gripped by deep shame, and I ask both you, Professor, and your most esteemed spouse not to blame the misled German people as a whole for this outrage. There are times of convalescence, in the lives of entire peoples as well, during which the clear, unambiguous sense of justice can be lamentably disturbed, but divine providence will surely only allow this people to make itself ridiculous before the whole world for a short period of time, permitting itself to be debased by a leader [Führer] alien to its land and its way of being, who is attempting through a politics of violence and with the most cunning exploitation of the lowest mob instincts to carry out the rape of one of the most valuable lineages of peoples, with one of the oldest cultures.
Having been in this country for six years, because I feared Germany's political transformation, I am these days on the point of seeking naturalization as a United States citizen, and I have to confess that I am inwardly pleased to be able to undo the bond that ties me to the fatherland where I was born.
Of Aryan descent myself, able to trace my ancestors back to the thirteenth century, I would nonetheless like to take the liberty here to unambiguously and most emphatically express to you and those who share your ethnic lineage, whom I regard highly, that among no lineage of peoples have I found as much true human kindness and human dignity as among yours, most esteemed Professor, in every country in which I have come into contact with them.
It is superfluous to speak of culture, scholarship, and the arts, since I have the honor of addressing the great master of these three divine gifts. May the Father of us all, who dwells beyond the stars, bring you and your spouse, most esteemed Professor, safely through this painful trial also, and may He take you and all your beloved family members under His almighty protection." In the other retained copies, dated December 8, 1933, Menzel addresses Albert and Elsa Einstein separately, thanking them for their heartfelt words.
A fascinating correspondence archive from Einstein and his wife, stemming from their new life in America. Einstein, like so many Jewish academics of his time, was forced into exile in 1933 due to anti-Semitic persecution in Nazi Germany and the rise of Adolf Hitler as the country’s new chancellor. Einstein's letter dates to a little over a month after he and his wife, Elsa, left Europe and emigrated to America where the genius assumed a position at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, New Jersey. He remained in Princeton for the rest of his life, becoming the symbol and leader of his cohort of refugee scholars.
