Handwritten letter by Albert Einstein and his wife (signed by both). Addressed to Mrs. Hertha Gutenberg [wife of seismologist Beno Gutenberg, Einstein’s friend]. Princeton (New Jersey, USA), January 12, 1934. German.
Handwritten letter, signed, by Elsa Einstein, to Mrs. Gutenberg. Below her signature Albert Einstein added a letter (12 lines) in his handwriting: “Much has happened since we last met. Whoever is not directly affected, will only read about it [the situation in Germany] in the newspaper while having coffee…”. Einstein then congratulates Mrs. Gutenberg and her family and signs: “A. Einstein”. Below his signature Einstein added: “in letters to Germany, this signature will send the recipient of the letter to a concentration camp”.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955), a Jewish physicist, one of the most influential physicists in the 20th century, who developed the General Theory of Relativity and laid the foundations of Quantum Mechanics. Recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics.
When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, Jews were isolated and expelled from German society. The new German government had passed anti-Semitic laws barring Jews from holding any official positions, (including teaching at universities). The Nazis also persecuted Jewish physicists; rejecting and labeling Einstein’s Theory of Relativity as “Jewish Physics”. When Hitler rose to power, Einstein was on a lecture tour abroad. In view of the situation, he decided to give up his German citizenship, and after a short period, settled in the United States where he was offered a position at the Institute for Advanced Studied in Princeton, New Jersey. Einstein lived in Princeton until he passed away on April 18, 1955.
[4] written pages (a leaf folded into two), 21 cm. Good condition. Folding marks, some stains.
Enclosed is the original envelope used for sending the letter.