Rare letters from Einstein, revealing his escape from the Nazis, at auction

Two letters written by world-renowned scientist Albert Einstein will be auctioned this week, detailing his escape from the Nazis and his work helping Jews escape Hitler's regime.

Being sold in two separate lots, the letters give an additional insight into Einstein 's life, especially during the period after the arrival of Adolf Hitler in power in Germany.

Einstein wrote the two letters to his sister, Maja Winteler-Einstein, according to auction house Nate D. Sanders Auctions. The first was written on March 28, 1933, aboard S.S. Belgenland, the day he renounced his German nationality. The second was written on December 14, 1938, trying to persuade Maja to leave Switzerland and come to the United States while he was trying to help Jewish refugees flee the Nazi regime.

THE DIARIES OF EINSTEIN CONTAIN SHOCK DETAILS OF HIS RACISM

The 1933 letter, which has four pages in their entirety, was written by Einstein and his wife Elsa soon after Hitler came to power in Germany. The apartment of Einstein in Berlin was attacked twice by the Nazis, in February and March of the same year. The Nazis also published a picture of Einstein with the caption "Not Yet Hanged" and placed a $ 5,000 bonus on his head.

Despite friends trying to persuade him not to return from a trip to the United States, Einstein and his wife planned to return to their cottage in Caputh, Germany, but they finally decided not to return there. once they learned the rampage. his flat. Einstein handed over his German passport to the German consulate in Antwerp, Belgium.

Elsa started the letter showing great concern for Tetel, Albert's son from his first marriage.

"Dear Maya [sic]! What were we thinking of, considering that Tetel [Einstein’s son] Stay with you! We have just discovered that it is not possible … these children suffer terribly because of the horrible interview of Albert in New York. Against my will! I begged him on my knees. In vain! / Maya [sic], life is difficult and horrible. Whatever it is, do not write anything to the politicians to the children, nothing of the interview of Albert. Oh my God, all our friends have fled or they are in jail. "

The letter continued, speaking of the political oppression going on at the time:

"The newspapers are censored, you can not find anything. [sic] – What time are we living! For days, I've been so miserable and sick that I'm barely able to hang out. We will land in Antwerp in 10 minutes. I wish we were already settled in a quiet corner. And I'm so scared during the landing, too !!!!! / Oh my God! & # 39;

THE THEORY OF HAPPINESS BY EINSTEIN SELLS FOR $ 1.56 MILLION IN AUCTION

Einstein picked up his wife's letter and apparently accepted their fate, according to auction house Nate D. Sanders Auctions.

& # 39; & # 39; My dear Maja, thinking that Tetel was with you was my mistake. It's probably happened because you wrote about it in so many details. Or maybe an unconscious wish [of mine] was behind. He comes out rather well, but he is depressed and, typically, will lose the thread of a conversation. / Good luck! We will now look for a hiding place for the summer. & # 39; & # 39;

In the December 1938 letter Einstein wrote:

"… On the sidelines, I am now working as a kind of traveling relief committee and buckets of letters arrive, whole piles full of persecuted and desperate victims of the current situation." money to Mary Dr., and I help the Ulm [city in Germany] parents with emigration. It's easy for young people, but difficult for the old ones … I'm going to have to use a lot of my income for such permanent benefits and services. Gumpertz will also have to leave (sic transit Gloria mundi [thus passes the glory of the world]). It is only when you are dead that you will be safe. The most difficult thing will be finding a country that will accept the elderly, even if they are provided with a modest means of livelihood. That's how things went now! "

The auction on each letter starts at $ 25,000 and the two letters will be auctioned on June 28.

The letters mark a stark contrast in Einstein 's state of mind since its earliest days. A recently published book of unpublished private travel diaries dating back to the 1920s revealed that Einstein was racist in his youth, especially towards the Chinese.

Einstein died in 1955 at the age of 76.

Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @Chris_Ciaccia