Einstein

by Philipp Frank

  Einstein’s possessions, his villa as well as his bank account, were all confiscated by the state. In the announcement of this act that he received from the political police the reason given was: “The property was obviously going to be used to finance a Communist revolt.” The “gift” of the city of Berlin had led him to use the greatest part of his savings to build his villa, which was now confiscated, and Einstein had but little left of all his property. Simultaneously it became evident that by adopting German citizenship as a sign of sympathy for the German Republic he had acted to his own disadvantage, since as a foreigner (Swiss) he would have been protected against the confiscation of his property.

  Einstein’s writings on the relativity theory were burned publicly in the square before the State Opera House in Berlin, together with other books, some of which were regarded as obscene, others as Bolshevistic. For some time there was even a regulation according to which all books written by Jews were to be marked “translated from the Hebrew.” This was intended to express that they were only apparently written in German. At that time there was still an occasional professor of physics in Germany who while lecturing on the relativity theory permitted himself the joking remark: “It is a mistake to believe that Einstein’s original paper was translated from the Hebrew.”

  As was to be expected, some of Einstein’s scientific opponents took advantage of the new regime’s hostility toward him to prevent as far as possible the teaching of Einstein’s theories at the German universities. Among these opponents, in addition to the aforementioned Lenard, was another well-known physicist named Johannes Stark. He had made some outstanding experimental discoveries, for which, like Lenard, he had received the Nobel prize. But he was just as incapable as Lenard of comprehending a complex theoretical structure. Like Lenard he advocated the view that there was something “un-German” in the predominance of theory over sensory observation and it must therefore be eradicated from the teaching in the German schools. Stark also found an explanation for the fact that so many German physicists accepted the relativity theory even though it was repugnant to the German spirit. He explained it as resulting from the circumstance that so many physicists had Jewish wives.

  This use of political power to compel the acceptance of one view in the field of science aroused great concern among the German physicists. One of the leading physicists said to me at that time: “It is fortunate for us that Lenard and Stark are no longer young. If they still had their youthful élan they would command what should be taught as physics.”

  Nevertheless, not everything was carried out as radically as Einstein’s opponents wanted it. The National Socialist Party even adopted a resolution stating that no physical theory could claim to be “genuinely National Socialistic.” Thus Einstein’s theory was not completely eradicated in the German universities. It depended on the courage of the individual teacher. Some taught the theory without mentioning Einstein’s name, others dropped the name “relativity theory.” Others went still further; they taught the individual facts that followed from this theory as facts of experience, but they omitted completely the logical connection of these points by the theory. No physicist could dispense with these important facts, such as the relation between mass and energy or between mass and velocity.

  Most of the German physicists were at their wits’ end thinking up ways of protecting themselves from the continual interference in their science by the political physicists such as Lenard, and some of them hit upon an idea that despite the seriousness of the situation had something comical about it. They thought that there was only one way to shake Lenard’s prestige with the new authorities, and that was to prove that he was a non-Aryan. This seemed a plausible possibility, as Lenard’s father had conducted a brokerage business in Pressburg (Bratislava), the capital of modern Slovakia. Since many of the inhabitants of this city were Jewish and the brokerage business was regarded as a Jewish occupation, there was some hope that this might be true. As I was then teaching in Czechoslovakia, to which Pressburg belonged at that time, I repeatedly received direct requests from some of the outstanding German physicists to institute inquiries in Pressburg regarding Lenard’s four grandparents. I must admit that my interests did not lie in the field of genealogical research. I turned the investigation over to a friend in Pressburg, but he too was not very zealous. The researches did not go beyond Lenard’s parents. It was possible to determine that they did not profess the Jewish religion.

  Nevertheless, the zeal with which the German physicists had to pursue such problems in the interest of their science is a sign of this peculiar period.

  5. Last Weeks in Europe

  Einstein passed the last weeks of his European residence in a villa that lay hidden among the great sand dunes of Le Cocque sur Mer, a beautiful bathing resort in Belgium. Round about, children built large castles of sand and women promenaded in attractive Parisian-model bathing suits. Einstein was in a peculiar situation. He had not returned to Germany, and his friends there warned him that he would certainly be arrested or perhaps murdered if he showed up in that country.

  Le Cocque, however, was not very far from Germany. Many feared that fanatics would be able to slip across the border and “liquidate” him. If they fled to Germany after committing such an act, they would not have to fear any punishment, since the deed would have been committed “with the best of intentions.” There were several precedents for such actions. It was even rumored that a high price had been set on Einstein’s head; but it is manifestly difficult to check the correctness of such talk.

  Einstein had good friends in Belgium. The Abbé Lemaître, a Catholic priest, had found that Einstein’s equations of the gravitational field in universal space were also consistent with a distribution of matter in the universe which did not always remain the same on the average. Hence, the Abbé could assume that the various galaxies move farther and farther away from one another. He thus founded the theory of the expanding universe, which had been adumbrated in connection with Einstein’s theories by Friedmann, a Soviet Russian mathematician more than a decade earlier. It first received attention through Lemaître and still more through Eddington, and was supported by astronomical observations. As Abbé Lemaître was one of the glories of Belgian science, the Queen of Belgium likewise became interested in Einstein’s theories and on various occasions took pleasure in conversing with him.

  The Belgian royal family and the Belgian government were very much concerned about the rumors that assassins might come to Belgium and threaten Einstein. It was therefore arranged for two bodyguards to watch Einstein day and night. Naturally this was rather annoying for him. In the first place it was unpleasant for a kind-hearted person like Einstein to keep his two shadows too busy, and secondly, for a bohemian like Einstein it was very annoying to be under constant “police supervision.” The Belgian government, however, had no desire to be responsible for any accidents.

  In the summer of 1933, while passing through Ostend in the course of a trip from London to the Continent, I remembered that Einstein was living near by and decided to try to find him there. I did not know his address, but I took a chance and went to Le Cocque, where I inquired of the inhabitants whether they knew where Einstein was living. As I later learned, the authorities had given strict orders to the inhabitants not to give any information to anyone about Einstein’s residence. Since I knew nothing of all these precautions, I asked very naïvely and in time received with equal naïveté all the information that I wanted.

  Finally, I came to a villa in the midst of the dunes and saw Mrs. Einstein sitting on the veranda, whereupon I knew I had reached my goal. From the distance I saw two rather robust men in a very excited conversation with Mrs. Einstein. I was rather surprised at these visitors, as one was accustomed to seeing only scientists, writers, and artists with the Einsteins. I approached closer to the villa. As soon as the two men saw me, they threw themselves at me and seized me. Mrs. Einstein jumped up, her face frightened and chalky white. Finally she recognized
me and said: “They suspected you of being the rumored assassin.” She reassured the detectives and led me into the house.

  After a while Einstein himself came downstairs. In the meantime Mrs. Einstein had asked me how I had found the house. I replied that the people in the neighborhood had pointed it out to me. But that was strictly prohibited, she said. Einstein himself laughed heartily at the failure of the measures taken by the police for his protection.

  At this time his mind was still much occupied by his correspondence with the Academy in Berlin. He showed me all the letters and commented on the parts played by the various persons concerned in the matter. He spoke at some length about the personality of Max Planck. “And finally,” he said, “to get rid of my annoyance I composed several humorous verses. I put all the letters in a folder and on top of them the verses. They began with these lines:

  Thank you for your note so tender;

  ’Tis typically German, like its sender.”

  There was something genuinely artistic in Einstein’s nature. It recalled to mind the passage in Goethe’s autobiography where he relates that he rid himself of every mental vexation by reenacting it artistically. Einstein in such cases played a short but vigorous composition on the violin or composed a few humorous verses. Even though they did not attain the classical level of Goethe’s Faust, yet psychologically they fulfilled the same function equally well.

  On this occasion Einstein repeatedly emphasized that in getting rid of his Berlin environment he also experienced in a certain respect a psychological liberation. Mrs. Einstein, who was present at this conversation, was not very much in sympathy with such statements. Emotionally she had a strong feeling of attachment to Germany. She said: “But you should not be so unjust. You had many happy hours in Berlin, too. For instance, you often said to me after coming home from the physics colloquium that such a gathering of outstanding physicists is not to be found anywhere else in the world at the present day.”

  “Yes,” said Einstein, “from a purely scientific point of view life in Berlin was often really very nice. Nevertheless, I always had a feeling as if something was pressing on me, and I always had a presentiment that the end would not be good.”

  We then spoke about the prediction that he had made to me in Prague about eleven years previously, before his first trip to America. The catastrophe in Germany had actually occurred at approximately the time that he had anticipated.

  “Do you know,” said Einstein, “I have recently had a very remarkable experience. You probably remember my friend and colleague Fritz Haber, the famous chemist.” The reader will recall that he belonged to Einstein’s intimate circle in Berlin. He had always urged Einstein to adapt himself to the thought of German nationalists, and himself had advanced rather far in this direction. “I recently received a letter from Fritz Haber,” related Einstein, “in which he informs me of his intention to apply for a position at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. There you have it, the whole world is topsyturvy.”

  We talked a great deal about this university to whose founding Einstein had contributed so much. Now that Einstein had become available, the university in Jerusalem made every effort to obtain his services. But he was not much inclined to accept. He did not like the idea that in this period which was so critical for the Jewish people, the university endeavored chiefly to obtain certain professors who were already famous, in order to increase its prestige. At a time when the future of so many young Jewish scholars was endangered, he felt that this university should rather pick out the most capable of these younger men and enable them to teach and to carry on research. For these reasons Einstein also advised the famous Haber not to go to Jerusalem.

  We discussed the fantastic ideas regarding Einstein as a politician that were current among the ruling circles in Germany. Mrs. Einstein related an incident that had occurred recently. They had received a German letter from an unknown man in which he urgently demanded that Einstein receive him. Since no unknown person was permitted to come near him for fear of an assassination, Mrs. Einstein refused. Upon repeated insistence that the matter was very important, Mrs. Einstein finally declared herself ready to see this man in the absence of her husband. The man actually came and related that he had been a member of the Nazi Storm Troops (S.A.). He had fallen out with the party and was now opposed to it. He knew all the secrets of the party and wanted to sell them to its opponents for fifty thousand francs. He wanted to find out whether Einstein would spend the money for this information. “Why do you assume,” asked Mrs. Einstein, “that Professor Einstein is interested in the secrets of your former party?” “Oh,” replied the ex-S.A. man, “we all know very well that Professor Einstein is the leader of the opposing party throughout the entire world, and that such a purchase would therefore be very important for him.” Mrs. Einstein explained to the man that he was mistaken and that Einstein was not interested in these secrets, no matter whether they were genuine or spurious.

  Robert Wood, Planck, and Einstein at a meeting of the German Physical Society, Berlin 1931, in honor of Michelson (Illustration Credit 10.1)

  Michelson, Einstein, and Millikan (Illustration Credit 10.2)

  Nevertheless, the occurrence left a very uncomfortable feeling. It was now definitely known that the National Socialist Party, which at that time was already one of the most powerful factors in the world, regarded Einstein as a leader of its opponents. All sorts of unpleasant surprises had to be expected.

  6. Einstein’s Views on Military Service

  Germany’s revolution from the Right made it evident to the small neighboring states that the time had come when Germany would break the bonds of the Versailles Treaty, if necessary by force. To any intelligent person acquainted with the lessons of history it was obvious that Germany would not stop with the eradication of the “injustice of Versailles,” but would take advantage of the opportunity to obtain something more for herself in order to realize her old dream of a “living space.” The war of 1914–18 had made it evident to the Belgians that the German politicians included Belgium within this living space. As early as 1933, at about the time that Einstein came to Belgium, this realization aroused a feeling of insecurity in many persons.

  On the other hand, in Belgium as elsewhere at this time, especially among the youth, the view was firmly rooted that all wars are organized by the capitalist class to suppress the workers. Therefore every socially minded and progressive young person should refrain from supporting war in any way. But even then it was already evident to many Belgians that absolute opposition to every war would make the country an easy prey for its neighbors, who preached that war is the most important instrument of politics. Thus radically minded youth was faced by this problem: should the propaganda against military service and military preparedness be continued, thus rendering easier an invasion by warlike neighbors, or should one take part in the defense of the fatherland, thereby following a slogan that had previously been regarded as a pretext of the exploiters in their fight against their own workers? A group of representatives of Belgian pacifist youth turned to Einstein for his opinion in this matter of conscience, since he was widely known as a radical champion of the movement against war and military service. As late as the spring of 1931 he had greeted with delight and affirmation a manifesto issued by American clergymen in which they announced that they would take no part in any future wars, even though their own government claimed that it was for the defense of their country. Einstein had written as follows, referring to this statement:

  “It is a gratifying revelation of the temper of the American clergy that fifty-four per cent of those who answered the questionnaire should have indicated their purpose not to participate in any future war. Only such a radical position can be of help to the world, since the government of each nation is bound to present every war as a war of defense.”

  But when the young Belgians turned to Einstein with the question whether they should refuse to co-operate if Belgium became involved in a war against its big neigh
bors, Einstein did not let himself be confused for a moment. From the very first he knew that he had to answer in such a way as to encourage the course of action that he considered advisable under the given circumstances. He did not allow himself to be confused by the vain idea of standing forth as one who sticks to his principles under all circumstances. Such a person would insist on his principles even though they should lead to actions and results with which he was not in sympathy. Einstein was aware that the purpose of principles in both public and private life is only to encourage actions that produce results which one would approve. Principles, however, are not to be considered as ends in themselves. He answered briefly and concisely: in this case everyone should fight as best he can for the freedom of his fatherland, Belgium.

  This answer created a sensation at the time. Many persons even doubted its genuineness. Many said: “Surely a principle does not become false because in a single case it leads to consequences that are repugnant, as for instance in this case to a triumph of National Socialism.”

  The people who expected that Einstein would stick to his principles without any consideration of the consequences did not understand the fundamentally positivistic, pragmatic character of his thought. Basically he thought in politics just as he did in physics. When he actually came to grips with a concrete problem, the positivistic basis of his thinking became evident. He did not believe that principles have any meaning except their consequences, which we can test on the basis of our experiences. Occasionally, he liked to think about the emotional effect brought about by the wording of the principles. As a result his language in physics as well as in politics in some cases acquired a metaphysical touch. But this was only a more or less poetical way of speaking, which furnished a point of contact with human feeling.