The Einstein Dossiers: Science and Politics — Einstein’s Berlin Period with an Appendix on Einstein’s FBI File

473 Pages·2005·5.98 MB·English

by  Professor Dr. sc. phil. Siegfried Grundmann (auth.)

TheEinsteinDossiers
Siegfried Grundmann
The Einstein Dossiers
Science and Politics –
Einstein’s Berlin Period
with an Appendix
on Einstein’s FBI File
TranslatedbyAnnM.Hentschel
with65Figures
123
ProfessorDr.sc.phil.SiegfriedGrundmann
Weichselstraße1,10247Berlin,Germany
TitleoftheGermanedition:S.GrundmannEinsteinsAkte.SecondEdition
©Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg2004
ISBN3-540-20699-XSpringerBerlinHeidelbergNewYork
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2005930169
ISBN-10 3-540-25661-XSpringerBerlinHeidelbergNewYork
ISBN-13 978-3-540-25661-8SpringerBerlinHeidelbergNewYork
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.Allrightsarereserved,whetherthewholeorpartofthematerialisconcerned,
specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseofillustrations,recitation,broadcasting,reproductionon
microfilmorinanyotherway,andstorageindatabanks.Duplicationofthispublicationorpartsthereofispermitted
onlyundertheprovisionsoftheGermanCopyrightLawofSeptember9,1965,initscurrentversion,andpermission
forusemustalwaysbeobtainedfromSpringer.ViolationsareliableforprosecutionundertheGermanCopyright
Law.
SpringerisapartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia
springeronline.com
©Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg2005
PrintedinGermany
Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,etc.inthispublicationdoesnotimply,evenin
theabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsand
thereforefreeforgeneraluse.
Coverdesign:ErichKirchner,Heidelberg
Production:LE-TEXJelonek,Schmidt&VöcklerGbR,Leipzig
Typesetting:Da-TEXGerdBlumenstein,Leipzig
Printedonacid-freepaper 55/3141/YL-543210
Formygrandchildren
Norma
and
Emil
Preface
Inwisepremonitionofwhatwastocome,thePrussianMinistryofScience,Arts
andCultureopenedadossieron“Einstein’sTheoryofRelativity”inNovember
1919.1
The first indication I found of the existence of this dossier in 1960 was in
BrunoThüring’sdiatribepublishedin1942on“AlbertEinstein’sattempttoover-
throw physics [...].”2 As Thüring saw it, the mere fact that a ministry of the
WeimarRepublic3 couldcompilesuchafilewasevidenceenoughoftheextent
to which propaganda tools of the State were being exploited for the benefit of
theJewEinstein.Thüringwantedtousethedossier“todrawtheactivitiesofthe
Jewry[...]outofthedarkortwilightinwhichtheyhadintentionallybeenheld
in obscurity up to the National Socialist breakthrough” and to expose them to
“thebrightlightofcriticalAryanscience.”
Aftermucheffortandalmostfeverishsearching,Idiscoveredthisfilein1962
in Merseburg, a small town near Leipzig (in the Merseburg branch of the for-
merGermanCentralArchive).ThefilesofthePrussianMinistryofCulturehad
beenremovedthereforstorageduringthewarandonlysomeofthefileswere
accessible.TheEinsteindossierbecamethebasisofmydoctoralthesis,whichI
defendedintheKarlSudhoffInstitutefortheHistoryofMedicineandtheSci-
encesattheUniversityofLeipzigin1964.4
In 1993 the file was returned to its original location, the former Secret
Prussian State Archive (since then referred to as: Geheimes Staatsarchiv –
PreußischerKulturbesitz)intheBerlindistrictofDahlem.Itwaslongthought
tobetheonlyintegralfileexplicitlydedicatedto“Einstein”and“thetheoryof
relativity.”
Since then, it has become evident that numerous “Einstein” dossiers exist,
includingproceduraldocumentation.Bysheervolumethesealsodeservetobe
consideredfilesintheirownright:
1. Thepreviouslymentioneddossier:“Einstein’sTheoryofRelativity”intheSe-
cretPrussianStateArchive(Berlin).
2.and3. Two files on “Lectures by Professor Einstein Abroad” in the Political
ArchiveoftheForeignOffice(Berlin).5
4. The“Einstein”sectionofthefile“Expatriation”6attheForeignOffice.
5.to11. SevenfilesintheofficialarchivesoftheCommunityofCaputh.7
VIII Preface
12. The file “Property Purchase for Professor Dr. Albert Einstein” in the Main
ArchiveoftheLandofBrandenburg(Potsdam).8
13. Thefile“Einstein,Albert... CitizenshipMatters”intheSecretPrussianState
Archive(Berlin).9
Other matters of business concerning Einstein – such as the expropriation of
hissailboat10 andtheconfiscationofhisbankaccounts11 –arerecordedinvery
manyotherfilesaswell.Thepolicefile“Einstein”citedbyHerneck12(hencestill
physically accessible after 1945), however, could not be located despite a most
intensivesearch.
Other files on Einstein have to be considered lost: The Gestapo’s Einstein
dossier is one. A cataloguing card discovered in the Federal Archive in Berlin
indicatesthattheGestapodid,infact,maintainadossieronEinstein.Theob-
viousassumptionthatthisfilecouldnowbeinthe“NSArchive”oftheformer
MinistryofStateSecurityoftheGermanDemocraticRepublic(nowArchiveof
the Federal Commissioner for Files of the State Security Service of the former
GermanDemocraticRepublic–abbreviatedhereasBStU)couldnotbeverified.
A search in the Special Archive in Moscow (where holdings from German ar-
chivesweretransferredtoMoscowafter1945)waslikewiseunsuccessful.Inany
event,theresponsetoaninquiryinthisregardwasnegative;notevenPresident
Putincouldassistmeanyfurther.
AtleastonecompleteEinsteindossierexistselsewhere:theFBI’sEinsteinfile
attheNationalArchivesinWashington.13Itwasnotavailabletomepriortopub-
licationofthefirstGermaneditionofthisbook.Thecompletefileiscurrently
availableontheInternet.IamgratefultoFredJeromeforfirstsuggestingtome
toperusethissource.(Jeromehassinceauthoredthebook“TheEinsteinFile.”)14
Thefirstofthesefilesalreadybroachesthetopicof“scienceandpolitics.”
Itcomprisesaformidable523sheetsandhasthecapaciousbreadthofabout
10cm.Thetemporaldistributionoftheindividualissuesinthefilealreadydoc-
umentsthefluctuationinactivityduringtheperiodbetweentheNovemberRev-
olutionandtheestablishmentofNationalSocialisminGermany.
If we consider recurrent identical enclosures as a single issue and further-
moretreatenclosedbrochureseachasasingleissue,thegraphdepictedabove
emerges:ThejumpinthenumberofeventsintheperiodafterNovember1919,
when the results of the British solar eclipse expedition were made known, is
clearlyapparent.Thiswasthepoliticallyunsettled“postwarperiod.”Thebattles
over Einstein’s theory of relativity then subside and there is a lull in the mid-
1920s–“Superficially,atleast,”asMaxBornwroteinhismemoirs.15 Itisnoco-
incidence that this was simultaneously the more peaceful, apparently “golden”
yearsoftheWeimarRepublic.Theeventsaccruedramaticallytowardtheendof
the1920s.Einsteinagainbecomesapreferredright-wingtarget.Animosityto-
wardhim,Borncontinues,hadsmolderedon“untilitflaredupagainopenlyin
1933.”16 WehavearrivedattheperiodoftheglobaleconomiccrisisandHitler’s
seizure of power in 1933. The situation develops into an open conflict between
EinsteinandtheGermanReich;Einsteinisdrivenintoexile.
Preface IX
Figure 1: Cover of the dossier “Einstein’s Theory of Relativity” from the Prussian
Ministry of Science, Arts and Culture – opened November 1919, closed October
1934. (A file cover dating to before the war was used: The ministry – commonly
referred to in short as the “Prussian Ministry of Culture” – was formerly called
“Prussian Ministry of Intellectual, Educational and Medicinal Affairs.” Pursuant to
a cabinet decree of 13 Mar. 1911, the entire administration of medicinal affairs –
stripped of scientific and medical education – was transferred to the Ministry of
theInterior.Theministrythusbecamea“PrussianMinistryofIntellectualandEd-
ucational Affairs.” On 1 Nov. 1919 it was renamed again to “Prussian Ministry of
Science,ArtsandCulture.”On1May1934theministrywasincorporatedwithinthe
“ReichMinistryofScience,EducationandCulture.”)
X Preface
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934
Figure 2: Distribution of the number of issues covered in “Einstein’s dossier” be-
tweenNovember1919andOctober1934.
Thetwodelimitingpillarsofthedossieraredownrightsymbolic.
Right at the front of the file (sheet 2) we find Albert Einstein’s letter to
PrussianMinisterofScience,ArtsandCultureHaenischfrom6December1919.
In it Einstein expresses his appreciation that the State Budgetary Committee
of the Constituent Prussian Assembly had promised to make available 150,000
marks for empirical research in the area of the general theory of relativity. At
thesametimehementionshisreservationsaboutsucharesolutionbeingmade
during a time of severe economic need with the potential of triggering bitter
feelingsamongthepublicatlarge.Hepointsoutconditionsunderwhichanex-
perimental test of the theory is possible without such high expenditures. The
file closes with a letter by his worst enemy, the Nobel laureate Philipp Lenard,
toReichMinisterofPublicInformationandPropagandaGoebbelsfrom8Octo-
ber1934,triumphantlydemandingacompletesettlingofaccountswithEinstein
andhistheory.Lenardcallsforpersonalconsequencesforanyonestillfollowing
Einstein,evenifonlyonthescientificterrain,andtheexpulsionofallhissym-
pathizersfromacademicchairs.Healsousespoliticalargumentsinmakinghis
case against his archenemy. Nor should Einstein have any influence in science
becauseitis“sopoliticallyharmful.”17
Basedonthecontentthedossiercanbedividedintothreeparts.Therelevant
topicswouldbe:
1. Einsteinispromoted.
2. Einsteinisexploited.
3. Einsteinisattackedandchasedaway.
Thesetopicsareinterrelated.Hewaspromotedbecausehewasbeingexploited.
Andwhilehewasbeingattackedpoliticallybyright-wingelements,andforthat
reason frequently traveled abroad, Einstein was still useful as a representative
ofGermaninterestsoutsidethecountry.Initially,hispromotionpredominates,
Preface XI
thenhisexploitation,andfinallyopenenmity.Despitethetemporaloverlapping
ofthesethreeelements,personalpromotionisgenerallyattributabletothepe-
riod of the Kaiserreich, political exploitation to the Weimar Republic (roughly
until Germany’s entrance in the League of Nations), and politicalanimosity to
the end of the Weimar Republic and Hitler’s “Third Reich.” Methodologically
it is relatively easy to separate the Kaiserreich from the Weimar Republic. It is
amuchmorecomplicatedproblemtodivideWeimarandtheThirdReich,pri-
marilybecausetheWeimarperiodwasnotsuchasoundworldasissometimes
supposed.
For the German original editions of this book, I chose the title “Einstein
Akte”withreferencetothisEinsteindossierinparticular.Itisnowevidentthat
thisreferenceistoolimited,forotherfilesalsoplayedatleastasimportantarole
inthepresentwork.ButIwouldnotliketorelinquishcompletelyanycorrelation
tothisfoundationstoneofmyresearch.ThatiswhyIoptedforthepluralform,
hence:“Einstein’sDossiers.”18
The topic of inquiry I had chosen four decades ago still influences my ap-
proachtothepersonalityAlbertEinstein.Itwasnot,andstillisnotmyintention
towriteyetanotherbiographyofEinstein.Myobjecthereisrather:“scienceand
politics,mindandmight,intellectualandpolitician–asexemplifiedbyAlbert
Einstein,”withinthecontextofEinstein’s“Berlinperiod.”Iamfullyawarethat
these themes are abstractions and polarities as do not and cannot really exist
in so apodictic a form. There are such things as apolitical theories (Einstein’s
theory of relativity among them), but no such thing as apolitical science. The
“intelligentsia”(inrecenttimesparticularlythescientificintelligentsia)hasal-
wayshelpeditselftopolitics–whethertoourbenefitordetrimentremainsan
openquestion.
Sothisisnotanewbiography.Theexistingoneswillsuffice.19Einstein’slove
life is of no interest here either, nor his manner of dress or eating habits. Ein-
stein’scharacter,styleoflifeandopinionsaretakenintoconsiderationonlyin-
sofarastheyareofpoliticalsignificance.
Asthenamesakeofthisworkandapivotalpointoftheaction,Einsteincon-
stitutes only half of the title and only one pivotal point of the plot. In a much
moregeneralsense,thepersonEinsteinisnotevenatthefocusofthisstudy.
Thisisnotalteredbythefactthattheappendix(on“TheFBI’sEinsteinfile–
reportsonAlbertEinstein’sBerlinperiod”)ledmetodelvequitedeeplyintothe
privatelifeofEinstein.Thesubjectofthereports,allegingEinstein’scomplicityin
undergroundcommunistactivities,compelledmetodoso.Ihadtoinvestigate
hislivingconditionsandofficespace,hisfamilyrelationsandrelationshipswith
otherpersonsinordertoassessclaimsthatEinsteinwaspoliticallyactiveduring
hisBerlinperiodandinordertobeabletoverifyorfalsifythemaccordingly.
ThefactthatEinsteinwasbornon14March1879,at11o’clockand30minutes
inthemorninginUlmatBahnhofstraßeno.135,maybeofimportelsewhere.20
Here, however, it suffices to place his birth year roughly toward the end of the
seventiesofthenineteenthcentury,theperiodofBismarck’ssocialistlaw,anun-
precedentedstrengtheningoftheGermanEmpirefoundedin1871,theflowering
XII Preface
of the capital Berlin, the “Gründerzeit,” a time of promoterism21 and of strife.
Amoreprecisedatingofhisbirthonlygainsrelevancewhencomparedagainst
otherscientistswholaterbecameclosecollaboratorsofhis–ifnotdeclareden-
emies. Both Otto Hahn and Max von Laue were born in the same year as Ein-
stein. Laue later became one of Einstein’s closest friends.22 The physicists Lise
Meitner(born1878)andMaxBorn(born1882)aswellasthelaterPrussianMin-
isters of Culture Haenisch (born 1876) and Becker (born 1876) were about the
sameageasEinstein.Thepersonsatleasttenyearshisseniorwere:FritzHaber
(born1868),AdolfvonHarnack(1851),LeopoldKoppel(1854),HendrikAntoon
Lorentz(1853),WaltherNernst(1864),MaxPlanck(1858),FriedrichSchmidt-Ott
(1860), Wilhelm Siemens (1855), and Emil Warburg (1846). His bitterest oppo-
nent,PhilippLenard(born1862),wassubstantiallyolderthanhim.Anotherop-
ponent of his, Johannes Stark, was only five years his senior (born 1874). We
mightdispensealtogetherwithmentioningtheactualdateofEinstein’sbirth,if
itdidnothappentocoincidewiththatofKonradHaenisch–Prussianminister
ofscience,artandculturefrom1918to1921.
ThefactthatEinsteinwasthefatherofthetheoryofrelativityandanimpor-
tantscientistinother–related–areasofphysics,doesnothavetotakecenter
stageinthisworkeither.Thequalityandvalidityofthetheoryis,nowadays,no
longercontentious.ItsufficestoknowthatEinsteincountsasoneofthegreat-
est scholars in the history of mankind. Today virtually no one questions Fritz
Haber’spremonitionatthe50thanniversaryofAlbertEinstein’sbirth:“Inafew
hundred years, the manonthe street will know our timesas the period ofthe
WorldWar,butthecultivatedpersonwillconnectyournamewiththefirstquar-
terofthiscentury,justastodaytheformerremembersthewarsofLouisXIVat
thecloseofthe17thcenturyasthelatterremembersIsaacNewton.”23 Thefact
thatEinsteinhappenedtobethecreatorofthetheoryofrelativity,asopposed
tosomeother(hypothetically“equivalent”)theory,isofsecondaryimportance
hereaswell.Ifreferenceismadetothesubstanceofthetheory,thenonlybecause
hiscontemporariesdrewsuchconnectionsbetweenthechangingmoralvaluesof
theperiodafterWorldWarIandthecontentofthetheory.
Myinitialassumptionisthatauthorandreaderareinagreementononething
only:AlbertEinsteinwasevidentlyandindisputablyoneofthegreatestscholars
inthehistoryofmankind.Inotherrespects,Einsteinissimplytreatedlikethe
famous“blackbox.”Wecomparetheinputagainsttheoutput.Thedifferencebe-
tweenthetwowouldthenbeinterpretedastheregularconsequenceofEinstein’s
characteristics or as a result of chance. Einstein’s characteristics, opinions and
achievementsaredrawnintothediscussiononlywheretheyarenecessaryforex-
plainingthehistoricalphenomena.Thosecharacteristics,opinionsandachieve-
mentsofnosocialrelevancewillremainbeyondthescopeofconsideration.
Suchanaxiomaticapproachwillnotalwaysbefeasible,ofcourse.For,itis
the details and anecdotes that give the story its zest. Any such inconsistencies
intreatingthismaterialwillneverthelessdonothingtochangethefactthatthe
biographicalelementdoesnotlieatthefocusofthisbook.
WhatwillbeexaminedisAlbertEinstein’splaceinGermanpolitics–therela-