In 1933, Albert Einstein’s movements were significantly influenced by the political upheavals in Germany, the rise of the Nazi regime.
“As long as I have any choice in the matter, I shall live only in a country where civil liberty, tolerance and equality of all citizens before the law prevail. These conditions do not exist in Germany at the present time.“
Albert Einstein, March 10, 1933 (interview)
- December 1932 – March 1933: Einstein was in the United States for a visiting professorship at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. During this period, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany (January 1933), with a successive coup d’état inside a democratic framework. In March Einstein decided not to return to Germany, due to the escalating dangers for Jewish citizens and opponents of the Nazi regime.
- 30 January 1933: Hitler appointed “Chancellor” of a government of ‘National Renewal’
- 27 February 1933: Fire (arson) in the ‘Reichstag’ ; The next day a law is passed that the government can suspend civil rights and impose imprisonment without trial (because of the imminent “communist threat”).
- 3 March 1933: National elections. Nazi-party gets 43.9% and expands its politic of intimidation.
- March 10, 1933: The day before he left Pasadena, Einstein was interviewed by Evelyn Seeley of the New York World Telegram. They talked for forty-five minutes, and one of his declarations made headlines around the world. “As long as I have any choice in the matter, I shall live only in a country where civil liberty, tolerance and equality of all citizens before the law prevail. These conditions do not exist in Germany at the present time.” Publication date: March 11, 1933
- 23 March 1933: The German parliament passes the Law for Rectification of the Distress of Nation and Reich (Gesetz zur Behebung der Not von Volk und Reich), the Enabling Act (Ermächtigungsgesetz). This law allows Hitler, as Chancellor, to initiate and sign legislation into law without obtaining parliamentary consent. The act effectively establishes a dictatorship in Germany.
- March 28, 1933: Einstein and his wife, Elsa, returned to Europe, arriving in Antwerp (Belgium), aboard the SS Belgenland. Upon learning that their home in Germany had been raided and their possessions confiscated (including the appartment in Berlin, where Elsa’s daughter was living), Albert decided to quit the Prussian Academy of Sciences (where he was the Director), and to also officially renounce his German citizenship (letter to the German consulate in Brussels, Belgium). Both letters werd dated 28 March 1933, so sent off on arrival. Both were written on Red Star Line Stationery. NB: Elsa also wrote a letter to Albert’s Sister Maja Silverstein-Einstein, dated on the same day, 10 minutes before ‘arrival’ in Antwerpen. It has a postscript by Albert. This letter is special because Elsa openly expresses her anxiety. They were… homeless now.
- 1 April 1933: General boycott against Jewish businesses. (ein Deutscher kauft nicht beim Juden)
- 7 april 1933: a new Law (Gesetz zur Wiederherstellung des Berufsbeamtentums) removes Jews and political opponents (at random) from the civil service and bans them from public schools. De facto the first racial law: The birth of the notorious ‘Arier-paragraph’.
- 10 May 1933: In Berlin books written by Jews (looted from private houses, but also from libraries) were tossed into a huge bonfire.
- April – September 1933: The Einsteins were now homeless people. NB: the ‘Einstein family’ also included a secretary and an assistant, Helen Dukas and Dr. Walther Mayer respectively. They took residence in the Belgian coastal town of De Haan, staying at Villa Savoyarde (rented by his friend Prof. Arthur De Groodt). He was under the protection of Belgian authorities due to threats from Nazi sympathizers. Notably, Einstein had connections with the Belgian royal family; he shared a passion for the violin with Queen Elisabeth. Albert regularly crossed the channel to give lectures in Oxford, Glasgow. Late July he accepted the invitation the British Commander Oliver Locker-Lampson to stay in England for a while, meeting Churchill, Austen Chamberlain, and former Prime Minister Lloyd George. The latter had a guest-book, in which Einstein also was invited to write, which he did. Arriving at the space for ‘home address’, he paused for a while, and then wrote: “ohne” (none)1
- 19 july 1933: Letter to his ex-wife Mileva, in which he tries to comfort her and promises help, although his possessions in Germany were gone, and – because of the devaluation of the dollar – his American earnings had lost much of its value.
- August 1933: The assassination of Einstein’s friend, Theodor Lessing, by Nazi agents in Czechoslovakia underscored the imminent danger he faced in Europe.2.
- October 7, 1933: Einstein departed Europe for the United States (after a famous speech in the Royal Albert Hall on October the 3rd). He traveled from Southampton aboard the SS Westernland3, arriving in the U.S. on October 17, 1933. He accepted a position at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, initially agreeing to a six-month tenure. Einstein ultimately decided to make the United States his permanent home, becoming an American citizen in 1940.
NOTE: the key dates/events: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/1933-key-dates
- In this period his political activity: warning against nazi-Germany, helping refugees (mainly jewish, dropping his pacifist opinion etc. took shape.
- Theodor Lessing was a critical german philosopher and zionist. He had already fled Germany, but the Nazi press spread rumours of a high reward on Lessing’s head. A similar rumour was circulating with regard to Einstein. On August 30, 1933, Lessing was shot dead in his Marienbad apartment by two National Socialists (Sudeten-germans). This was the first political murder of an opponent to the Nazi regime outside of Germany, and caused worldwide indignation.
- Elsa had stayed in De Haan, and embarked on the Westernland in Antwerp, picking up Albert in Southampton