Einstein, Albert | Autograph letter signed, 19 March 1929

Einstein, Albert

Autograph letter signed (“A. Einstein”), to an unnamed recipient, Berlin, 19 March 1929

1 page (leaf) (295 x 188 mm), headed stationary of Haberlandstrasse 5, Berlin, watermarked; some creases, wear and browning to horizontal fold with small tears at outer margin and center.

The scientist advocates for the care of a friend shortly before her death: “[Erna Löwenstein] is part of my personal group of friends, and I would appreciate it if you will take care of her in a most sensitive and careful manner."

It is unclear exactly what the relationship between Einstein and Löwenstein was at the time of this letter, and Löwenstein would pass away just three months after Einstein's letter of support.

A typical middle-class Jewish family, the Löwenstein family worked in the grain industry and enjoyed a seemingly stable life in pre-war Dusseldorf. Erna Löwenstein’s brother was Alfred Flechtheim, art dealer and collector of predominantly modernist works and founder of art magazine Der Quernschnitt.

While Erna's daughter, Thea Löwenstein, would later remember her childhood as some of her best years, the rise of Nazi Party and the implementation of the Nuremberg Laws, which codified the persecution of the Jewish people, occurred during her adulthood. Freshly married, Erna and her husband Fred Klestadt obtained visas in 1937 and depart for New York and later Ohio. Their belongings and family papers are located at the United States Holocaust Museum within the Fritz and Thea Löwenstein Klestadt family collection.

As a prime target of the regime himself, Einstein would continuously oppose Germany's ascent into National Socialism. After resigning from the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin and renouncing his citizenship in 1933, the famed scientist would continue to write affidavits for American visas on behalf of those attempting to flee the ever-present persecution.

REFERENCES

Klestadt Family Papers, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection