London: Never-seen-before letters in which Albert Einstein wrote of Adolf Hitler’s ‘insanity’ and the persecution of the Jews have emerged for sale in Los Angeles for an astounding $40,000 (£30,000), Dailymail reported. The Jewish mathematician was forced to flee his native Germany for America after receiving heavy handed treatment from the Nazi regime upon Hitler’s ascent to power in 1933.
Einstein’s cottage was raided and turned it into a Hitler Youth camp, his sailing boat was confiscated, his books were burnt, and he was also prevented from working after the Nazis banned Jews from teaching at universities. In a letter penned to his first wife Mileva on April 17, 1934, the physicist wrote of how the financial woes inflicted on him made it difficult for him to support his son Eduard’s ongoing treatment for schizophrenia. ‘The Hitler insanity has completely ruined the lives of all those around me,’ he wrote.
A second letter, dated June 10, 1939, was written by Einstein to his friend Dr Maurice Lenz, a doctor who had helped Jewish refugees. He wrote that the Jewish people were facing an ‘especially severe test’ and praised the doctor for his important contribution rescuing ‘persecuted Jews from calamitous peril’. ‘In these years of affliction our readiness to help one another is being put to an especially severe test. May we stand this test as well as did our fathers before us.’
‘It must be a source of deep gratification to you to be making so important a contribution toward rescuing our persecuted fellow Jews from their calamitous peril and leading them toward a better future.’ The letters have been consigned for sale by a private collector with Los Angeles based auction house Nate D Sanders for $40,000 (£30,000). A Nate D Sanders spokesperson said: ‘The letter to Mileva has extraordinary content both regarding Hitler and also Eduard’s illness shortly after his diagnosis.
