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376

Einstein ALS Twice-Signed

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:1,000.00 USD
Einstein ALS Twice-Signed
Important and stirring Albert Einstein autograph letter twice-signed. Einstein writes to Hugo Iltis, author of several anti-Nazi publications, whom Einstein admired so much that he would help him flee Nazi Germany. Single page letter dated 5 December 1936 from Princeton to Iltis in Vienna translates from German in full, ''Dear Sir: I read your booklet 'The Myth of Blood and Race' with great interest and approval. If the majority of the German intellectuals would have shown as much courage and respect for the truth and such a vivid social conscience as the author of this book, the whole nation would have been saved from plunging into such an abyss. Yours very faithfully, A. Einstein / P.S. The booklet was sent to me by the Peoples University Brunn. You may use this letter in any way which seems appropriate to you. Sender Prof. Albert Einstein, Princeton.'' The 8.5'' x 11'' letter exhibits stray spotting and slight separation along one horizontal fold. A separate, smaller piece of paper has been affixed to the verso. Overall good plus condition. Lot also includes in its original German Hugo Iltis' book, ''The Myth of Blood and Race'' signed by Hugh Iltis, the son of Dr. Hugo Iltis. Dr. Hugo Iltis was a Czechoslovakian-born Jewish professor of botany, genetics and biology, and outspoken opponent of the German Nazi Party and their use of science to bolster their eugenics. Throughout the 1930's he lectured against Nazi race theories, eventually publishing three books which denounced Nazi genetics. The most controversial of the three, ''The Myth of Blood and Race'' (1936) brought Iltis under the scrutiny of the Nazi Party. But the book also caught the attention of Albert Einstein. After reading it, Einstein developed a respect for Dr. Iltis' courage in writing such a controversial work in the face of the rising Nazi regime. In 1937, Einstein even sent a copy to the W.W. Norton publishing house in hopes that they would publish the work in English. Meanwhile, the situation in Czechoslovakia worsened. By September 1938, a Nazi invasion of the country loomed, endangering the life of Dr. Iltis. Believing that his non-Jewish wife and their two sons would be safer without him, he secretly checked-in at a Br�nn hotel on September 27, with plans to commit suicide. His wife, sensing trouble, notified the Brunn Police Department. After an heroic search, they found the professor and convinced him to abandon his suicidal plans. Earlier in April, Dr. Iltis had received a letter from Einstein advising him to emigrate to the U.S., establish connections, and then use those connections to bring his family. With that letter in hand, Dr. Iltis flew alone to England in December 1938, where he gave several lectures. One month later, after a harrowing train ride across Germany, his wife and two sons met him in Cherbourg, France, where they began their trip to America onboard the Cunard Ocean Liner Aquitania. From their safe vantage point in America, they watched as Hitler and the Nazis arrived in Prague on March 15, 1939, and announced by radio that they were in control of Czechoslovakia. That same day, the Gestapo fanned throughout the cities of Prague and Brunn with lists of people to round up. On their list was Hugo Iltis, who was safely far away. With the help of Albert Einstein, Dr. Iltis secured a temporary position at the International School in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and soon after attained a permanent faculty position at Mary Washington College in Virginia. His wife, Anni, helped him establish the Mendel Museum there.
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