A rare letter handwritten and signed by legendary physicist Albert Einstein is up for sale at Kedem Auction House in Jerusalem.
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The letter, penned in 1936, is addressed to Austrian pianist Bruno Eisner, a friend of Einstein's who was considering a job offer. The letter offers a glimpse at the levels of antisemitism that prevailed in the US at the time.
Einstein describes an "enormous amount" of antisemitism in the US, especially in academia and in the banking industry. He tells Eisner that while the American antisemitism at the time did not take the form of violent words of actions, it was "strong" beneath the surface.
"It is an enemy that is everywhere, that cannot be seen, whose presence can only be felt," Einstein writes.
Einstein wrote the letter while living in Princeton, New Jersey, a few years after the Nazis rose to power and he decided he would never return to Germany. At the time, Eisner was already in New York and staying with another friend of Einstein's.
Einstein also offered as an example the story of an assistant of his who had grappled with extreme antisemitism in the US and had been forced to take a job in Russia.
The great physicist describes his intense loneliness and says he is "not in contact with anyone."
Despite the antisemitism of the time, Eisner did find his niche in the American classical music scene. He became a working concert pianist and a professor of music, and taught at universities and conservatories all over the US. He passed away in New York at age 94.
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