Einstein & His Stand Against The Nazis
By 1932, Adolf Hitler was gaining more and more power. Since Albert was Jewish, he moved his family to the United States, where he took a job at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. His theories were denounced as just "Jewish physics" by many Nazi officials. Phillip von Lenard, a Nazi scientist, said about Einstein, "the most important example of the dangerous influence of Jewish circles on the study of nature." (source: "Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity" by John Bankston) This was just one of many examples of German propaganda before and during World War II. Albert was on the assassination list for the Nazis, and there was even a money reward for whoever killed him. "I did not know I was worth this much," Einstein himself joked (source: "Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity" by John Bankston).
Knowing the dangers of Hitler and the Nazis, Albert stood up to them and efforted to save as many Jews as he could. Although he was living in The United States, he decided to travel to Europe to make speeches against the Nazis, the last one being on October 3, 1933, at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England. He even had people begging him to "stay in the background". In a letter to Lional Ettinger from Albert written in July 1933, Albert says, "If I appear publicly as a prosecutor of the German government, it will have terrifying consequences for the German Jews. Even those who definitely have a right to talk to me, based on their demeanor so far, are begging me to stay in the background and not provide more pretenses for reprisals against the German Jews." (source: shapell.org/manuscript/einstein-and-hitler-1933)
Knowing the dangers of Hitler and the Nazis, Albert stood up to them and efforted to save as many Jews as he could. Although he was living in The United States, he decided to travel to Europe to make speeches against the Nazis, the last one being on October 3, 1933, at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England. He even had people begging him to "stay in the background". In a letter to Lional Ettinger from Albert written in July 1933, Albert says, "If I appear publicly as a prosecutor of the German government, it will have terrifying consequences for the German Jews. Even those who definitely have a right to talk to me, based on their demeanor so far, are begging me to stay in the background and not provide more pretenses for reprisals against the German Jews." (source: shapell.org/manuscript/einstein-and-hitler-1933)
Image Source: "3 October 1933 - Albert Einstein presents his final speech given in Europe, at the Royal Albert Hall" by Suzanne Keyte
Albert Einstein presents his speech addressing the Nazi party at the Royal Albert Hall on October 3, 1933. Source: iconic - via YouTube