On supporting Jewish refugees

Los 134
05.02.2026 10:00UTC +00:00
Classic
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
VeranstaltungsortVereinigtes Königreich, London
Aufgeldsee on Website%
ID 1540383
Los 134 | On supporting Jewish refugees
Schätzwert
$ 40 000 – 60 000
EINSTEIN, Albert (1879-1955). Typed letter signed ("A. Einstein") to Eli M. Spark, Princeton, 10 June 1939.

One page, 278 x 215mm. on his personal embossed letterhead (text and signature slightly faded, toned at margins, file holes at left margin). Recipient's docket accomplished at upper right corner.

On the eve of the Second World War, Albert Einstein thanks to a contributor to a fund to support Jewish refugees while offering his hope for the ultimate survival of his people in the midst of the Shoah. Einstein signs a letter of thanks for the contribution of funds to support Jewish refugees. Einstein offers his "sincere congratulations on the splendid work you have undertaken on behalf of refugees during Dedication Week. The power of resistance which has enabled the Jewish people to survive for thousands of years has been based to a large extent on traditions of mutual helpfulness. 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. We have no other means of self-defense than our solidarity and our knowledge that the cause for which we are suffering is a momentous and sacred cause..." He concludes by saying "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."

Einstein used the identical text in other letters to prominent Jewish civic leaders who contributed funds following his speech at the dedication of the Palestine Pavillion at the New York World's Fair on 28 May 1939. Einstein was joined by several speakers including Fiorello LaGuardia and other dignitaries, including Dr. Chiam Weizmann, who spoke via shortwave radio from Paris, before a crowd of 50,000. Many came to show solidarity with the Jews in Palestine following the British White Paper that set limits on Jewish emigration there. Einstein, in his short address, reminded his audience, "The World's Fair is in a way a reflection of mankind, its work and aspirations. But it projects the world of men like a wishful dream. Only the creative forces are on show, none of the sinister and destructive ones which today more than ever jeopardize the happiness, the very existence of civilized humanity." This lead him to note that "In Palestine a handful of people is threatened by the political intrigues of the powers. Sheer brutal mob violence would rob it of achievements won at the price of hard work and bitter sacrifice. It is exposed to constant attack, and every one of its members is forced to fight for his very life, even over and above the bitter economic struggle for survival." (Quoted in The New York Times, 29 May 1939, 7).
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