Set 30 pt head

Albert Einstein Makes Princeton His Home

Set 18 pt

Intellectual Flees Germany In 1933

With two cuts

Albert Einstein’s home at 112 Mercer Street.

 

Albert Einstein’s favorite chair.

PRINCETON, N.J. — During the turbulent decade of the 1930s, Princeton experienced an influx of intellectual refugees fleeing Germany and other Eastern European countries. The most notable of these intellectuals was Albert Einstein. Because of his Jewish beliefs, Einstein was targeted for special attack by the Nazi Party in Germany. In October 1933 Einstein sailed for the United States, never to return to Europe. Einstein was headed to the Institute for Advanced Study, a recently founded educational institution in Princeton.

For the first ten days of his stay in Princeton, Einstein dodged reporters. He and his wife Elsa, along with his personal secretary Helen Dukas, and professor Walter Mayer, his scientific collaborator, spent that time at the Peacock Inn. Following those first days in Princeton, their home became 2 Library Place, but by 1936 the Einstein family settled permanently at 112 Mercer Street.

Almost immediately upon his arrival in Princeton, Einstein was deluged with pleas for help from friends and strangers desperate to flee fascism in Europe. Working against harsh immigration quotas imposed against Jews, Einstein wrote affidavits and enlisted the help of friends in assisting as many refugees as possible. By the end of the 1930s, Einstein had written so many affidavits that his signature on a document no longer carried any weight.

Although Einstein did not participate in religious services in town, nor did he practice the rituals of Judaism, he was approached by the leaders of the Princeton United Jewish Appeal and asked if he would serve as honorary co-chairman. He was anxious to cooperate and served in this capacity until his death. Einstein signed letters of invitation to meetings and events, suggested names of possible donors and made personal appeals.

Stemming from his overall commitment to social justice, Einstein also publicly supported the civil rights movement in the United States. Einstein often walked through the historically African American area of Princeton, the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood. Einstein joined Princeton’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and later also helped sponsor the NAACP’s new Legal Defense Fund. Einstein’s friendship with Princeton native Paul Robeson led to his involvement and co-chairing the American Crusade to End Lynching, an organization devoted to the passage of a federal anti-lynching law.

Einstein died in Princeton in 1955. Half a century later, the Institute for Advanced Study generously donated to the Historical Society of Princeton 65 pieces of Albert Einstein’s furniture, including his favorite chair, desk, tall case clock and music stand. A number of these objects are on view in the historical society’s exhibition “Princeton In The 1930s,” opening September 11.

The Historical Society of Princeton, located in Bainbridge House at 158 Nassau Street, is open Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 4 pm. Admission is free. Donations are accepted. For information, 609-921-6748 or www.princetonhistory.org.