262. To Theodor Des Coudres

Book9.book Page 360 Tuesday, July 27, 2004 6:47 PM
© The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein
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DOCUMENT 262
Princeton University Press, 2004
JANUARY 1920
Gespräche? Führt Sie nicht der Weg bald einmal nach Frankfurt, sei es zu einem
Vortrag hier, sei es auf der Durchreise nach Basel?[6] Meine Sehnsucht ist so gross,
dass sie mich zudringliche Fragen stellen lässt, die aber als retorische gelten mögen.—
Mit erneutem herzlichsten Dank und vielen, vielen Grüssen für Sie alle bin ich
Ihr treu ergebener
Oppenheim.
P. S. Brief meiner Frau folgt, sobald ihr Kampf mit dem Wörterbuch beendet.[7]
ALS. [44 628].
[1] The office of Moritz Nathan Oppenheim, director of the wholesale jewelry firm Nathan Marcus
Oppenheim (see Doc. 97, note 3).
[2]
For similar allusions to Buridan’s ass, see Docs. 31 and 242.
[3] Pauline Einstein, terminally ill, arrived in Berlin in late December and moved into the Einsteins’
apartment (see Doc. 242). Elsa had cared for Einstein during his lengthy illness in the winter of 1917–
18 (see Vol. 8, Docs. 403 and 474).
[4] The picture could possibly be an etching by Hermann Struck. Elsa mentioned to Ehrenfest that
she had sent a copy to the Oppenheims (see Elsa Einstein to Paul Ehrenfest, 10 December 1919).
Einstein drew silhouettes of Elsa, Ilse, Margot and himself on the first page of Peterchens Mondfahrt, the children’s book by Gerdt von Bassewitz (1878–1923), enclosed as a gift for Paul and
Gabriella Oppenheim-Errera’s son, Felix (*1913). See entry of before 14 January 1920 in Calendar
and Illustration 14.
[5] The goal of the campaign for the Albert Einstein Donation Fund (Albert-Einstein-Spende) was
to keep pace with foreign efforts to test the theory of general relativity. The sum of 150,000 marks
promised by the Ministry of Education (see Doc. 194) seemed insufficient for the acquisition of a
spectrograph that would be competitive with those in foreign countries, and to cover the cost of a
building (see Hentschel 1997, pp. 58–65). Therefore, a further sum of 350,000 marks was to be collected from private contributions (see Erwin Freundlich to Konrad Haenisch, minister of education,
5 May 1920, GyBSa, I. HA, Rep. 76 Vc, Sekt. 1, Tit. 11, Teil 5C, Nr. 55, Bl. 43).
After 31 December 1919, in a call for funding (ibid., Bl. 8r–9v), about 500,000 marks were requested, including the promised state fund. The call, probably drafted by Freundlich (see Kirsten and
Treder 1979a, Nr. 98), was signed by Gustav Müller, Hermann Struve, Fritz Haber, Adolf von
Harnack, Walther Nernst, Max Planck, Heinrich Rubens, and Emil Warburg, and addressed “to those
who care about Germany’s cultural standing” (“denen an der Kulturstellung Deutschlands gelegen
ist”).
[6]
Einstein had planned to attend a Zionist meeting that was postponed at the end of 1919 (see
Doc. 233).
[7] Gabriella Oppenheim-Errera’s native language was French.
262. To Theodor Des Coudres
Berlin, den 16. Jan. 20.
Sehr geehrter Herr Kollege!
Nach meiner Ansicht ist Herr Marx ein Forscher, der in seinem Fache durchaus
auf der Höhe der Zeit steht, und der einer ausserordentliche[n] Professur würdig
erscheint.[1] Dabei ist vorausgesetzt, dass seine Qualitäten als Lehrer auf ähnlicher
© The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein
Volume 9
Princeton University Press, 2004
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© The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein
DOCUMENT 263
Volume 9
JANUARY 1920
Princeton University Press, 2004
361
Höhe stehen wie seine schriftliche Darstellungsfähigkeit (Handbuch für Radiologie).[2] Die wissenschaftlichen Originalarbeiten von Marx zeugen von Scharfsinn
und Können, wenn auch nicht von erheblichem Forschertalent. Ueber die Beweiskraft der bekannten Untersuchung über die Geschwindigkeit der Röntgenstrahlen
habe ich mir ein sicheres Urteil nicht bilden können.[3]
Es gibt ja kein absolutes Mass für den Wert eines Wissenschaftlers. Bei Berücksichtigung des Massstabes, den man in analogen Fällen anzulegen pflegt, bin ich
nicht im Zweifel, hier für Marx eintreten zu sollen.
Mit freundlichen Grüssen
TLC. [44 387]. Addressee’s name is typed above salutation: “Herrn Prof. Dr. Th. Des Coudres
Leipzig.”
[1] A week earlier, Des Coudres had requested a recommendation for Erich Marx for a position at
the University of Leipzig (Doc. 251).
[2]
Erich Marx was editor of this multivolume handbook for which Einstein had written an account
of the special theory of relativity. However, it was never published (see Manuscript on the Special
Theory of Relativity, Vol. 4, Doc. 1, and the editorial note, “Einstein’s Manuscript on the Special Theory of Relativity,” pp. 3 and 6).
[3] See Marx 1906 and 1910.
263. To Attilio Palatini
[Berlin,] 16. I. 20.
Hoch geehrter Herr Kollege![1]
Ihre Abhandlung „Deduzione“ ist ausserordentlich schön und durchsichtig.[2]
Ich habe grosse Freude beim Studiu[m] gehabt. Besten Dank
Mit freundlichen Grüssen an Sie und Levi-Civita[3] Ihr
A. Einstein.
Se non è immodesto, la prego, die mettere quelli separati anch[e] al signor
Dr. J. Grommer[4]
Uhlandstr. 61. Berlin W,
che desira molto di averli![5]
AKS. [19 008]. The verso is addressed “Herrn Prof. Dr. Attilio Palatini Università di Padova (Italien),” with return address “Abs. A. Einstein Haberlandstr. 5 Berlin,” and postmarked “[Be]rlin [-]
1[6].1.20 [---].”
[1] Attilio Palatini (1889–1949) was assistente in rational mechanics at the University of Padua.
[2] Palatini 1919 presents a variational derivation of the gravitational field equations of general relativity by varying both the metric tensor components and the connection coefficients as independent
variables. By showing that the variation of the Christoffel symbols produces a tensor, each equation
in the derivation is itself of tensorial character. For a historical discussion of this paper and of Palatini’s other contributions to general relativity, see Cattani 1993.
[3] Einstein and Tullio Levi-Civita (1873–1941), Professor of Rational Mechanics at the University
of Padua, had been longtime correspondents, beginning in March 1915 with Levi-Civita's criticism of
© The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein
Volume 9
Princeton University Press, 2004