Ten days after the Munich Agreement effectively ceded Czecholslovakia to Hitler, Einstein took up his pen. He condemned UK prime minister Neville Chamberlain for appeasing the German leader, predicting that the act would embolden him and further damage European alliances.
“I do not have any hope left for the future of Europe”, Einstein writes. He goes on to slam Chamberlain for hoping Hitler “might let off steam by attacking Russia”. In addition to these observations of the political landscape, Einstein says: “I wouldn’t be alive if I didn’t have my work.”
The two-page document, written in German, is signed by Einstein and datelined Princeton, 10 October 1938. It is addressed to the scientist’s friend Michael Besso, a Swiss engineer. It came to auction at Nate D Sanders from a private collector.
Bidding at the timed sale opened at $25,000 and the letter ended up taking £31,250 (£24,200), including buyer’s premium, when the auction closed last week.
Two more letters by Einstein are on offer at Nate D Sanders’ current sale which ends on September 28. Both address unified field theory and one includes equations in the scientist’s hand. Bidding for both starts at $60,000.
