V O L U M E 8 , D O C U M E N T 4 7 5 b 1 4 9
gesprochen. Falls Al[b]ertli zu uns kommen kann, hielte ich’s für das beste, Du gä-
best uns auch
Tetel.[12]
Da die beiden Jungen so sehr an einander hängen, wäre es
sehr schade sie ohne triftigen Grund zu trennen.
Was Du über Deinen Gesundheitszustand sagst, ist nicht erbau[lic]h. Wärest Du
doch nicht so schnell nach Berlin
zurück,[13]
es wäre halt doch beßer gewesen. Ich
freue mich sehr bis Ihr in die Schweiz kommt. Da wirst Du wohl bald Dein früheres
Gewicht wieder
erreichen.[14]
Zwar sind unsere fetten Zeiten auch vorbei u. wir
nähren uns auch zum großen Teil von Lebensmitteln die man nur mittels fa[r]bigen
Papierchen u. einem ziemlichen Batzen dazu erstehen
kann.[15]
Aber fürs erste
braucht man den Gürtel noch nicht enger schnallen. Ich leider auch nicht.— Bald
mehr! Inzwischen einen innigen Kuss
Maja.
Herzl. Gr. an Elsa, Kinder u. die
andern.[16]
ALS. [144 796]. There are perforations for a loose-leaf binder at the left margin of the document.
[1]Probably similar to Einstein’s letter of one week earlier to Heinrich Zangger (see Vol. 8,
Doc. 471a, in the present volume).
[2]Heinrich Zangger had warned Einstein a few weeks earlier that the household of his Swiss fam-
ily probably could no longer be maintained (see Heinrich Zangger to Einstein, 21 February 1918
[Vol. 8, Doc. 469]). As a result, Einstein probably suggested to his sister, as he had to Anna Besso
(see Einstein to Anna Besso-Winteler, after 4 March 1918 [Vol. 8, Doc. 474]), that Hans Albert board
with Maja and Paul Winteler.
[3]Paul Winteler.
[4]Hans Albert Einstein.
[5]Anna Besso-Winteler, who was Paul Winteler’s sister.
[6]Mileva Einstein-Maric; .
[7]Elsa Einstein.
[8]On the perception that Einstein had insulted Heinrich Zangger, see Vol. 8, Doc. 471b, note 4, in
the present volume.
[9]Penates were the household gods of the ancient Romans.
[10]“May God protect me from my friends; from my enemies, I can protect myself.” A variant of
the Italian proverb “Da chi mi fido, mi guardi Iddio: da chi non mi fido, mi guarderò io” (“May God
protect me from those I trust; from those I don’t, I will protect myself”).
[11]Margherita Azzolini (1881–?) was a school friend of Maja’s in Bern, a scholar of Romance lan-
guages and literature, originally from Verona, Italy (see Rogger 2005, p. 48, and Azzolini 1910).
[12]Eduard Einstein.
[13]From Switzerland at the end of August 1917.
[14]Einstein had been pleased with his weight gain while in Switzerland the previous summer (see
Vol. 8, Doc. 371b, note 7, in the present volume).
[15]Rationing in Switzerland had begun in earnest in February 1917 and was progressively tight-
ened until the end of the war. Consumption of meat was forbidden on Tuesdays and Fridays, as was
the sale of fresh bread in general. In mid-January 1918, butter became a rationed commodity (see Tri-
bolet 1934, vol. 7, p. 479).
[16]Ilse and Margot Einstein, and Rudolf and Fanny Einstein.