1 1 4 V O L U M E 8 , D O C U M E N T 6 5 9 b
Our general strike petered out after a few days, despite participation by the rail-
way men for a
week.[10]
It was indicative that right in the middle of it a Berlin com-
munication arrived under the new government: “Revolution in France, Fren[ch]
government has been overthrown!” This time the clumsy maneuver didn’t work
anymore like the Nuremberg bombshells. Propaganda against the Entente is in full
flourish here again, from G[ermany]! False reports as well, as before. The people
said quite unanimously: our Federal Council can go to the devil, but first and fore-
most the semi-foreign general strike—soviet “made in Germany.”
I went into some detail because from there you’ve probably hardly had an op-
portunity to closely acquaint yourself with the conditions here. We hope that you
find the matter amusing from your safe lookout onto the partisan goings-on over
there: the jump from the 18th century into communism, without adopting the dem-
ocratic attainments of the Fren[ch] revolution just leads from absolutism to abso-
lutism. You can imagine who profits from it in the end. Incidentally: one isn’t a
republican and a democrat merely by waving a little red flag; this higher mentality
needs the longest and most persistent education and self-education.
Do write back sometime very soon, we would like to hear your opinion. Take
good care of yourself in the hullabaloo, and warm regards, yours,
Paul.
Vol. 8, 659b. From Hans Albert Einstein
[Zurich, ca. 25 November
1918][1]
Dear Papa,
How are you? I am doing very well, but school has started
again.[2]
Please write
me what’s going on in
Berlin.[3]
You’ve probably heard that there was a national
strike here last
week.[4]
It happened roughly like this:
On Saturday morning it was suddenly reported that the decision to strike had
been made. So the first thing was, as always, that the “streetcar men” abandoned
their duties and went home. No one was working at train stations and all workers
left their bosses in the lurch. That was called Zurich’s protest strike but it left the
federal works unaffected. A lot of military were immediately brought to Zurich,
probably around 10,000 men. On Monday evening it was suddenly made known
that a general strike had been decided for Tuesday under the direction of the so-
c[alled] Olten Action
Committee.[5]
Now telephone was the only means of commu-
nicating. But that wasn’t supposed to last long: a portion of the Zurich student body
offered their help to the government. Then suddenly on Wednesday at 11 o’clock
in the evening a paper was circulated, as there had been no newspapers before, ei-
ther. They were sold by students and printed by employers. Students also helped