D O C U M E N T 1 9 3 J A N U A R Y 1 9 2 4 1 9 3
I fear that this evolution will be long; and I perceive all the unpleasantness of the
current situation. Europe appears to me like an organism recovering from a severe
illness that still has many toxins to eliminate. I live very much in seclusion in my
laboratory, and I occupy myself almost exclusively with science.
I regret that you cannot come to Brussels to see your Belgian and French friends
again.[5]
Don’t you sometimes think that it is exasperating not be able to make a
gesture without it having world-wide significance? You say that relations between
cultivated persons should be easier than those among the common public. Without
a doubt, but the contrary is what takes place. Common mortals communicate freely
enough, while intellectuals have managed to erect barriers between themselves that
they do not know how to make disappear. This proves that in culture there is an anti-
human element that undoubtedly depends on what education has not sufficiently
separated from political considerations. And at the risk of being accused by you of
partiality and incomprehension of relativity, I believe this element is more pro-
nounced in Germany than in France, because Germany’s political government up
to now has been much less liberal.
Nonetheless, look at what one can accomplish through education: The physician
knows that he must minister to the sick without regard to his nationality. Does this
not prove that the sense of solidarity can and must be taught and that humans are
capable of accepting it on an international scale, even in wartime?
I send you my best wishes for the new year, since one should always hope for
better than what is, and my very sincere regards in friendship,
M. Curie.
193. From Asociación Hebraica
Buenos Aires, 9 January 1924
Dear Professor,
Mr. Straus, whom we have charged with transmitting to you our proposal of a
voyage to the Republic of Argentina, has informed us of the conversation he has
had on this subject with Mrs. Einstein, as well as the questions to which you re-
quested clarification before making your
decision.[1]
We hereby provide the clarifications requested by you.
1). The “Asociación Hebraïca” is a society created with the sole aim of increas-
ing the general level of intellectual culture among the Israelite community of
Buenos Aires and, in particular, enhancing the study of Jewish history, literature,
language, and philosophy.