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and character by some of his colleagues. In July, after Einstein’s extremely success-
ful visit to the United Kingdom during which he was seen as bringing about a sig-
nificant rapprochement between the two countries’ scientific and intellectual
communities, Sommerfeld asked him to help publish an article in the English press
that defended the issuing of the nationalist Lusitania medal during World War I
(Doc. 168). In reply, Einstein deplored the fact that Sommerfeld had written the
article. He thought that its publication in England was inappropriate, and explained
to Sommerfeld that he actually was in favor of informing the German public of the
“entire dirty laundry” that had “accumulated during the war” (Doc. 175).
The university in Munich, Einstein wrote to Sommerfeld, was an “anti-Semitic
reactionary wasps’ nest,” and he would refrain from lecturing there because he
feared protests by right-wing students (Doc. 247). The invitation extended to
Einstein had incited dispute when the University of Munich rector had requested a
commitment from student representatives that the visit would not be accompanied
by “disgraceful scenes,” to which the deutsch-völkische students agreed only on
condition that Einstein refrain from “political
agitation.”[47]
After hearing about the
matter, Einstein no longer felt obliged to honor his commitment. He attempted to
soften the force of his refusal by writing to Sommerfeld that he preferred to
distance himself from matters that “pointlessly cause human difficulties”
(Doc. 247). In November, Anschütz-Kaempfe wrote to him that the harsh charac-
terization of his “militarized” Munich Gymnasium education in an interview in Le
Figaro—similar to the published remarks in his discussions with
Moszkowski[48]
—had carried with it negative repercussions in his former home-
town. He asked Einstein to write a “mollifying” note to Sommerfeld (Doc. 293), a
request to which Einstein apparently acceded (Doc. 327).
In England, Einstein met with high-level British dignitaries, including Prime
Minister Lloyd George and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Randall Davidson
(Doc. 145). There appears to be no doubt that Einstein (Doc. 152), his hosts
(Doc. 159), as well as Berlin officials and the press, were considerably impressed
by his reception. Einstein praised the “cultural treasures” of England (Doc. 149)
and its “splendid intellectual and political tradition” (Doc. 155), and continued to
correspond with his hosts long thereafter. In an interview upon his return to Berlin,
Einstein said that the “overwhelming majority” of scientists in America were inter-
ested in the reestablishment of international cooperation. His goal had been to pro-
mote reconciliation within the international scientific community and to discuss his
new scientific theories at prestigious American and English universities (see
Doc. 115). He had found that there was an even greater desire for reconciliation in