l x x x E D I T O R I A L M E T H O D When significant, statements cited in an interview and presented in an unbroken block of text without interjections from the interviewer are presented as full texts. Other interviews that contain substantial blocks of quotations by Einstein, but are in the more typical interview format, or juxtapose Einstein’s various pronounce- ments on a subject, are placed in an appendix (see, e.g., Appendix G). All available letters are presented in full, or as an abstract in the Calendar of Abstracts. Letters addressed to more than one recipient are printed only once. Authors and dates of known but unavailable letters are cited if only an excerpt of a significant original letter is available, it is printed in full. Einstein became director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physics (KWIP) in October 1917, and his correspondence in that capacity is substantial. Unless of par- ticular significance for the understanding of Einstein’s deliberations or actions, all letters to and from Einstein in his capacity as a member of the board of directors (Direktorium) of the KWIP, or from him to the board of trustees (Kuratorium) and to other members of the board of directors of the KWIP, as well as all third-party documentation of his role as director of the KWIP, are summarized in the Calendar, as are routine financial and administrative exchanges with Einstein, grant applica- tions, and correspondence with publishers and translators. Einstein’s postscripts that serve only to extend greetings, have no independent character, or are appended to letters by other authors are abstracted in the Calendar. On occasion, third-party letters and other documents (such as certificates and of- ficial reports) that are important for understanding Einstein’s development, milieu, and public activities are printed in whole, in part, or in summary. After completing the publication of documents pertaining to Einstein’s Berlin period, which ends in early 1933, all remaining undated documents and fragments that can be dated only to an approximate span of several years within that period (1914–1933) will be published together in supplementary volumes, observing the above selection criteria. ESTABLISHMENT OF TEXTS It is our general policy to work initially from a photocopy of a manuscript or type- written text, and then to perfect our transcription against the original, if available. If neither the original nor a photocopy is available, we base our text on a previously transcribed or printed version. If more than one such version is available, we select the one that in our opinion agrees most closely with features characteristic of the author’s style, orthography, and punctuation, departing from the text only to correct unambiguous typographical errors. In the case of published items, we take the first version published in the original language as our primary text. Variations in later editions of Einstein’s publications
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