I N T R O D U C T I O N T O V O L U M E 1 4 l x x i x ians and embassy officials, Einstein wrote in his diary: “All locals, no Germans, be- cause the ambassador did not dare to invite the latter. A droll company, these Germans. I am a stinking flower to them but they stick me in their buttonhole again and again” (Doc. 455, entry of 17 April 1925). The ambassador reported back to Berlin that the frosty reception by the German colony was due to a perception of Einstein as a pacifist.[61] The publication of his article on the pan-European ideal (Doc. 463) also inflamed part of the German community. The Asociación Hebraica hosted a large reception in Einstein’s honor at the Teatro Capitol, where he delivered a lecture on the plight of the Jews and the role of Zionism (Appendixes 10, 10A). On the eve of his departure, a banquet was host- ed by the Center of Engineering Students, where he was greeted enthusiastically. On 23 April, Einstein departed for Montevideo. He was bid farewell by a large crowd that included high-ranking university officials and faculty members, stu- dents, and senior representatives of scientific, cultural, and Jewish institutions. He was “exhausted.” He had been harassed the most “by our Jews with their love,” yet he was satisfied that he had “worked very nicely for the Zionists” (Doc. 477). The following day Einstein arrived in the Uruguayan capital. He was welcomed by representatives of the president of the republic and of the university’s president, the dean of engineering at the university, Carlos M. Maggiolo, delegations from the Jewish community, and university students. His hosts in Montevideo were the Rus- sian Jewish Rossenblatt family. Amadeo Geille Castro, Professor of Mechanics, served as Einstein’s secretary in Uruguay, where he found “a genuine cordiality ex- perienced seldom in my life. I found love there to one’s own land without any meg- alomania.” During his stay he met with a delegation from the local Jewish community, who later hosted a banquet at the Hotel del Prado. Here, too, Einstein had an audience with the president of the Republic, José Ser- rato. Montevideo was “much more human and enjoyable” than Buenos Aires. He noted in his diary that Uruguay was “a small, happy country” whose “model social institutions” and government impressed him: “Very liberal state completely sepa- rate from the church.” In his mind, the constitution was “somewhat similar” to that of Switzerland. The Uruguayans, whom he found “modest and natural,” reminded him of the Swiss and the Dutch. If it were up to him, he would “cut up all the larger states into small ones.” In contrast to the cool welcome by the German community in Buenos Aires, Einstein described a reception held by the Federation of German Associations in Montevideo as “cozy and pleasant,” most likely because “only the most liberal showed up.” A large reception was also held at the residence of German ambassa- dor Arthur Schmidt Elskop, attended only by prominent Uruguayan scholars and politicians. The diary recorded Einstein’s dismay at news of the election of retired
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