2 5 2 D O C U M E N T S 2 5 7 , 2 5 8 M A Y 1 9 2 4
257. To Paul Kersten
[Berlin,] 30 May 1924
Dear Sir,
Nothing should have reached the press about the efforts to found a university in-
tended to secure a means of academic study for young eastern Jewish
people.[1]
The obstacles to attaining this goal are extraordinarily great and are only multiplied
by the concern of the broader public with it. But it seems certain to me that estab-
lishing a Jewish university at the border between central and eastern Europe would
be beneficial not only to eastern
Jews.[2]
I rather believe German universities, in
particular, would also welcome at least a partial alleviation of the influx of eastern
Jewish youth.
If our efforts in this matter turn out to be successful, I shall gladly be prepared
to report about it.
Respectfully,
A. Einstein.
258. To Gilbert Murray
June 1924 [Berlin, 30 May
1924][1]
Dear Sir,
Upon returning from a
journey[2]
which extended over several weeks, I found
your highly esteemed letter awaiting me here. It has given me genuine pleasure, and
calls for an absolutely candid reply. A year ago I resigned my seat on the Commit-
tee on Intellectual Cooperation, giving as my reason that I lacked confidence, not
in the work of the committee itself, but in that of the League of Nations as a whole.
I must admit that my best and most farseeing friends greatly regretted my
action.[3]
I myself eventually came to the conclusion that I had allowed myself to be influ-
enced more by a passing mood of despondency than by mature reflection. Whatev-
er the failures of the League of Nations in the past, it must ¢in these sad times² be
regarded as the one institution that holds out the best prospect of beneficial action
in these sad times. But, moreover, there is also the consideration that this is the very
moment when those supporters of a policy of reconciliation who live in this country
should do their utmost so that the readiness for reconciliation shown by the French
people should bear fruit in Europe.
For this reason I should like to say that, were I to be elected, I would gratefully
accept a seat on the Committee and would do everything in my power to contribute