I N T R O D U C T I O N T O V O L U M E 1 5 l x x i Einstein’s views on German and European scholars during this period were strongly influenced by his perception of their positions on the ongoing reconcilia- tion in the scientific community, in general, and the ending of the boycott of German scholars, in particular. In his tribute to Romain Rolland, written in August 1925, he praised those few like Rolland who “cling to the ideal of the love of mankind” and decried their being “cast out by society and persecuted as lepers.” In his opinion, this was “a shameful period for Europe” (Doc. 48). However, the Locarno Treaties of October 1925 renewed his optimism in European reconciliation (Doc. 94). Summing up the year 1925, he decided that Locarno was “the best thing” that had happened. The treaties also led Einstein to the conclusion that the politicians were “more sensible” than the scholars and only underscored his disappointment with the meager role European, and in particular, German, academics had played in the reconciliation among the various national scientific communities. He also saw the treaties as proof that “traditional prejudices” had been weakened in the general public (Docs. 138 and 143). The issue of the ongoing boycott also led to controversy within the Prussian Academy of Sciences. When Einstein penned a draft for the academy’s official tribute to H. A. Lorentz on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of his doctorate in the fall of 1925, one of the paragraphs did not find favor with Gustav Roethe, the academy’s presiding secretary. Einstein had praised Lorentz’s character and his crucial role in trying to heal the wounds in Europe and foster collaboration among its scientific community (Doc. 116). Max Planck subsequently informed Einstein that the paragraph had to be dropped. Einstein claimed that he “couldn’t care less” (Docs. 122 and 124). The fact that European rapprochement had been advanced more by politicians who successfully negotiated the Locarno Treaties than by scholars evoked a bitter reaction by Einstein: the professors “would have been good as avant-garde as re- serve forces they are irrelevant” (Doc. 114). However, a year later, he sounded far more positive about the role of scholars, stating that he was pleased that the leading French and German intellectuals were beginning to place themselves in the service of rapprochement between the two nations (Doc. 431). Yet he still had to deal with harsh criticism from right-wing nationalists who vociferated that the “Berlin Zion- ist Professor Einstein” was the “sole ‘German’ scientist” participating in the meet- ings of the ICIC. In reaction, Einstein lamented that German academics were “still caught in petty prestige politics” and emphasized that reconciliation was “the great task of our generation” (Docs. 455 and 456). Einstein also lent his support for the public advancement of European rap- prochement. In the spring of 1926, he cosigned an appeal initiated by the Verband