7 6 0 D O C . 4 8 1 O N C H A R L I E C H A P L I N 481. Statement on Charlie Chaplin [Berlin, after 18 February 1927] Ein so feiner Künstler wie Chaplin weiss, dass er sich aus der Meinung des gros- sen Haufens nichts zu machen hat.[1] Dieser taugt in Europa so wenig wie in Ame- rika, wenn auch bei uns die Schürzen-Herrschaft nicht so tyrannisch ist wie in Amerika.[2] Ich denke, es lohnt für Chaplin nicht, nach Europa zu fliehen. Er mag warten, bis sich seine Landsleute an ihm genug bamiert haben. AD. Philadelphia Public Ledger, 20 February 1927, p. 3 (see the following document) in English. [45 743]. Written at the bottom of Abs. 764. [1]In Abs. 764, the Hungarian-Jewish journalist Ernst Lorsy asked Einstein for a statement in support of Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977). Einstein’s statement was to be one of many from German intellectuals in support of the right of Chaplin, who was going through a very public divorce, to pri- vacy. The newspaper asked Einstein for his opinion on Chaplin and his art, what Europe could and should offer Chaplin, and for his general views on the right of artists to privacy. On the media’s treat- ment of Chaplin’s divorce, see, e.g., “Chaplin Ill in Bed after Breakdown,” New York Times, 16 Jan- uary 1927. [2]For Einstein’s comment on women’s role in the United States after his first trip there in 1921, see “An Interview with Prof. Albert Einstein” (Vol. 7, Appendix D, p. 624). In the published English version, “tyrannisch” was replaced by “strong” (see the following document).
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