7 0 D O C U M E N T S 5 7 , 5 8 S E P T E M B E R 1 9 2 7 57. To Hans Albert Einstein [Berlin,] 19 September 1927 Dear Albert, It’s not easy for me to help you find a position in the concrete industry, because I don’t know to whom I should turn.[1] You mentioned Siemens. The only connec- tion I have there is this: a Prof. Schottky, who has been a professor at the University of Würzburg, is coming to work for Siemens in the testing laboratory.[2] I wrote to him, and he promised to look into it. He is coming here on the 20th. So you’re go- ing to have to be patient. I can hardly imagine that Siemens makes large concrete structures, since that hardly falls within its purview. You yourself will have to find the places where you can apply. Then I’ll gladly do what I can to help. In any case, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find something. For that reason, I wouldn’t move out. Another landlady will also have her quirks, that’s the nature of the “thing.” I am well, but my wife’s daughters are always sick.[3] My work is going reason- ably well, and I often go sailing, with great enjoyment. But I am nonetheless happy that you two have not become scientists. Because if you take it seriously, it’s damned hard. I have a good idea about the refrigerator,[4] but I can’t give it enough attention and my colleagues are not sufficiently diligent.[5] So nothing will proba- bly come of it. Mama and Tete[6] are not very good at writing, and neither am I, there’s nothing to be done about that. When Tete writes, it’s entirely impersonal, but he’s a nice fellow. Hard work isn’t exactly his passion, but there also have to be people who simply enjoy God’s creation—perhaps that’s the true purpose of the latter. After all, our goals are just soap bubbles. Best regards to you and your wife[7] from your Old 58. To Beatrice Jahn Rusconi-Besso 20 September 1927 Dear Bice, According to our present knowledge, the so-called attractive force of gravitation is a state of space that is caused by masses and acts on masses. It has nothing to do with combustion.[1] Combustion is a much more complicated process that is based on the primarily electrical interactions of the smallest particles. Be glad that no one is asking you to know about these things, because the effort to learn about them is hard and cannot be carried out with words.