3 6 4 D O C U M E N T 3 8 6 J A N U A R Y 1 9 2 9 I am not always completely satisfied with the current state of the wave theory, and I have thought for some time that you would be the one to show the best path to follow in order to improve it. That is why I was very excited by the news that I read in the papers. I have also learned that you had been ill in recent times, and for that reason, you were not able to come and give some lectures at our new Henri Poincaré Institute.[2] I hope that you have now fully recovered, and all of us at the Henri Poincaré Insti- tute hope that you can come to see us next year. I again apologize for having bothered you, and remain respectfully yours, Louis de Broglie 386. From Max von Laue Berlin-Zehlendorf, 29 January 1929 Dear Einstein, Bieberbach[1] has been noticeably polite to me in recent times. Under these cir- cumstances, it could finally prove possible in this semester that I will be able to free myself from the professorship and find another position. I am extremely eager to do this! I have therefore come to Berlin only to try to be freed from my teaching duties, which I have experienced as the greatest misfortune.[2] In other respects, things would be easier for me at any other university than here. I recently dropped a hint in this direction to Mr. Windelband,[3] who must have understood it. I can only assure you over and over that if I still had my fortune, I would have long since rid myself of the professorship. For during the time when I was sitting alone and undisturbed in my boathouse on Lake Starnberg, I was still able to ac- complish something.[4] I will of course never again have it so good. But the state and my colleagues should have at least enough respect for the progress of science that they not allow my talents to lie completely unused. And they are unused at present, since as matters stand, my poor nerves are not up to the task of managing all the external duties that are forced upon me here. But instead of objective crite- ria, in filling every professorship position personal motives always play a decisive role, and in my case, this I know all too well, there is in addition a great amount of gossip of the lowest kind, made possible only by a whole series of breaches of con- fidence. Is there really no one who can step in with the appropriate righteous anger and sweep away all this dirt? Please discuss the matter in depth with Planck. With kind regards, your M. Laue