238
DOCS.
242,
243
JULY
1916
from
me,
also in
case
of
the
woman’s
death.
I
am
very
afraid of
that.
But if
you
think it
appropriate
that
I
come,
I
will
come
by
all
means.[3] I
have
no
requisite
duties
in
the
near
future.
I
beg
you
to
assuage
the
woman
in
every way possible;
in
particular, I
ask
you please
to
give
her
a good
nurse,
if
she has
nothing against
it.
My boys
should not
get
the
distressing
feeling
that
they
are
getting
no
support
from
their father.
In
case
the
woman
falls victim to
the
illness,
I would raise
the
two
boys myself,
without
having
them
go
to
a
Berlin school.
They
would be
taught
at
home,
as
far
as
possible by
me
personally.
Without
your,
the
Zurchers’,
and the
Bessos’
help,[4]
I
would lose
my
mind
in
this
distressing
situation.
I
am
very sorry
for
the
woman,
and
I also believe
that
her difficult
experiences
with
me
and
through
me are
at least
partly
to blame
for
her serious illness.
Affectionately yours,
A.
Einstein.
243.
From Willem de Sitter
Loenen,
27 July
1916
Dear
Colleague,
Your
letter
reached
me
yesterday.
I
am
here in
the
countryside,[1]
far
away
from
my bookshelves,
but
shall
try
nevertheless to
answer
your question,
to
the
best
of
my knowledge.
For the
directorship
of
a
large astrophysical observatory,
obviously,
an
astrophysicist
will
be
selected;[2]
but
in
my view,
the
choice must
be
guided,
in
the
first
place, by
the
consideration
that
the director
ought
to
be
a
man
with
a
broad overview of
the
entire
field
of
astronomy,
who
not
only
can
do his
own
research
but
is
also
capable,
in
particular, of
grasping
and
solving
major
problems.
The current
situation
is
that
astrophysics
has
largely perfected
its
own
methods,
and
the
primary
requirement
now
is
a
collaboration
between
astrophysical
and
classical astronomical research methods
and
a
combination of
the
findings.
Unfortunately
many astrophysicists
still
fail
to
recognize
truly
the
value
of
traditional
astronomical
precision
methods,
whereas
the
genus
of those
classical astronomers who
are
unable to value
astrophysics,
is
becoming
extinct
or
has
already
died
out.-But
in
general, one can more
easily
make
an
astronomer
into
the director
of
an astrophysical
observatory
than
an
astrophysicist
into
the
director
of
an
astronomical observatory.-
Now, as concerns
the
persons coming
into
question:
aside from
Küstner
I
would
name
Hertzsprung
(who,
however, although
now
employed
at
Potsdam,
is
not
a German),
Ludendorff,
and Hartmann.[3] The
last
was
not
chosen
on