694 DOCS. 652-654 NOVEMBER
1918
By
the
way,
1st
Maja,
many happy
returns
of
the
day.[2]
I
am going
to send
you
a
little
something
as well,
if it’s
possible.
All of
us
have been
doing
well
until
now,
also
healthwise.
Best
regards, yours,
Albert.
Ilse,
who
is
as
red
as
they
come,
got
into
a
little
shoot-out
and
took
to
her heels.
653. To Leo
Arons
[Berlin,
12
November
1918
or
later][1]
Esteemed Colleague,[2]
Since
I
know
that
as an
intrepid
champion
of
free
speech[3]
you certainly
cannot
feel
offended
by
the
following,
I
may
be
completely
frank.
Professors revealed
during
this
war
that
from
them
we can
learn
nothing
in
political
affairs,
on
the
contrary
that
it
is
imperative
that
they
learn
one
thing,
namely:
To
Shut
up!
That
is
why
I cannot support
your
suggestion.[4]
In
the
hope
of
soon
making your personal acquaintance,
I
send
you my
best
regards
...[5]
654.
To Svante
Arrhenius
[Berlin,]
14
November
1918
Esteemed
Colleague,[1]
It
is
unusually
thoughtful of
you
to send
me
greetings
in these eventful
days,
without
knowing
me
personally.
For
me as an
old,
convinced
democrat and
republican
and
a
person
almost
fanatically
fixated
on
rights,
joy
drowns out all
other
reactions of
anxiety, especially considering
that
I
am
Swiss. I
hope
Europe
recovers soon
again
somewhat from
the
terrible blow and
the
more
refined
feelings
and interests
soon
will
make themselves felt
again
so
that
life
regains
its
more
cheerful
character. Then the
economic
pressures
will
not be able
to
make
any
decent
person overly
sad.
It
is
quite
remarkable how
flexibly
most
have
adjusted