3 6 0 D O C U M E N T 2 6 2 J A N U A R Y 1 9 2 0
Gespräche? Führt Sie nicht der Weg bald einmal nach Frankfurt, sei es zu einem
Vortrag hier, sei es auf der Durchreise nach
Basel?[6]
Meine Sehnsucht ist so gross,
dass sie mich zudringliche Fragen stellen lässt, die aber als retorische gelten mö-
gen.—
Mit erneutem herzlichsten Dank und vielen, vielen Grüssen für Sie alle bin ich
Ihr treu ergebener
Oppenheim.
P. S. Brief meiner Frau folgt, sobald ihr Kampf mit dem Wörterbuch
beendet.[7]
ALS. [44 628].
[1]The office of Moritz Nathan Oppenheim, director of the wholesale jewelry firm Nathan Marcus
Oppenheim (see Doc. 97, note 3).
[2]For similar allusions to Buridan’s ass, see Docs. 31 and 242.
[3]Pauline Einstein, terminally ill, arrived in Berlin in late December and moved into the Einsteins’
apartment (see Doc. 242). Elsa had cared for Einstein during his lengthy illness in the winter of 1917–
18 (see Vol. 8, Docs. 403 and 474).
[4]The picture could possibly be an etching by Hermann Struck. Elsa mentioned to Ehrenfest that
she had sent a copy to the Oppenheims (see Elsa Einstein to Paul Ehrenfest, 10 December 1919).
Einstein drew silhouettes of Elsa, Ilse, Margot and himself on the first page of Peterchens Mond-
fahrt, the children’s book by Gerdt von Bassewitz (1878–1923), enclosed as a gift for Paul and
Gabriella Oppenheim-Errera’s son, Felix (*1913). See entry of before 14 January 1920 in Calendar
and Illustration 14.
[5]The goal of the campaign for the Albert Einstein Donation Fund (Albert-Einstein-Spende) was
to keep pace with foreign efforts to test the theory of general relativity. The sum of 150,000 marks
promised by the Ministry of Education (see Doc. 194) seemed insufficient for the acquisition of a
spectrograph that would be competitive with those in foreign countries, and to cover the cost of a
building (see Hentschel 1997, pp. 58–65). Therefore, a further sum of 350,000 marks was to be col-
lected from private contributions (see Erwin Freundlich to Konrad Haenisch, minister of education,
5 May 1920, GyBSa, I. HA, Rep. 76 Vc, Sekt. 1, Tit. 11, Teil 5C, Nr. 55, Bl. 43).
After 31 December 1919, in a call for funding (ibid., Bl. 8r–9v), about 500,000 marks were re-
quested, including the promised state fund. The call, probably drafted by Freundlich (see Kirsten and
Treder 1979a, Nr. 98), was signed by Gustav Müller, Hermann Struve, Fritz Haber, Adolf von
Harnack, Walther Nernst, Max Planck, Heinrich Rubens, and Emil Warburg, and addressed “to those
who care about Germany’s cultural standing” (“denen an der Kulturstellung Deutschlands gelegen
ist”).
[6]Einstein had planned to attend a Zionist meeting that was postponed at the end of 1919 (see
Doc. 233).
[7]Gabriella Oppenheim-Errera’s native language was French.
262. To Theodor Des Coudres
Berlin, den 16. Jan. 20.
Sehr geehrter Herr Kollege!
Nach meiner Ansicht ist Herr Marx ein Forscher, der in seinem Fache durchaus
auf der Höhe der Zeit steht, und der einer ausserordentliche[n] Professur würdig
erscheint.[1]
Dabei ist vorausgesetzt, dass seine Qualitäten als Lehrer auf ähnlicher