April 24, 1939: The Einstein Letter

Original Letter of Recommendation from Professor Albert Einstein

Translation:

To Whom It May Concern:

I have the pleasant duty to recommend Mr. Thomas Doeppner most sincerely for the support of his efforts to complete his education in America. I do not know him personally , but have been reliably informed about the young man's family, and about his human and professional qualities. The father emigrated shortly after the Nazi takeover in Germany, and is currently working as press representative in Holland. The young Doeppner is of excellent character, and has already started his studies in electrical engineering with good results. There is no question that he will develop into a successful
man who will have deserved any assistance in his education that may be extended to him. I would be very pleased if this were made possible.

Princeton, N.J., April 24, 1939                    Professor Albert Einstein

Letter from Helen Dukas with Albert Einstein embossed stamp

Transcription:

(embossed stamp)

A. Einstein

112 Mercer Street

Princeton

New Jersey USA

(letter)

April 24, 1939

Miss Charlotte S. Salmon

Refugee Section of the

American Friends Service Committee

20 S. 12 Str.

Philadelphia, Pa.

Dear Miss Salmon:

    enclosed I am sending you an endorsing letter by Professor Einstein for young Thomas Doeppner. I do hope that you will be able to secure a scholarship for him. In view of the fact that his father is legally admitted to Holland and has a fairly good position there as a newspaper-man it should be easier for the young man to get the student visa.

    

     Sincerely yours,

        Helen Dukas

         secretary to Prof. Einstein

I hope, it makes not much difference that the Prof. Einstein's letter is in German. My English is not good anough for an adequate translation. But, please, let me know if you think the letter should better be in English.

 Albert Einstein pictured around 1939

Here it is! Einstein’s letter of recommendation! Forgive my geekiness- but I am excited about it. Opa writes about this letter of recommendation in his memoir, “From Nazi Germany to a Career in Freedom”:

Professor Einstein wrote me a letter, addressed “To Whom it May Concern,” stating that while he did not know me personally, he had been reliably informed of my scholastic abilities, and would appreciate any help to get me a scholarship. (I still have that letter.) Primarily thanks to that letter, I finally received a scholarship...that eventually gave me my start on a new life.

So, through one letter, one signature, Opa’s shot at freedom expands. If you think about it, it probably took Einstein a grand total of 30 seconds to process this letter, start to finish. One simple pen stroke has the power to alter the course of a human life. In Opa’s memory, this was a turning point for his college search.

It is amazing to me the steady stream of people in my Opa’s life who provided a helping hand when he needed it. Helen Dukas went out of her way to help Opa by responding to his family’s request for help, following through with the American Friends Service Committee, and lastly, probably drafting the letter herself and putting it in front of Albert Einstein to sign- and sending it on its way in the mail. 

It is just icing on the cake that Albert Einstein among those who did something to help Opa. I did a little research, and Einstein was known to help the German-Jewish refugees, specifically any who showed promise as scholars. I found an article online that referenced a collection of letters:  

The letters in the Bergreen Collection illustrate Einstein’s deep and abiding commitment to securing the safe removal of Jewish scholars from Germany as well as their placement at institutions abroad.

 (found this article here: http://specialcollections.vassar.edu/exhibits/einstein/essay3.html) In this article, it makes the point that Einstein didn’t always know for sure that the person he wrote the recommendation for was qualified. Some people might be annoyed by that, I find it kind of endearing. He really was an absent-minded professor. So, Einstein recommended Opa. And we (my family) still have the letter to show for it. Thanks, Professor Einstein. And thank you Helen for seeing it through.

April 21, 1939: Helen-Mary Forbush at Oberlin College

Letter from Helen-Mary Forbush of Oberlin College to Charlotte Salmon of AFSC

Transcript:

Dear Charlotte Salmon:

In regard to the Oberlin refugee students the records and recommendations of Sabine Heller came to us through the National Council of  Jewish Women. They seem to be excellent and we will consider her for the scholarship we hope to save for a woman. We do not have, however, the qualifications, transcripts, records, autobiography, etc. for Thomas Doppner whom you suggested in your letter on April 4. Could you let me know his present address or addresses of friends or relatives from whom we might get the necessary transcripts and recommendations?

Apart from the students, I have another refugee situation I would like you to consider. Mrs. Carroll K. Shaw, wife of the Oberlin Alumni Association Secretary, has asked me of the possibilities of getting a refugee housewife. She has been asked to teach Modern Dancing at the College, but will be unable to do so if she cannot find someone capable of taking care of her house and two children. She would prefer a middle-aged woman who can speak English fairly well. I hope you will write her if you have any suggestions. Her address is: Mrs. Carroll K. Shaw 221 Forest St. Oberlin, Ohio.

Sincerely yours,

Helen-Mary Forbush

Chairman of Refugee Committee

 

This letter from Helen-Mary Forbush shows the earnestness that some folks showed in trying to help as many people as possible. It sounds like Oberlin has two spots open for scholarships: one each for a male and female. They also seem to be open to and specifically invested in helping a Jewish refugee. They received a recommendation from the National Council of Jewish Women for the female slot. Now they look to the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) for more information on my Opa- they need his transcripts, recommendations, etc. If I remember correctly, the mail in and out of Germany was a little slow at this time and quick communication was difficult.

In the meantime, someone is asking if they could help by providing a housekeeping job to a refugee woman. Of course I immediately thought “Ella!”- although I don’t know if they would have considered her middle-aged.

The feeling I get from a lot of these letters to the AFSC is that there are a substantial amount of people who want to help. There are people who are willing to put together committees, raise funds, and do the work it takes to help a refugee. The sad part of it all is that even with that- the American immigration policy is so restrictive that even obvious refugee cases are being turned away.

It seems appropriate that Oberlin College is one of the schools that took interest in the refugee situation in Europe. I googled Oberlin to find out where it was (sorry guys, I didn’t know!) and found this short statement as the leading description for the school on Wikipedia:

Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students in addition to white males.

Being one of the first to correct a mistake is a brave and honorable thing to do. Thank you Oberlin, for your interest in my Opa, and for trying to help. I have a feeling we’ll be hearing more about Oberlin here on this blog!

April 17, 1939: Talk English Please

Mr. Reed Cary
Director, Refugee Division
American Friends Service
20 S. 12th St.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Dear Mr. Cary,

I am a student at Cornell College and am heading a committee that is investigating the possibility of providing means for enrolling a refugee student here as a member of our student body next September. Your name was referred to me by Miss Sara Pemberton of West Branch, Iowa. 

Cornell College is located about 24 miles from West Branch, Iowa and the Scattergood Academy. Due to the fact that we are so close we are aware of what your church group is doing in respect to this very acute and pressing refugee problem. This committee which I am heading is investigating the possibility of doing something to help some poor student who is a victim of German prosecution. At the present time this committee is working without the direct consent of the student body but with the approval of the college administration. The reason for this is that we want to clear up several difficulties before presenting it to the student body and asking their support and approval. That is my reason for writing to you. 

The one thing we would like to know is if there is any way in which we could co-operate with you and your Scattergood project by taking some student for a year on our campus. We cannot hope to be able to secure enough funds to bring a student to Mount Vernon from New York or Germany but we think we can provide means for furnishing such a refugee student with room and board and tuition for a full school year. The information I would like to have is if you would be willing to send us such a student either directly here or to the Scattergood Academy and then here at Cornell. If we have your word that you could send us a student and would be willing to be responsible for him during the summer months we can then present the proposition to our student body and ask for their support. We do not want to do so until we are sure of being able to get a student out here who is backed by some responsible organization, for all we can possibly hope to offer is the minimum expenses for one full school year. I hope that I have made myself clear.

The type of student we want is one who is willing to mingle and be a part of our campus. We would not make him feel as if he were being given charity for he would probably have to work some. He or she would have to talk English and be a positive personality. We would like one who would be willing to give us knowledge of continental Europe and culture. I would be very pleased to hear from you soon in respect to this matter.

Very truly yours
Howard Johnson

Before we get too far into this letter, let me disappoint you: this is not the Howard Johnson of the Howard Johnson hotels. Not even related (that we can see), trust me- we really tried hard to connect them. And it was near impossible to find the real Howard Johnson, as his name is so common. Alas- this is an ordinary Howard from Cornell College who is asking questions about refugee students. But that’s kind of the cool part about all of this- most of the people doing the hard work of helping refugees are ordinary folks who are willing to try. One more clarification: this is Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa- a private liberal arts school, not to be confused with the ivy league school, Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.

Cornell College is geographically close to Scattergood Academy, a sort of hostel/school set up by the Quakers as a way-station for refugee students in America. Howard Johnson wonders if his school could perhaps engage with the work of the Quakers in helping refugees. His heart is certainly in the right place. It seems that he meets a little resistance from the college community, and is looking for some reassurance and encouragement from the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).

First, Johnson offers Cornell as a potential place for a student to study for a year on their campus. He is clear in his explanation of the ability of Cornell college to help- they can’t provide the expenses of travel, but if the student gets there- they can at least support them for one school year.

Second, Johnson clarifies the kind of student they are interested in: one who is willing to mingle, work, “talk English,” be “positive,” and share about their European culture.

I hate to point out the irony of a letter with a few grammatical errors asking for a European who is proficient in English. It shows us how even when willing to help, people are afraid of what they don’t know. This is a student in Iowa- not exactly the most diverse corner of the world. I am glad to know that this letter was sent to the AFSC headquarters- where they understand not only the plight of the refugees, but also the learning curve of those who have never stepped foot outside their home state, much less country. The AFSC workers are often courteous, informative, and direct in such a way that helps calm the fears and educate the helpers so that they are more willing and excited to help a refugee.

All that said, my heart aches for the refugees who couldn’t fit the bill of “normal enough” to get help. The ones who were not smart enough, educated enough, friendly enough, lucky enough. Would I make the cut if I had to go to another country? I only speak English.

Spotlight: Paul Burt

Jason writing again! So, as I started researching the different people writing the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) to inquire about refugees, in almost every case, I was finding that the people writing were students from the different universities. But when I went to research Paul Burt, I found out that he was not a student, but rather a minister.

As Sarah has mentioned, I am a United Methodist pastor and the United Methodist Church's campus ministry is called the Wesley Foundation. Now, based on the letterhead from the letter, I knew that the person writing from University of Illinois was associated with the Wesley Foundation, which was a point of excitement as a Methodist. In my research, what I came to learn was that the University of Illinois was the very first school to establish an official Wesley Foundation in 1913 and Paul Burt was the second campus minister for that Wesley Foundation. In doing more research, I found out that there was actually a book written about Burt's ministry, "The Ministry of Paul Burt: In Spirit and in Truth". The author, Barbara Burt Arnason, is his daughter. So, of course, I bought it and it is mostly comprised of people's thoughts and reflections on his life and ministry. So, in this spotlight, I'll give a condensed biography from the book and then share some quotes that I found that give insight into his passion for helping refugees as well as his connection to the AFSC. So this is Paul Burt!

Biography:

Paul Burt was born in Rome, Italy on July  21, 1893.

He went to school in Rome and then New Jersey, and graduated from Wesleyan University in Connecticut. 

He did his ministerial training at Drew Theological Seminary and graduate work in history at Yale University. He taught for a few years at Wesleyan, traveled for a year at Methodist Missions in Japan, Korea, China, Malaya, India, and the Philippines and then served as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy during WWI. In 1919, he married Elizabeth Rue. 

He served for a period with the Methodist Church in the Mediterranean Area, he then served as Associate Minister of the American Church in Paris. He returned to the US in 1924 and served a church in New York before, in 1928, moving to Urbana, Illinois to serve as the minister of Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church and also serve as the Director of the Wesley Foundation at University of Illinois. Dr. Burt formed the Association of Wesley Foundations and served as the first President. Dr. Burt retired in June 1962 and passed away in Urbana on November 30, 1974. He had one daughter and three grandsons at the time of his death. 

As I glanced through the remembrances, sermons, letters, etc., I began to get a sense of Dr. Burt's commitment to pacifism, his interactions and respect for the Quaker religion, and social activism as a way of living out ones faith. Below are just a few of the stories/quotes that helped round out this picture of Paul Burt:

Wilbur Luce joined Dr. Burt's church when he was a student at the University. He grew up as a Quaker and when a Quaker couple, the Satterwhite's, moved in next door to the Burts, they began a Quaker meeting. Dr. Burt told him about it and Wilbur became a charter member of the Monthly Meeting. He had a dual membership and served both communities.

"Paul Burt was a pacifist...He was a vigorous expositor of and participant in the cause of pacifism. As with most things that he espoused, and indeed as with most things he abhorred and condemned, he manifested his stand in a spirit of kindness and consideration. He always attempted, through love and reason, to gain support for those things that he believed to be in accord with ideals of the founder of his religious belief." "He supported, in person, the claims of others whom he believed to be sincere conscientious objectors." - Ben Stalvey

"One early spring day during the Korean War, Paul Burt joined concerned members of his congregation in a Quaker-sponsored week-long vigil before a factory at Newport, Indiana, about fifty miles from Urbana." - James Ayars

"I remember a time in the summer of 1948 when Dr. Burt was not available. He had gone to Europe on an American Friends Service Committee shipboard orientation tour. It was an educational tour for students." - Jane Gothard

In talking about WWI,

"There is a noticeable omission in Paul's discussion of the war: hatred of the Germans. Nowhere did he use the derogatory term "Boches," so common at the time. He wrote often about "the war situation," about drills and parades-with some enthusiasm-and about the chic or lack of it in uniforms. But he did not express anti-German sentiments. His love of German-Switzerland, his German brother-in-law, his two German nephews, one of whom was a namesake, and his knowledge of German may not be explicit reasons for his attitude, but I think they must have been on his mind." - Barbara Burt Arnason    

To learn more about Dr. Paul Burt, feel free to find this book put together by his daughter. As Sarah and I continue to do, we give thanks for those, like Paul, who worked to help those they understood to be in need!

April 16-24, 1939: FAQ's for the AFSC

Original Letter from Paul Burt to American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)

Here is an example of a typical conversation that occurs between the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and Colleges across the United States who are interested in helping refugee students.

I can’t help but notice something that keeps happening in these letters written to the AFSC: they are almost all addressed to “Gentlemen” and “Sirs.” As a woman who notices this sort of thing, it gives me a weird kind of delight to know that the staff of the AFSC who are in charge of organizing and executing safe and legally sound immigration for refugees abroad - is comprised mostly of women. Incredibly competent women. That just makes me smile.

This letter is from Paul Burt, a representative from the University of Illinois. He writes on a Wesley Foundation Letterhead- which I readily recognize. The Wesley Foundation is a college organization sponsored by Methodists for students to find a faith home away from home. My husband is a Methodist Pastor and my Grandmother was a longtime Methodist. Paul doesn’t mention the Wesley Foundation, but he does mention the “Religious Workers Association” - of which he is a representative. I’m wondering if it is an ecumenical group. Paul alludes to the efforts by the Hillel group (the Jewish organization) to help jewish German refugees study in America. He states that his group would like to try to help any non-Jews that might need help. Then he lists his seven questions for the AFSC to help in his group’s endeavor towards possibly helping a refugee. I wonder how Paul knew to write to the AFSC. I assume that the AFSC were diligent in getting the word out about their services, but they seem to cover a large territory. How did word about the AFSC get around?

Some thoughts about his questions before we move on to the response by Charlotte. I get the impression from his questions that he knows very little about the reality of the situation in Germany and in the US immigration process. Of course, I’m not sure why or how he would know about anything other than the popular news which likely covered kristallnacht and the rushing of people to help any refugees after the horrible event. He actually wonders if there are any folks who haven’t already gotten their ticket over and scholarship tucked in. The rest of the questions are pretty standard logistical questions that would have been important to have answers for.

Here is Charlotte’s response to Paul’s letter:

 

Original Letter from Charlotte Salmon at AFSC to Paul Burt

I love how she responds in the exact same format his letter is in. It makes complete sense of course. In fact, I bet she wished everyone wrote her with numbered questions- so she could number her answers right back. How nice and efficient. Don’t know why I’m so enamored with the numbered points, but after reading long and winding paragraphs in other documents, this just does the job quickly. I appreciate it.

Charlotte says essentially: Um- yes- lots more folks need help. She is very professional and diplomatic in sharing the information. She essentially lists the urgent need, but that schools willing to help are having a hard time finding students that fit their profile. This struck me as pretty interesting. I never really thought about it- but the American idea of a college student is young, fresh-out-of high school student eager to go to a liberal arts college. The German school system didn’t necessarily correspond with this ideal, and likely with the Nazi regime takeover, the inconsistencies were even greater. Every German seeking to leave Germany was not an 18 year old with English proficiency and a passion to study at a liberal arts school. I have no idea what the average person from Germany seeing a student visa looked like. Perhaps that is why Charlotte enclosed information about my Opa on this letter. Technically he wasn’t religiously Jewish, he was 19 years old, the only thing that was not a perfect fit was that he wanted to study engineering rather than liberal arts. Opa was likely as close to a good fit as you could find. I wonder how many folks were overlooked because they didn’t fit the “mold” of what a student should be.

Of course, as Charlotte was probably weary of repeating, there was the red tape holding up refugee students from getting visas- their temporary status was difficult to confirm if they had no country to return to safely.  

Paul Burt set out to help - and Charlotte was ready with some suggestions. Luckily, we found out a little more about Paul Burt.  So stay tuned for the next blog post- a spotlight on Paul Burt, who it turns out- was a pretty cool guy.

Spotlight: Helene Dukas

Helene Dukas

"Finally, my father had an idea.  He knew a lady who then lived in Palestine (now Israel) who knew Albert Einstein’s secretary, Helene Dukas.  At that time, Professor Einstein was at Princeton University; he had a reputation for helping German refugees.  We wrote to her, and included my high school transcript."

The above paragraph is from Opa's memoirs. It was his brief recollection of their decision to contact Helene Dukas. Most of what is known about Miss Dukas is in reference to Einstein. Instead of writing my own spotlight, I tried to find a biography to share with you. Here is a link to learn a little more about Helene:

www.einstein-website.de/biographies/dukas_content.html

April 1939: The Einstein Family Legend

If you’ve been following along (or if you’re hopping in) make a quick visit to this letter here. You’ll see August (Opa’s Dad) writing to Werner (Emma’s brother) about checking with Helen D. about getting her boss to help out with Opa’s endeavor to go to school in the USA. Helen Dukas was Albert Einstein’s secretary (pretty awesome). From the letter in February, you get the impression that August is trying whatever he can- but now we have a little more details. The letter for today’s blog post is a follow-up on August’s request. It turns out that Werner did get in touch with Helen Dukas, and it doesn’t seem like it was too hard to get in touch with the great Albert Einstein. Helen writes a note to the Quakers in the American Friends Service Committee asking whether a letter of recommendation from Albert Einstein would be welcomed.

 

Translation:

c/o Prof. Einstein

re: Thomas Doeppner

Amsterdam

Student Visa

Frau Hertha Kraus

American Friends Service Committee

Bryn Mawr, Pa. 

Dear Mrs. Kraus,
 

The family of student Thomas Doeppner with whom I have been friends with for years, has forwarded the correspondence to me that they had with you, and has asked me to get in touch with you. I have discussed the case with professor Einstein whose secretary I am, and who also very well knows and appreciates the uncle of the young Doeppner. He would gladly write a letter of recommendation to a University in question in order to ease the possibility for him to study in America.

I would be very grateful if you could let me know if such a writing is still wished and needed.

With excellent respect

Helen Dukas

I’m not even sure why this letter exists. Honestly. Let me sum it up for you in my words:

Dear People who can get someone I care about safely out of this mess:

Do you want a recommendation from the smartest person alive?

signed,

But of course you do… I’m just giving you a heads up as to the awesome that is coming.

I may be wrong, but I think Einstein was already a big deal at this point. Of course perhaps Helen Dukas was trying to respect Einstein’s signature - consuming time?

In all seriousness, we really have no idea if a letter of recommendation from Einstein would have been a deal-breaker or not for my Opa. I follow with the camp of “it wouldn’t hurt to try” in most situations. (It’s similar to the “it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission” or something along those lines.)

This letter is cool for normal people (well- I think so), but for my family- this letter proves a legend, solves a mystery, puts together the puzzle. Let me explain. Many families have those “legends” that travel down the generational telephone line. Your great-uncle who played guitar once opened for Elvis Presley before he was a big name. You know- those kind of legends. The kind that have more or less in the way of proof, some obvious blurred details- and an absolute conviction of how cool it is to be related to that person.

In our family, the legend was the Einstein letter. We actually have it (well, my immediate family has a copy of it- my Opa had the original and my uncle- the eldest son- now has it tucked safely somewhere). So we have evidence. The legend was simply told as “Your grandfather had a letter of recommendation from Albert Einstein to help him get into school in the US.” Not until I got a little older did I think to ask the obvious question: How in the world did Opa know Einstein? We assumed it was through August (Opa’s father). The legend was that August knew Einstein’s secretary. This is true- but the story is way better.

As you can see from the letter, Helen seems to be a good family friend of Opa’s family. My uncle remembered hearing that Helen was friends with Ella in school. So ELLA would have been the connection there. Very awesome. But if you keep reading, you see that Einstein has another reason to help out: he knows Opa’s uncle. (Yup- now I have a great-uncle who knew Einstein- boom.) This is when our research opened a treasure trove. The uncle in question is not a brother of August’s or Ella- but rather Emma’s brother Werner… And before you get too confused (you might want to pull out a sheet of paper- and you can use the family tree to the right of this post for help): After August (Opa's dad) divorced Ella (Opa’s mom), he married Emma. Emma is Ella’s first cousin. Werner is Emma’s brother, so Werner is also Ella’s first cousin. Which makes Werner my Opa’s step-uncle and 1st cousin once removed.

Everyone with me? Great. The cool thing about the fact that Emma’s brother was a colleague of Einstein’s- is that Ella’s side of the family was ultimately the connection for Opa to Einstein (both through the secretary and through Werner). So the legend that August was the connection was actually not quite right. It was the women in our family that first connected Opa to Einstein.

And what’s more, Einstein had a legitimate connection to my great-(step)-uncle. There are archives of letters that they wrote back and forth around the time of the formation of Israel. But I’m jumping ahead- way too far ahead.

So this seemingly meaningless letter - has become a real tool in unlocking the mysteries that surrounded my family’s “Einstein legend” - and it has turned out so very legendary.

The following letter is Charlotte Salmon's obvious response:

Transcription:

Miss Helen Dukas           April 20, 1939
112 Mercer Street
Princeton, New Jersey

Dear Miss Dukas:

Thank you very much for your cordial note about Thomas Doeppner. It would, of course, be very valuable for him to have an endorsement by Professor Einstein. So far we have not been able to get a scholarship for him, and it is not certain that he would be able to get a student visa even if he had a scholarship. However, we shall continue to try for a scholarship and we will be very grateful for your help. 

Sincerely Yours,
Charlotte S. Salmon 
 

So here you go, Charlotte Salmon’s response to the question: “Would it help Tom to have a letter of recommendation from Einstein?”

The answer: yes, it wouldn’t hurt. Or in her words “It would, of course, be very valuable for him to have an endorsement by Professor Einstein.” I like how she still is careful to make the point that even a letter from Einstein isn’t a guarantee around the immigration laws, and that Opa may still not be able to obtain a student visa.

It is telling how unsure the whole process is- the folks at AFSC consistently try to keep expectations steady and low. I think if I were Opa in Amsterdam and got a copy of this letter- I’d think- good Lord- I’m never getting to the USA. If a letter from Einstein doesn’t do the trick- what on earth will?

Another random thought/note: April 20th was Hitler’s birthday. I think he was prone to celebrating himself pretty extravagantly on his birthday. I was just imagining this from a bird’s-eye-view… it’s strange to think about a host of followers celebrating Hitler’s birthday with joy while thousands of others are pulling every string, every link, to get as far away as possible from this man.