Albert Einstein said Judaism is “childish” and Jews are not “chosen”
In 1954, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to philosopher Eric Gutkind while Einstein was at Princeton University.
In the letter, Einstein dismissed Judaism as "an incarnation of the most childish superstitions.”
Einstein said there is nothing "chosen" about Jews, and said Jews were no better than other peoples.
“The Bible (Old Testament) is a collection of primitive legends that are pretty childish.”
The letter, handwritten in German, has been in private hands for more than half a century.
On Thursday it will be sold by Bloomsbury Auctions. It is expected to fetch between $12,000 and $16,000.
"Jews are no better than other groups, and I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."
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In nine other letters, written in 1945 and 1946, Einstein revealed that he had a love affair with a Russian woman named Margarita Konenkova during World War II.
At the time, Mrs. Konenkova was married to Russian sculptor Sergei Konenkov, who created the bronze bust of Einstein at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. Einstein was 66 years old. Mrs. Konenkova was 51.
According to the book Special Tasks (a memoir by Soviet Spymaster Pavel Sudoplatov) Mrs. Konenkova was a KGB agent assigned to infiltrate the Manhattan Project. Her tasks included introducing Einstein to the Soviet vice consul Pavel Mikhailov in New York, and influencing Oppenheimer, plus other prominent American scientists. Mrs. Konenkova frequently met those scientists at Princeton, and Einstein refers to Mikhailov in his letters.
The book Special Tasks notes that Mrs. Konenkova was recalled to Moscow in 1945, and was rewarded for her KGB work.
Sotheby’s will also auction five snapshots, four of which show Einstein and Mrs. Konenkova together.
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