The Einstein File: J. Edgar Hoover's Secret War Against the World's Most Famous Scientist

by Fred Jerome

From the moment of Einstein's arrival in the U.S. in 1933 until his death in l955, J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, with help from several other federal agencies, busied itself collecting "derogatory information" in an effort to undermine Einstein's influence and destroy his prestige.

For the first time Fred Jerome tells the story of this anti-Einstein campaign, as well as the reasons behind it--why and how the campaign originated, and thereby provides the first detailed picture of Einstein's little known political activism. Unlike the popular image of Einstein as an absent-minded, head-in-the-clouds genius, the man was in fact intensely politically active and felt it was his duty to use his world-wide fame shrewdly in the cause of social justice.

A passionate pacifist, socialist, internationalist and outspoken critic of racism (Einstein considered racism America's "worst disease"), and personal friend of Paul Robeson and W.E.B. DuBois, Einstein used his immense prestige to denounce McCarthy at the height of his power, publicly urging witnesses to refuse to testify before HUAC. The story that emerges not only reveals a little known aspect of Einstein's character, but underscores the dangers that can arise, to threaten the American Republic and the rule of law, in times of obsession with national security.

Genres: History, Science, Nonfiction, Biography

384 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2001

About the author

Fred Jeromeis senior consultant to the Gene Media Forum, Newhouse School of Communications, Syracuse University. His articles and op-ed pieces have appeared in many publications.

Reviews

[Frederick Bingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the political activities of Einstein. He is of course known for his scientific accomplishments, but spent much of his life pursuing political causes of various sorts. The causes were varied, rescuing Jews stuck in Nazi Germany, fighting Franco in Spain, fighting anti-immigrant prejudice, etc. His involvement with such causes put him in the company of some very radical people. At the same time, J. Edgar Hoover decided that Einstein was somehow an enemy of the US and started a file on him. This book is based on the contents of Hoover's file obtained from the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act.Around 1950, Hoover decided that he wanted to find a way to deport Einstein. He could not publicly harass Einstein because he was so well respected. Instead, he pursued false leads and obtained information from nefarious characters in an attempt to prove that Einstein was a communist. Proof of such a thing would have made it possible to deport. Such proof was never found. The investigation was finally ended in 1955 when Einstein died.Einstein was lucky and smart. His stature as a great scientist made him immune to the public attacks of people like Joe McCarthy and the HUAC. They would not have dared to force him into one of their hearing rooms to testify. Others around him were not so lucky. They were stripped of their dignities, livelihoods and sometimes even their lives by these small-minded bullies. Einstein spoke out forcefully against McCarthyism and used his relative immunity from attacks in a carefully measured but extremely effective way. This book should give pause to those who would revive the memory of Joe McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover. Many nowadays are again starting to call them great Americans. Even greater are those such as Einstein who stand up to the abuse of power in a selfless and courageous way.

[Bret · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Einstein File is a fantastically informative book, not just about the FBI and Einstein, but about several aspects of history in the 1930s through the 1950s.

I stumbled across this book online while searching for something, and found a used hard-bound copy for $4 on Amazon. I started reading it a few months ago as a casual reading effort, something I would do on Sunday mornings over coffee at a local Java House. It is a slow read, due in large part to the amount of information being presented, as well as the number of interesting and related footnotes. I also found myself looking at notes in the back almost every chance one was presented, which also slowed the progress.

The book presents a lot of tidbits about Einstein that are often overlooked. I highly recommend this read, should anyone want to dabble in some history.

[Laura Lee]

A little side discovery in this book was the Woman Patriot Corporation which was a group of women against women's suffrage and laws to outlaw child labor, which they saw as a "communist plot." They were also in favor of a strong military, against feminism and disliked Einstein.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the instant he arrived in America in 1933, Einstein was under relentless surveillance by the FBI, which was panicked by his sponsorship of peace through world government and his support for Zionism. This file chronicles the everyday accomplishments and conclusions of agents assigned to Einstein over the years. Einstein was a born rebel. He was a questioner of authority and his politics was more than just nonconformist. Forged by his first hand interpretation of the rise of Nazism in Germany, his viewpoint was above all anti-fascist, including his open antagonism to McCarthyism in the United States. He was a pacifist, an internationalist, a socialist, and an opinionated anti-racist, but he was not just a flaccid observer on world events. No wonder he had an FBI file. Very nicely written and informative book. Give it a try.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually read the english version (but couldn't find it listed). A really interesting read - and one of the only books ever writen on Einstien in which the reader actually gets some understanding of the man - rather than the myth. It also provides insights in the darker politics of Hoover's America, and those intelectuals and artists that did not buy into the Hoover / McCarthyist agendas.

[Tandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book and it was interesting finding out more about Einstein's political views.

[Claire S]

Looks fascinating.