Albert Einstein Writes Noted Yiddish Author and Journalist, S.L. Shneiderman, That He Does Not Desire Publicity

S.L. Shneiderman was a celebrated journalist, poet, essayist, and author who wrote in both English and Yididsh and whose career lasted 70 years. Shneiderman covered many of the most important events of the middle years of the 20th century, including the Spanish Civil War, and Poland before, during and after the Second World War. He traveled to and published extensively about Jewish communities throughout the world, interviewing the leading political and cultural figures. He was a United National correspondent from its inception in 1945. His major book in English was Between Fear and Hope, published in 1947, and he was editor of Warsaw Ghetto: A Diary by Mary Berg. The Diaspora Research Institute at Tel Aviv University is named for him.

In Between Fear and Hope, he assessed one of the major trouble spots of the earth at the time – the borders of Poland, which were the giant hinges upon which Germany and Russia swung into war in 1939. In the Cold War, as the Iron Curtain descended, he argued that the strength or weakness of Poland was again shaping up as the condition on which the peace of Europe – and inevitably of America – depended. He wanted to speak with Albert Einstein as part of his research for the book, as Einstein had definite opinions about political events, and wrote asking for an interview.

Einstein was deeply ambivalent about the fame he achieved once his theories of relativity were accepted. It opened doors for him, which he saw as a benefit; but there was even more about fame that Einstein disliked. In part it was because he was a modest man. But he also shared his thoughts about fame in a number of instances, once writing, “With fame, I become more and more stupid, which of course is a very common phenomenon.” Another time, he stated, “Worshipped today, scorned or even crucified tomorrow, that is the fate of people whom – God knows why – the bored public has taken possession of.” He was definitely not a man who routinely sought the spotlight.

Typed letter signed, on his blind embossed letterhead, in German, April 21, 1947, to Shneiderman, declining the interview so as to avoid a journalistic feeding frenzy. “If you were not a journalist, I would gladly accept the offer of your visit. But this is just something I must absolutely avoid, namely, that I contribute to the undesired publicity which unfortunately is driven with my person. Therefore, to my regret, I can not accept your offer.” We acquired this directly from the Shneiderman descendants, and it has never before been offered for sale.