Historians have uncovered a third letter from Albert Einstein thanking those who helped Jews escape Nazi Germany.
Einstein wrote the thank you note on June 10, 1939 to David Finck, a New York financier, WGN-TV reported. While Finck and Einstein never met, the lauded genius caught wind of Finck’s good deeds, which included sponsoring several Jewish families so they could leave Germany for the United States.
“It must be a source of deep gratification to you to be making so important a contribution toward rescuing our persecuted fellow Jews from their calamitous peril and leading them toward a better future,” read the letter, shared by Finck’s daughter, Chicago resident Enid Bronstein.
Rare letter from Einstein thanks American who helped Jews escape Nazi Germany https://t.co/UIYjr2Ga1j pic.twitter.com/KqWfTMpbd5
— WGN TV News (@WGNNews) February 19, 2018
Although the U.S. had not yet entered World War II at the time the letter was written, the Jewish community in America was “well aware” of what was happening in Germany, Bronstein told WGN-TV.
After her uncle died in 1964, Bronstein kept the special letter in a safe box for 50 years.
“I wanted to keep the letter to show it to my children and grandchildren so that they would get the message that every contribution, no matter how small is important,” she said.
Instead of auctioning off the letter for what could have amounted to tens of thousands of dollars, Bronstein decided to donate it to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Museum spokesperson Susan Snyder told WGN-TV that the letter is significant because it shows Einstein acknowledging the work done by the Jewish community.
As more Holocaust survivors die, the race is on to gather as much as possible from personal accounts, Snyder said.
Read the full letter below:
(H/T: WGN-TV)