Einstein Lecturer Postulates Theory; Physicist Was Subject of FBI Probe

Matthew Hersh

Albert Einstein: a brilliant physicist who brought the most complex theories explaining the physical world to our everyday lives; a man who evaded adversity from an oppressive governmental regime by emigrating to the U.S.; a lovable Princeton neighbor who oftentimes played up the cutesy caricature of himself by appearing in fuzzy pink slippers and mugging playful expressions for adoring cameras.

But the subject of a governmental probe trying to determine if this persona was simply a mask for a covert plot threatening national security? Does that fit into this theorem?

Most would say "never," but in a lecture sponsored by the Princeton Historical Society, author Fred Jerome delineated the government plot to silence Albert Einstein because the FBI felt that he was, indeed, a possible threat to the safety of the country.

Mr. Jerome's 2002 book, The Einstein File, looks into the 1,800-page, 23-year-long investigation of Einstein conducted by J. Edgar Hoover's FBI.

Widely believed to be the "father of the atom bomb," Einstein was, in fact, barred from working on the bomb, because the scientist posed a security risk at a time of heightened awareness and the escalation of the cold war, according to Mr. Jerome's research.

Hoover's COINTELPRO

The investigation was part of Mr. Hoover's COINTELPRO initiative that served as a means of counter-intelligence geared to dispel beliefs possibly spread by those who allegedly had viewpoints not in concert with the government's agenda. Millions of high-and low-profile individuals were subjected to the probe, most notably Dorothy Parker, Leonard Bernstein, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Norman Mailer, Langston Hughes, and Aaron Copeland, Mr. Jerome said.

The author's lecture described the mood of the nation at the time, and made parallels between actions carried out by the current Bush administration in the name of national security and the actions of the Truman and Eisenhower administrations.

Einstein was "intensely" interested in society outside science, Mr. Jerome said. "He felt it was his duty to use his worldwide fame to help advance the cause of social justice ... Einstein was a fervent pacifist, socialist, internationalist, and an outspoken critic of racism," which Einstein considered America's "worst disease."

Mr. Jerome added that at the time, turning high-profile individuals into public enemies was part of the FBI's agenda to perpetuate its own campaigns. Making, or trying to make Einstein out to be something that he was not, was potent fuel for anti-Soviet operations, he said.

Additionally, Einstein had publicly denounced Senator Joseph McCarthy, and urged witnesses to refuse to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Fuel American Fears

"All that was needed, really, was something to frighten the American people," the author said. He added that the impetus for this fear was Russia's nuclear bomb tests in 1949.

However, Mr. Jerome said that while Einstein was an early supporter of the nuclear program, he envisioned a "cold war" taking place between the two superpowers, and contended that building nuclear bombs could possibly lead to the "annihilation of civilizations."

What particularly attracted the attention of the FBI however, was Einstein's appearance on an NBC television program hosted by Eleanor Roosevelt on February 12, 1950, where he voiced his opposition to any nuclear program. He said that "accelerated development of weapons [would] not lead to increased national security," but would decrease levels of safety.

Letters written by Einstein and uncovered by the author highlight the physicist's uneasy awareness and disquietude of the events going on around him. He wrote to a friend that the McCarthy hearings "remind me of events in Germany."

"The dear Americans have vigorously assumed the German's place. The German calamity of years ago repeats itself – people acquiesce and align themselves with the forces of evil," Einstein wrote. "And one stands by helpless."

Einstein a Spy?

Mr. Jerome added that subtle media leaks indicating that Einstein may have been a spy began to surface in the years preceding his death. Specifically, he referred to an article in the New York Times in 1951 based on an FBI leak stating that Einstein was a spy.

The author went on to say that while sufficient information had been leaked for public consumption, about 40 percent of the FBI file, once open to the public, had been deleted.

Getting the information was not easy, though.

"I went to the Public Citizen Litigation Council in Washington, D.C., and they agreed to take my case for free, which, just by coincidence was just the amount of money I was able to pay," Mr. Jerome quipped. He was subsequently able to get "almost" the entire 1,800-page file with virtually nothing blacked out.

"What [the file] showed was a tremendous amount of political activity by Einstein," Mr. Jerome said. Prof. Einstein was an advocate for individuals and organizations that represented people who were discriminated against, including immigrants, minorities, and people who were "under attack by what Einstein considered to be the ultra-right," the author said.

However, he added that what he feels emerged "most vividly" from this political life is "the picture of a man who never stops trying, never stops working to help bring about liberty, equality, and fraternity for everyone."

Einstein is quoted in The Einstein Files as saying "a large part of history is replete with the struggle for human rights. An eternal struggle in which a final victory can never be won – but to tire in that struggle would mean the ruin of society."