The Einstein file : J. Edgar Hoover's secret war against the world's most famous scientist

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.

From the moment of Einstein's arrival in the U.S. in l933 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 that anti-Einstein campaign, as well as the story 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.

PART I: DISCOVERING AMERICA 1. "What's This, an Inquisition?" 2. Flashback 3. Refugee 4. Banned from the Bomb PART II: POSTWAR FALLOUT 5. Emergency Committee 6. American Crusade to End Lynching 7. The Einstein Watch 8. Right Time PART III: GUILT BY ASSOCIATIONS 9. The List 121 10. Du Bois and Robeson 11. How Red? PART IV: OPERATION "GET EINSTEIN" 12. "Eleanor Could Have Triggered It 13. Spy Hunt 1: Fuchs 14. Far Out 15. Spy Hunt 2: Operation Cable-Drop 16. "Undesirable Alien" PART V: DENOUEMENT 17. Turning Tides 18. The Unraveling 19. Einstein the Spy? Conclusion Postscript As they left their country home in Caputh, Germany, in the autumn of 1932 to return to their Berlin apartment and prepare for their coming visit to the United States, Einstein turned to his wife, Elsa, and said, "Before yoy leave this time, take a good look at the villa." A look at how the FBI, with the help of other government agencies, set out to collect information to use against Einstein