“In these years of affliction our readiness to help one another is being put to an especially severe test.”

This painful letter was authored by Albert Einstein, one of the leading scientists of all times; a man who changed the world.

In this letter, Einstein addresses Jewish philanthropist and businessman, Fred (Siegfried) Behr, (1895-1986) owner of the ‘Ben Hur Products’ factory in Fifth Avenue, New York.

“We have no other means of self-defense than our solidarity, and our knowledge that the cause for which we are suffering is a momentous and sacred cause.”

Einstein fervently and emotionally thanks Mr. Behr for greatly assisting Jewish refugees who escaped Nazis clutches in the last moment. Mr Behr had dedicated a week specifically to focus on providing urgently needed help these European Jewish refugees. 

The United States did not prioritize saving European Jews during the Second World War. Its strict immigration policy was not softened during Holocaust time. It allocated limited immigration quotas to Jews from Western Europe.

Tragically, American Jewry did not realize the extent of the destruction in Europe until a later stage. Additionally, the fragmentation among different communities prevented them from creating a united front. Most Eastern Europe Jewry had strong Zionistic leanings and saw immigration to the Land of Israel as the solution to their dire situation. In contrast, the majority of German Jewry were dismissive of Zionism which greatly angered their American brethren. American community leaders were very concerned that this passionate and principled dissonance would lead to a violent outbreak of anti-Semitism in America. They therefore requested American Jewry to maintain a low profile.

Albert Einstein:
A Jewish physicist and one of the greatest theoretical scientists of all times. Nobel prize laureate in 1921. He is one of the greatest theorists in Physics next to Sir Isaac Newton. His name became synonymous with high intelligence. Einstein enjoyed public fame in the first quarter of the twentieth century for developing the theory of relativity which changed all what was known of the essence of time, dimension, mass, motion, and gravitation.
Einstein was born on 14 March 1879 in Ulm in Wurttemberg, then German Empire.

Einstein was born to Hermann and Pauline (nee Koch). Herrmann Einstein owned with his brother an electrical engineering firm that eventually went out of business. Aside from his revolutionary scientific discoveries, Albert Einstein was very involved on the activist scene. He was an ardent socialist and a supporter of Zionism and the State of Israel. Despite this, he declined two offers he received from the fledgling state; one to become its President and the second to serve as President of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

A testimony to Einstein's unique and inspiring character and his great concern for the Jewish people.

 “May we stand this test as did our fathers before us...”