The Einstein File: The FBI’s Secret War Against the World’s Most Famous Scientist

402 Pages·2018·4.1 MB·English

by  Fred Jerome

THE
“This carefully researched and reported account of Einstein’s surveillance F
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by the FBI adds, new, what Einstein might call ‘dimension,’ not only to his e
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personal history but maybe even to our own present-day character as a

J EINSTEIN FILE
nation… Fred Jerome has given us back a piece of our history, and hopefully
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of our conscience as well.” r
o
— Thomas Pynchon m
e
“For almost two decades, Fred Jerome has devoted much of his research
and writing talents to the task of revealing the oft-forgotten—or purposely
hidden—political role of the great scientist… I have learned much from his
work, and I’m sure other readers will too. May Einstein’s—and Jerome’s— THE FBI’S SECRET WAR
example inspire us to action in the face of our current crises!”
AGAINST THE WORLD’S
—John Stachel, founding Editor of The Collected Papers
of Albert Einstein, author of Einstein from ‘B’ to ‘Z’. MOST FAMOUS SCIENTIST
“My life is divided between equations
and politics,” said Albert Einstein. By
scrutinizing the FBI Einstein file and its
T
campaign to destroy the scientist’s rep-
H
utation, Fred Jerome reveals Einstein’s
E
little-known political half-life.
E
I
N
This updated edition presents new infor-
S
mation about Einstein’s political com-
T
mitment, including his close relationship E
with Paul Robeson in fighting racism, his I
N
insight on Israel and Zionism, his oppo-

F
sition to nuclear weapons, and his life as
Albert Einstein and Paul Robeson, Princeton, 1947, I
with Henry Wallace and Frank Kingdon. an organizer. L
E
Fred Jerome is a veteran journalist and science writer. He taught journalism at
Columbia Journalism School, NYU and other universities. Jerome is also author
of Einstein on Israel and Zionism and co-author of Einstein on Race and Racism.
Ajamu Baraka is National Spokesperson of the Black Alliance for Peace and was
the Green Party Vice Presidential nominee in the 2016 US election.
David Suzuki is a geneticist, broadcaster, and environmental activist. His work with
CBC’s The Nature of Things made him a unique figure in science and television.
New
$29.95 Forewords by Ajamu Baraka & David Suzuki
Updated
FRED JEROME Edition
www.barakabooks.com ISBN 978-1-77186-130-4
Einstein.couv.indd 1 18-02-25 15:24
“This carefully researched and reported account of Einstein’s surveillance by the
FBI adds, new, what Einstein might call ‘dimension,’ not only to his personal his-
tory but maybe even to our own present-day character as a nation, conceived as
it was in the moral vacuum of the McCarthy era, shaped by the Cold War and too
many ill-conceived adventures overseas, come to maturity in this current pre-
carious hour. Sometimes what worries the FBI can also serve as a clue to what,
somewhere back in our national soul, lingering and toxic, has been eating away
at us. In redeeming from the forces favoring general amnesia this essential set of
connections, Fred Jerome has given us back a piece of our history, and hopefully
of our conscience as well.”
— Thomas Pynchon
“Fred Jerome’s investigative gem detailing the other life of Albert Einstein, the
one most of us have never even heard about—Einstein the social activist and the
target of Hoover-McCarthy Gestapoism—could not have arrived at a more timely
moment. The comparisons between then and now are scary: deportations and
threats of deportations (aimed even at Einstein), preparations for the detention
of thousands, lawless lawmen on a rampage, given a green light by their leaders.
“To defy racist right-wingers, to join in protest marches demanding anti-
lynching laws, in those days were dangerous activities; and friendship with Paul
Robeson, aiding leftists and radicals and, worse, actual communists, were deemed
treasonous. Yet despite the hysterical times, readers of this breakthrough book
will draw hope from discovering the strength and courage that complimented
Einstein’s genius.
It is about time!”
—Paul Delaney, former New York Times reporter and editor and founding
member of the National Association of Black Journalists
“In troubled times like these, it is heartening to be reminded that Albert Einstein
was not only a man determined to speak truth to power, but unafraid to take action
in support of these truths, even in the face of such a formidable opponent as the
FBI. For almost two decades, Fred Jerome has devoted much of his research and
writing talents to the task of revealing the oft-forgotten—or purposely hidden—
political role of the great scientist. Now, in this new edition of his first book on
Einstein, Jerome has added an Update summing up and adding much new infor-
mation on this topic. I have learned much from his work, and I’m sure other rea-
ders will too. May Einstein’s—and Jerome’s—example inspire us to action in the
face of our current crises!”
—John Stachel, founding Editor of The Collected Papers
of Albert Einstein, author of Einstein from ‘B’ to ‘Z’.
“Jerome has unearthed a side of Einstein that has been lost in most biographies.”
—Independent Weekly
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The Einstein File
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Fred Jerome
The Einstein File
The FBI’s Secret War Against
the World’s Most Famous Scientist
Montréal
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“Do you think it’s right to rake up the past?”
“I don’t feel that I know what you mean by raking it up.
How can we get at it unless we dig a little?
The present has such a rough way of treading it down.”
—Henry James, The Aspern Papers
POPE: This man [Galileo] is the greatest physicist of our time.
He is the light of Italy, and not just any muddlehead.
INQUISITOR: Would we have had
to arrest him otherwise?
—Bertolt Brecht, Galileo
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by
any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher.
© Fred Jerome
ISBN 978-1-77186-130-4 pbk; 978-1-77186-144-1 epub; 978-1-77186-145-8 pdf;
978-1-77186-146-5 mobi/pocket
Book Design and Cover by Folio infographie
Editing and proofreading: Bronwyn Averett and Robin Philpot
Legal Deposit, 2nd quarter 2018
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
Library and Archives Canada
Published by Baraka Books of Montreal
6977, rue Lacroix
Montréal, Québec H4E 2V4
Telephone: [phone]
[email protected]
Printed and bound in Quebec
Trade Distribution & Returns
Canada and the United States
Independent Publishers Group
1-800-888-4741 (IPG1);
[email protected]
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Contents
Foreword by Ajamu Baraka—Einstein and McCarthyism—
Old and New 11
Foreword by David Suzuki—Squelching Scientists Then and Now 15
Preface 19
Introduction 27
PART 1
Discovering America
1. “What’s This, an Inquisition?” 33
2. Flashback 44
3. Refugee 54
4. Banned from the Bomb 66
PART II
Postwar Fallout
5. Emergency Committee 85
6. American Crusade to End Lynching 99
7. The Einstein Watch 115
8. Right Time 123
PART III
Guilt by Associations
9. The List 149
10. Du Bois and Robeson 154
11. How Red? 165
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PART IV
Operation “Get Einstein”
12. “Eleanor Could Have Triggered It…” 181
13. Spy Hunt: Fuchs 189
14. Far Out 210
15. Spy Hunt 2: Operation Cable-Drop 216
16. “Undesirable Alien” 239
PART V
Denouement
17. Turning Tides 253
18. The Unraveling 275
19. Einstein the Spy? 285
Conclusion 295
Postscript 303
Appendix 305
Author’s Update 307
“If this be Treason....” 329
Notes 337
Sources on Einstein 373
Acknowledgments 385
Index 389
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