“I am immensely looking forward to becoming acquainted with the sea.”

Albert Einstein to Heinrich Zangger, Juli 7, 1915

Einstein on the Baltic Sea

Holiday on the Baltic Sea means recreation, beach, and fresh sea air. The coasts of the Baltic Sea with their idyllic holiday and seaside resorts are not only popular travel destinations for German tourists, whereas each part of the Baltic Sea has its own charm.

This was also true at Einstein’s times. Already back then, the Baltic Sea was a popular travel destination and retreat, not only for the Berlin celebrities.

The rough and harsh beauty of the sea impressed Einstein, so that he again and again returned to the Baltic Sea for holidays and retreat in the years from 1915 to 1928. Not least to also enjoy his sailing hobby on the Baltic Sea. Many years later in America, he loved to remember the time which he had spent on the Baltic Sea. There, he often told of the beauty of the fish land and of the Darß. Today, the Baltic Sea has “no longer quite the contemplative isolation as in the nineteen-tens and -twenties.“

Sellin on the island of Rügen (1915)

Albert Einstein in Kiel – Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe (1915, … 1926)

Ahrenshoop, Ribnitz, and Wustrow (1918, 1921)

Honorary doctorate of the University of Rostock (1919)

Hiddensee

Not quite voluntarily in Scharbeutz (1928)

Sellin on the island of Rügen

The Baltic Sea resort Sellin is a municipality on the island of Rügen (largest and most densely populated island of Germany) in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The municipality lies east of an extended coastal high forest (the Granitz) at the connection to the peninsula Mönchgut in the southeast of Rügen. The Baltic Sea resort Sellin is situated between the Baltic Sea and the Selliner See, and is today one of the most important seaside resorts on the island of Rügen. Sellin has two very beautiful beaches with fine-grained sand, and thus offers the tourists ideal prerequisites for their leisure and beach activities. We have to mention the spa garden which is located high above Sellin on the Friedensberg (approximately 70 m above mean sea level). A “magic“ place of quiet, energy, and self-awareness. Within high trees, the place “has an effect”, if you succumb to it, on the soul and the spirit. Other interesting places in Sellin are for example the Seebrücke which was rebuilt according to a historic example, the Tauchgondel, the Wilhelmstraße, the Warmbad Sellin, and the Amber Museum.

In the middle of the year 1915, Albert Einstein‘s emotional state was a bit chaotic. One reason was that he had separated from his wife Mileva in the summer of 1914, and another reason was that a trip to Zurich which he had planned to his sons, Hans Albert and Eduard, whom he had not seen for some time, did not take place. One of the reasons was that the eleven year old Hans Albert has told his father at the end of June 1915 in a postcard: ”But if you’re so unfriendly to her, I don’t want to go with you either.”

After the separation, Mileva and her sons had left Berlin at the end of July 1914 to travel back to Zurich.

In the middle of July 1915, Einstein, his cousin Elsa, and her daughters from her first marriage, Ilse and Margot, travelled for some weeks to a summer resort on the Baltic Sea, i.e. Sellin on the island of Rügen to recover. At this time, the Baltic Sea was a popular travel destination for wealthy Berlin citizens. In preparation for the trip he wrote on July 7, 1915 to Heinrich Zangger: ”Now I am going to Rügen with my relatives for a few weeks. I am immensely looking forward to becoming acquainted with the sea.”

From July 15 to August 5, 1915, Einstein spent his holidays in Sellin on Rügen. To be able to take part in a meeting of the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin, he interrupted his holidays for a short time from July 22 to July 24. The meeting itself took place on July 22.

Einstein, Elsa, and her daughters, lived in Sellin in “Haus Johanneshorst“ in the known Wilhelmstraße. In a letter to Heinrich Zangger, he indicated his Sellin place of residence with “Villa Johanneshorst, Sellin (Rügen)“.

The varied landscape, the quiet, and the recreation which he enjoyed there during relaxing long walks with Elsa at the beach with fine-grained sand or in the shadowy wood around the Friedensberg might have contributed to recuperate, think over and sort his thoughts with regard to his familiar worries and his work. Also the Selliner See was an often visited place of Einstein during his holidays.

It cannot be proven until today whether Einstein and Elsa were on top of the Friedensberg. However, it can be assumed that he also visited the “magic“ place of quiet, energy, and self-awareness during the holidays.

Einstein felt very comfortable in Sellin. At the end of the holidays, he wrote in a letter to Heinrich Zangger: ”It is wonderful here. Never have I been able to rest so well since adulthood.”

His first visit on the Baltic Sea with its rough beauty and the temperate maritime climate made a permanent impression on Albert Einstein. In the years to come, he again and again returned to the Baltic Sea for recreation.

At the end of August 1915, the trip to Switzerland to his sons took place after all.

Three months after his stay in Sellin, Albert Einstein completed the work at the General Theory of Relativity in November 1915 and presented it to the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin in four negotiations (November 4, 11, 18, and 25, 1915). A few month later, on March 20, 1916, the article ”The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity” was published in the Annals of Physics, volume 49, page 769-822.

Albert Einstein in Kiel

In 1915 began an intensive, regular, and year-long written communication between Albert Einstein and the art historian and inventor of the gyrocompass, Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe (1872-1931) who lived in Kiel. In this correspondence, they talked about technical problems concerning the development of the gyrocompass, world affairs, but also private things. Einstein supported the entrepreneur of the company Anschütz & Co. in Kiel, Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe, as an expert for patent negotiations, and helped to significantly improve the gyrocompass. Due to the close cooperation in the first years, Einstein repeatedly traveled to Kiel – work visits. It was the beginning of a life-long friendship between Einstein and Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe. Einstein’s first visit in Kiel took place on July 10, 1915 – a work visit.

However, in the following we will mention, but not consider the work visits with their interesting patent-right and technical topics of the “Kiel gyrocompass“ (steering compass) in more detail, but deal with the “private“ stays of Einstein in Kiel. They not only offered him a welcome distraction from his work in Berlin, but in addition also the possibility to enjoy his sailing hobby on the Kiel Fjord, unobserved by the public and together with his sons Hans Albert and Eduard and Anschütz-Kaempfe.

“Kiel is the capital of Schleswig-Holstein. It was founded as Holstenstadt tom Kyle in the 13^th century. In the year 1900 it became a metropolis. Today, Kiel is the most northern metropolis of Germany and belongs to the 30 largest cities of Germany. The city is independent and forms the center of the Kiel region.

Kiel lies on the Baltic Sea (Kiel Fjord) and is the final destination of the busiest artificial waterway of the world, the international so-called Kiel Canal which connects the North Sea with the Baltic Sea. Kiel has traditionally been an important naval base. The city is known for the Kiel Week, the handball club THW Kiel, the soccer club Holstein Kiel, and the culinary specialty Kiel sprats.”

On July 22, 1921, Einstein wrote during his stay in Wustrow to Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe: ”I am settled out here with my two boys in our summer accommodations. May I, together with my boys, stop by and see you around the 12th of August?”

Two days later, Anschütz-Kaempfe answered: “Okay, I agree, we will have the pleasure to see you in August. […] However, please inform us in time, so that we can also immediately take care of the absolutely necessary sailing boat.“

On August 10, 1921, Einstein and his sons were in Kiel. During this stay, Einstein and his sons were probably guests of Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe and his wife in Bismarckallee 24. “In the house of Anschütz, there was always a room prepared for him, so that for Einstein Kiel temporarily became a second place of residence, not only because of the work on the gyrocompass, but also because of the sailing hobby and his friendship to the owner of the company.“

If Einstein was not occupied with the work on a novel gyrocompass (steering compass), he was in addition to other pleasures extensively sailing on the Kiel Fjord with his two sons, but also with Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe.

Before August 22, 1921, Einstein was back in Berlin.

In retrospective Einstein wrote on September 17, 1921 from Berlin in a letter to Anschütz-Kaempfe: ”The splendid days in Kiel still often pleasantly run through my mind.”

“The little Einsteins also sent Anschütz a well-behaved thank-you letter.“

In the following time, Einstein was several times in Kiel with Anschütz-Kaempfe, among other things because of patent processes and questions concerning the gyrocompass.

Again we meet Einstein and his wife Elsa in Kiel at the beginning of July 1922. However, this was not a sailing trip but a one-week working visit. In a letter to the theoretical physicist Arnold Sommerfeld (1868-1951) Anschütz-Kaempfe wrote: “Einstein has already viewed an old house here which he wants to buy. With delight he has discovered a wild garden.“ The reason to buy a house in Kiel was “Einstein‘s shock because of the murder [of the German foreign minister] Walther Rathenau [on Saturday, June 4, 1922 in Berlin] and the considerations to leave Berlin which was triggered by this event.“ However, he did not buy the house.

On July 16, 1922, Einstein had mentioned in a letter to Anschütz-Kaempfe: ”If the case should be otherwise after all, which would please me very much [referred to further work in Kiel], 1 or 2 rooms in or near the factory would suffice for me I would then be able to spend a substantial portion of the year there, …”

Anschütz-Kaempfe continued the idea and looked for an accommodation for Einstein. In a letter dated July 19, 1922 he reported full of joy: ”I find very sensible your suggestion of a small retreat near the factory, if possible in the romantic corner of the garden. The more I think about it, the more it appeals to me we saw in Hamburg, in the villa quarter where my wife’s parents live, a very quaint little cottage it is nicknamed Diogenes tub and is full of flower boxes and has a low-slung roof that looks very homey.”

Einstein answered on July 25, 1922: “I find the Diogenes tub plan wonderful. But it really should be small, too, to suit its name. I’m as pleased as a child about it. The boys are here and are lodging in my Spandau Castle [see on this internet page at: Germany/Berlin/“Spandau Castle“]. I am commuting back and forth between the city apartment and the castle which, contrary to my yacht, is proving to be watertight. The latter will soon be seaworthy, …“

On April 20, 1923, Einstein did, presumably during a short work visit, for the first time live in the almost ready to move in apartment. However, the “Diogenes tub“ which he found was not a small house but a ground floor apartment of a large apartment house near the company. The apartment had two rooms, a kitchen, a hallway, and a bathroom. However, the special thing was that Einstein had – via garden stairs – direct access to water. Of course there was also a sailing boat available for Einstein.

From Kiel, Einstein wrote on April 21, 1923 to his wife Elsa: “Arrived here after a good trip. After somewhat difficult communication by telephone, Mr. Anschütz collected me and led me into the charming bachelor’s apartment that he has had furnished for me here. This is not in the Diogenes tub, whose construction had to be given up due to major structural problems, but on the ground floor of the building in which Mr. Anschütz and his brother-in-law live. It is so grand that I am sorry to have to leave again so soon. Complete interior decoration is included, which he selected with great loving care and bought for me instead of payment for last year ^*), besides separate household help.”

*) Anschütz-Kaempfe compensated Einstein for his work on the development of a gyrocompass by making regular payments to Einstein’s family in Zurich.

The apartment (“Diogenes tub“) was situated in Neumühlen near Kiel in Heikendorfer Weg 23 directly at the river Schwentine (with 62 kilometers length, the Schwentine is one of the longest rivers of Schleswig-Holstein). The Anschütz company was also situated in Neumühlen near Kiel at the Schwentine near the “Diogenes tub“.

From June 27 until July 8, 1923, Einstein was again in Kiel-Neumühlen for a work visit.

From September 1 to September 16, 1923, Einstein used the apartment in Neumühlen with his son Hans Albert.

On September 21, 1923 he wrote in retrospective to the Kiel stay to his back then secretary and friend Betty Neumann: ”In Kiel it really was very nice with my athletic boy; but something was missing nonetheless… We went out into the open sea with our sailing vessel among brisk waves. That’s a wonderful thing.”

From May 1, 1924 until May 27, 1924, Einstein was again in Kiel-Neumühlen for a work visit. To Betty Neumann he wrote on May 4, 1924: ”My life here is quite regal. In a sub-inlet of the Bay of Kiel directly by the water lies the property with the factory, a garden sloping down toward the water, and a spacious building, on the ground floor of which I roam on my own. There I ponder, play piano, read, write, and eat my meals. In the morning alone, in the evening with Mr. Anschütz, who is a gourmet. Thus, against my inclination, I must lead the life of a gourmand. In the water, a sailboat always lies ready for use. At noon all the leading men of the factory eat together, so variety in the conversation is also provided for.”

From August 2 to August 29, 1925, Einstein and his two sons were in Kiel-Neumühlen again. On August 14, Eduard left early and went back to Zurich. Back again in Berlin Einstein wrote on August 31, 1925 in a letter to Anschütz-Kaempfe: ”The sailing-filled vacation time is now over. It was nice and I cannot thank you enough for the wonderfully pretty haven you have created for me in Kiel.”

On October 10, 1926, Einstein came to Kiel-Neumühlen again, for another work visit to confer with Anschütz-Kaempfe. On October 13/14, he was in Berlin again. It is not known whether Albert Einstein was once again for a “private“ stay or a work stay with Anschütz-Kaempfe in Kiel-Neumühlen, in his “Diogenes tub“ after 1926.

Ahrenshoop, Ribnitz, and Wustrow

“The Baltic seaside resort Ahrenshoop is a municipality in the Western Pomerania-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Germany). It is part of the department Darß/Fischland with seat in Born a. Darß. It lies on the peninsula Fischland-Darß-Zingst at the transition from Fischland to Darß.

The Baltic seaside resort Wustrow is a municipality in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on the Baltic Sea which emerged from a former fishing and sailor village, in the region Mecklenburg. Today, Wustrow is mainly characterized by tourism. Wustrow lies at the mainland between the Baltic Sea and the Saaler Bodden. Directly south of the place at the Permin lies – with only a 100 meters width – the narrowest part of the peninsula.

Ribnitz is a district of Ribnitz-Damgarten and was an independent border town in Mecklenburg until 1950. Ribnitz forms the western part of the city Ribnitz-Damgarten and lies between the Hanseatic cities Rostock and Stralsund, west of the river Recknitz at its mouth in the Bodden (Ribnitzer See)”.

The three places lie in Fischland-Darß-Zingst, a 45 kilometer long peninsula at the coast of the Baltic Sea between Rostock and Stralsund, and are only a few kilometers apart from each other.

Ahrenshoop – Wustrow approximately 4 km; Wustrow – Ribnitz approximately 26 km

Einstein‘s first visit in the small fishing village Ahrenshoop began on June 29, 1918. There, he lived together with Elsa and her daughters, Ilse and Margot, in the “old Zollhaus“ of the widow Ms. Friede Niemann, Dorfstraße 6. The stay served for  recovery purposes, as Einstein‘s health was not the best one. In isolation of Ahrenshoop he liked it very much. In a postcard to his friend Michele Besso he wrote some days after his arrival: “It’s magnificent here, quite made for the likes of me.”

To Max Born he wrote at the end of June / beginning of July 1918: “Here it is wonderful, no telephone, no responsibilities, absolute tranquility. I really cannot understand anymore how one can bear it in the big city. The weather is splendid now as well. I am lying on the shore like a crocodile, allowing myself to be roasted by the sun, never see a newspaper, and do not give a hoot about the so-called world.”

At the end of the same letter he writes: ”We are feeling well, the little harem also is feeding and thriving sumptuously.”

With harem, Einstein means Elsa and her daughters. To his eldest son Hans Albert Einstein wrote on the same day: ”It is wonderful here on the Baltic Sea. But sailboats are not loaned out anywhere. I have to wait until the fisherman takes me along. The sea is magnificent in stormy weather.”

He spent the days in Ahrenshoop with idling, reading, long walks at the beach – most of the time barefoot, excursions to the neighboring places, … In a letter to Max Born he wrote on July 3, 1918: ”We are enjoying ourselves constantly and are vegetating like true good-for-nothings.”

However, as his communication from this time shows, also his work did not suffer.

However, Einstein‘s stay in Ahrenshoop did not wholly remain without problems. One problem was that he was concerned about the future divorce from his wife Mileva (the marriage was divorced in February 1919). On the other hand he was concerned about problems of theoretical physics, as well as about his further professional development. He had an offer of ETH Zurich and of the University of Zurich. They offered him a joint professorship which should be adapted to his personal needs. In a letter from Ahrenshoop to Michele Besso, Einstein wrote on August 20, 1918: “The following has happened and puts me in an awkward predicament. Zangger and Edg[ar] Meyer offered me a teaching position at the Univ. & Poly[technic] in Zurich, and I really cannot split myself in two. In Berlin, everything conceivable is being laid at my feet … I want to sink into the ground with shame.”

Einstein stayed in Berlin.

Einstein very much benefitted from the eight weeks in Fischland. His stay in Ahrenshoop ended with the return to Berlin on August 24, 1918.

On July 18, 1921 he traveled to Fischland one more time, this time to Wustrow “for sailing and idling“. He was accompanied by his two sons from his first marriage, Hans Albert and Eduard. In Wustrow, they lived in the house of the bakery Niemann (Franz Niemann) in Karl-Marx-Straße, at the corner of Schulweg.

Einstein felt comfortable on the Baltic Sea, but not only because of the climate, the sun, and the beautiful beaches. Here, he was able to enjoy his sailing passion. In Wustrow together with the sons on the “Bay“, a territory which lies between the peninsula Darß and the mainland. In the area Ribnitz-Damgarten, this area is called “Ribnitzer See”. It is a water with only shallow depth. In Kiel, Einstein also sailed on the Kiel Fjord.

Starting in Wustrow, he also made excursions, among other things to Ahrenshoop and Ribnitz again. On August 1, 1921 Einstein wrote to his wife Elsa: ”We are thinking of departing from here Tuesday morning in 8 days (on the 9th), and if possible traveling by water with the boys to Kiel. […] The boys are both very healthy and intelligent and swim about like whales.”

The multi-day trip which was mentioned in the letter led them to Kiel to the art historian and inventor of the gyrocompass, Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe (1872-1931). (see: “Albert Einstein in Kiel“)

After approximately 4 weeks, the joint holidays were over. Before August 22, 1921, Einstein was back in Berlin. On August 22, 1921, Einstein wrote from Berlin in a postcard to Max Born: ”I spent a happy month with my boys by the lake.”

Honorary doctorate of the University of Rostock

“Rostock is a North German independent metropolis, Hanseatic and university city on the Baltic Sea. It lies in the Mecklenburg part of the state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. With 209,920 inhabitants (2022) it is the most densely populated city of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and as only metropolis one of the four regional centers in the state. The city of Rostock is described as Hanseatic and university city.”

Rostock is characterized by its location on the Baltic Sea, with the most important German Baltic seaport, as well as the University of Rostock which was founded in 1419 and which counts to the oldest universities of Germany.

At Einstein‘s time, Rostock’s population (1919) was below 100,000.

We do not know a lot about Einstein‘s stays in Rostock. However, we do know that he often stayed there. Most of the time, he stayed there to travel on by ship, for example to Denmark to his colleagues (Niels Bohr, …) or to Stockholm. In Stockholm, he held his Nobel Prize speech in July 1923. The 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics was – in the absence of Einstein – handed over to the German ambassador in Sweden in December 1922.

From 1915 to 1921, Einstein sometimes stayed overnight in Rostock with the German physicist and philosopher Moritz Schlick (1882-1936), with whom he had a lively correspondence since 1915. At this time, Schlick researched and taught at the University of Rostock. In 1921, he changed to the University of Kiel and shortly thereafter to the University of Vienna.

An amicable relationship developed between the two men. As one of the first persons, Schlick dealt with Einstein‘s Theory of Relativity and its philosophic consequences.

In November 1919, the University of Rostock celebrated its 500^th anniversary. The individual faculties could name the persons who should be honored. When Moritz Schlick learned about that, he advocated for Albert Einstein who was not mentioned on any of the lists. Einstein was then put on the only list where places were still left –  the medical list. The consent of the Medical Faculty was given on July 10, 1919. This was how it came about that Einstein was awarded an honorary doctorate of Medicine of the University of Rostock.

On October 15, 1919 Schlick wrote to Einstein: ”I have agreed with the Jubilee Visitors Committee to make a room in my home available to you and I hope with all my heart that you will accept this offer.”

In his answer dated October 17, 1919 Einstein wrote: ”I gratefully accept your and the faculty’s invitation.”

Due to a shortage of coal in the post-war period, the start of the celebrations was postponed from November 12 to November 25, 1919.

The 500^th anniversary celebration of the University of Rostock took then place on November 25 to November 27, 1919. Einstein was in Rostock from November 25 to November 29/30.

The awarding of honorary doctorates by the deans was carried out on the last day of the 500^th anniversary celebrations on November 27, 1919.

“Dr. h. c. – awarded on November 27, 1919

During the 500th anniversary celebrations (November 25 to 27, 1919) of the University of Rostock, Albert Einstein and Max Planck (German physicist and Nobel Prize winner, 1858-1947) were awarded honorary doctorates.

Due to a shortage of coal in the post-war period, the start of the celebrations was postponed from November 12 to November 25, 1919.

The awarding of honorary doctorates by the deans was carried out on the last day of the 500th anniversary celebrations on November 27, 1919.

Einstein was awarded an honorary doctorate in medicine “in recognition of the enormous work of his mind”. In his letter of thanks to the dean of the medical faculty Einstein wrote: “I thank you very much for sending me the certificate which represents your excellent taste, and for your friendly covering letter. The wonderful celebration of your venerable university and the heartfelt hospitality which I was allowed to experience in Rostock will always be a nice memory for me.”

The honorary doctorate which Einstein was awarded in Rostock is the only one he was given in Germany!”

Translation Honorary doctorate:

“On the day of the celebration of five hundred years Rostock University, the Medical Faculty awards professor Albert Einstein, Doctor of Philosophy, the honorary Doctor of Medicine in recognition of the enormous work of his mind, through which he has renewed the terms of space and time, gravity and matter from scratch.

Rostock, November 12, 1919.

The Dean“

“It is handed down that after the award of the honorary doctorate there was a celebration in Schlick’s apartment, where Einstein also played his famous violin.“ Schlick, a very good piano player, will probably have accompanied Einstein. During National Socialism, the political pressure intensified to deny Einstein the  award of the honorary doctorate of the University of Rostock, however, this was not done!

Hiddensee

“Hiddensee is a German island in the Baltic Sea. It lies directly west of Rügen. Together with some uninhabited adjoining islands, the area of the island forms the municipality Island of Hiddensee and belongs to the district Western Pomerania-Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. On the island there are the following places: Kloster, Vitte, Neuendorf (Plogshagen), Grieben.”

Back then, Hiddensee was the place of retreat of the Berlin celebrities. The German dramatist and author Gerhard Hauptmann (1862-1946) who knew Einstein from Berlin was for example often on the island. Hauptmann had lively contact with Einstein‘s stepdaughters, especially with Margot Einstein.

Did Einstein ever spent time on the island of Hiddensee?

Despite intensive research of the author, no supporting documentation could be found which states that Albert Einstein really was on the island. In the sources of today, no prove can be found.

On the internet, in brochures, in yearbooks, etc. there are again and again hints for alleged stays of Einstein on Hiddensee. There, it is reported that Einstein is for example said to have lived in this or that pension, that somebody had seen him, etc. However, this is only hearsay, i.e. that a person has only learnt about the information from stories of other persons.

Also what is written in Arne Gustavs “Greifswald-Stralsunder Jahrbuch von 1966“ about Einstein and Hiddensee (he was still able to ask contemporary witnesses) is not verifiable in the end.

In a letter from Margot Einstein to Arne Gustavs from the year 1968 it says: “… not true that A. E. was on Hiddensee. – – That is a great mistake – he has never been there – only I – the “Little” Einstein.“

That Einstein shall have spent time on Hiddensee is – according to our provable knowledge of today – kind of a legend, whereas the Hiddensee legend is one of many in the pool of the Einstein legends.

Somewhat different are for example the facts regarding Einstein’s wife Elsa. In August 1924 she was on Hiddensee with her daughter Margot. There, they lived in “Hotel Dornbusch Kloster“. In a postcard dated August 14, 1924, Einstein wrote from “Lautrach Castle“ ^*) to Elsa: ”Take it easy and enjoy yourselves. I’m no longer going to be able to make it there, though; it would be too much of a good thing.”

^*) “Lautrach Castle“ – Hotel Schloss Lautrach in Lautrach/Bavaria – the art historian and inventor of the gyrocompass, Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe (1872-1931), had acquired the castle in 1921. Einstein and Anschütz-Kaempfe had a lifelong, close friendship.

In July 1925, Margot Einstein was on Hiddensee. She lived in Haus Lamparske Kloster. Einstein was in Berlin at that time. On July 25, 1925 he traveled to Geneva.

In August 1926, Ilse Kaiser (Elsa‘s second daughter) was on Hiddensee with her husband and Margot Einstein. She lived in Haus Dinse, Vitte. From July 30 to August 9, 1926, Einstein and his son Eduard were in the holiday resort Montana-Vermala in Switzerland. Directly after that we find him in Zurich.

In August 1928, Margot Einstein was on Hiddensee again. During this time, Einstein was in Scharbeutz for recovery. (see: “Not quite voluntarily in Scharbeutz“)

Note: The author is very thankful for the mailing of supporting material (letters, postcards, photos, etc.) which explicitly prove that Albert Einstein was on Hiddensee.

Not quite voluntarily in Scharbeutz

Scharbeutz is a municipality in the district of Ostholstein in Schleswig-Holstein. Topographically, the area belongs to the “glacial“ Östliches Hügelland [Eastern Hillside Region]. Earlier, the place had been characterized by agriculture (fishing village) and developed over the years to a Baltic Sea spa. This Baltic Sea spa with its vivid promenade with view to the beach is today one of the most beautiful beaches of the Baltic Sea and lies directly in the stunning Lübeck bay.

Today, Scharbeutz offers a swimming paradise in the Lübeck bay for everyone, and a nudism beach area. Furthermore and among other things the luxurious Baltic Sea thermal bath, the Seebrücke, the Kurpark, a skater park, as well as adventure dune golf courses invite to relax and recreate.

Through physical overexertion, Einstein again suffered a health breakdown in the spring of 1928. In a letter dated March 31, 1928 – Einstein was still in Zurich – he wrote to his son Hans Albert: ”Unfortunately, I can’t visit you because the doctors say that I have a serious heart problem (enlargement of the heart with high blood pressure and too short a pulse wave). Whether it will get significantly better is still unknown. In any case, I will have to stay in bed for months.”

Some days later, Einstein was in Berlin again. He was taken care of by his wife Elsa. His physician, Janos Plesch, diagnosed among other things an enlargement of the heart (pericardial inflammation). Plesch ordered absolute bed rest in connection with a strict diet and the administration of corresponding medication. It took some months until Einstein had recovered so far that he was able to continue his recovery on the Baltic Sea. However, it should almost take one year until his full recovery. In the time thereafter, Einstein’s health remained fragile.

Scharbeutz in the Lübeck bay was selected as place for his recovery, as the location should be as isolated and quiet as possible. In 1928, the fishing village Scharbeutz was a sleepy seaside resort at the Baltic Sea.

Albert Einstein stayed in Scharbeutz from Thursday, July 5 until Tuesday, October 2, 1928. He lived in “Haus Michahelles”, Am Hang 13. On July 12, Elsa wrote in a letter to Paul Ehrenfest: ”He’s being madly pampered by four women who hover around him to make his life more delightful.”

The four women were Elsa, Toni Mendel (rich widow and friend of Einstein), Margot Einstein (Einstein‘s stepdaughter) and a maid. Toni Mendel led an exquisite lifestyle; with car and chauffeur and a large villa at the Wannsee. In a letter dated July 10, 1928, Einstein wrote to his son Eduard: ”We owe this splendid stay to Toni [Mendel], who has rented the house [Michahelles] for the whole summer.”

In the same letter Einstein wrote: ”I am only sad that my wretched condition prevents me from sailing. 50 paces is the only physical exercise that I am allowed.”

The people of Scharbeutz probably hardly saw Einstein during his stay. He avoided the public and only seldomly went to the beach. He will probably have not seen much from Scharbeutz and the surroundings. Contemporary witnesses reported that Einstein did only rarely leave the house. For a small pocket money Einstein engaged a 13-year-old “assistant postman“ who made small errands for him. The postman himself had a lot to do with Einstein‘s correspondence because Einstein did also in Scharbeutz not fully waive working. This is proven by the written communication from this time.

He often simply sat in a deckchair in the garden of the house. From time to time, he will also have played pieces of his favorite composer Mozart on his violin. On August 10 he wrote to his son Eduard: ”And it’s so wonderful here that despite my illness I’m entirely delighted. I’m feeling significantly better, too. I also came here against the will of the doctors and really have no regrets. We’re reading Schopenhauer, Plato, and enjoying the beauty of the coastal landscape.”

A famous picture shows Albert Einstein in the deckchair and bathrobe; in the background the Baltic Sea.

The quiet, the solitude, and the fresh air of the Baltic Sea provided for the recreation which Einstein needed so urgently.

“[…] but he rented a house in Scharbeutz, a back then sleepy seaside resort at the Lübeck bay. ‘I have to par force idle here under splendid beeches on the Baltic Sea.’ he wrote on the usual holiday postcard. ‘We have now already been on the Baltic Sea for months, where my animal spirits slowly come back.’, he described to Ehrenfest the progress of his recovery. ‘I have just learned what a stupid life we lead in the city, and how happy you can be in the quiet and isolation. This is also great for thinking.’ With ‘much joy’ he read letters of Spinoza: ‘He knew the how liberating the rural isolation is.’”

Source: “Albert Einstein – A biography“, 1993, Albrecht Fölsing (free translation)

His monthlong stay in Scharbeutz was Einstein‘s last handed down “holiday trip” to the Baltic Sea. Since 2019, a small sign in Scharbeutz, Am Hang 13, reminds of the worldwide famous Albert Einstein:

The house in which Einstein had lived in Scharbeutz for some months was torn down in 1969.

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Illustrations Credits:
Henning Westerkamp, Image: Public Domain: 1
Rostock University Archive, Signatur: Prom. med. Nr. 150/ 1919, Albert Einstein: 2

Bibliography:

Editors: Robert Schulmann, et al.	The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein Volume 8, Part A, Part B	Princeton 1998
Editors: Diana Kormos Buchwald, et al.	The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein Volume 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16	Princeton 2004 – 2021
Translator: Anna Beck, Ann M. Hentschel, Alfred Engel, et al.	The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein English translation of selected texts	Princeton 1998 – 2021
Albrecht Fölsing	Albert Einstein – Eine Biographie	Frankfurt/Main 1993
Dieter Hoffmann	Einsteins große Liebe	Berlin 2005
Friedrich Schulz, Erhard Schwarz	Einstein in Ahrenshoop	Kückenshagen 1995
Martin Buchsteiner, Antje Strahl	Zwischen Monarchie und Moderne Die 500-Jahrfeier der Universität Rostock 1919	University of Rostock 2008
Editors: Dieter Lohmeier, Bernhardt Schell	Einstein, Anschütz und der Kieler Kreiselkompass	Heide in Holstein 1992