The harsh impressions that Albert Einstein wrote about three South American countries

Albert Einstein He traveled to several countries around the world, taking notes in his travel notebooks. However, the renowned scientist, who once showed himself as an open-minded and progressive person, He wrote controversial and prejudiced impressions in these notebooks.

Especially, about his visits to certain countries South America .

“His diaries reveal a clear gap between his public, progressive and humanitarian statements, which called for tolerance” says the historian Zeev Rosenkranz has BBC World in 2018, when the scientist’s writings on his travels to the Far East, Palestine and Spain were published.

And it is that in these documents, like those which are now revealed from South Americaexpressed prejudices and stereotypes about the different people he met.

On this occasion, The scientist said that the Chinese were “hardworking, disgusting and obtuse people.”

However, Einstein never wanted his journals published. And from the content, one could guess why.

This is what he said about South America during his travels in 1925.

The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein is a project of the California Institute of Technology which was responsible for collect, translate and publish documents of interest written by Einstein the famous German Nobel Prize winner.

In conversation with the BBCZe’ev Rosenkranz, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, revealed that When Einstein visited some South American countries in 1925, he was “delighted with the genuine cordiality” of the Uruguayans and said he had “an ambivalent affection for the Brazilians.”

However, His comments about the Argentinians were very harsh.

That year, Einstein boarded a ship sailing from Berlin to South America to broaden his horizons. According to Rosenkranz, this could have been motivated by personal decisions, such as temporarily moving away from Germany, but also by scientists, such as learning more about the theory of relativity.

The historian also pointed out that Einstein generally kept a concise journal because he wanted to keep a record for himself, but also to share with his wife Elsa and his daughter. younger, Margot.

Generally speaking, The scientist’s opinion of the continent was positive, especially due to its geography and nature.

However, some of his comments on countries were too far-fetched and full of prejudice.

Einstein started his little tour of South America in Argentina one of the countries that had the best infrastructures for research in mathematics and physics at the time, according to Rosenkranz. BBC World.

The scientist had already been invited to the country by scientists as well as the Jewish community. When he arrived, his diary was still full.

“Einstein’s impression of Argentina is complex. “He arrived with preconceived ideas about Argentina, about South America in general, and I think he didn’t deviate from them,” warns the historian.

Before boarding, he told one of his friends that he was looking forward to traveling to Argentina, but He was demotivated by his social engagements with “the semi-educated Indians who are there, dressed in their tuxedos.”

During the entire month he spent on Argentinian soil, Einstein gave scientific lectures and met young students interested in his work. So far, everything was going well.

However, his prejudices won out over experience.

The comment on “Indians dressed in tuxedos”, for the historian, This is a “very offensive comment, because it amounts to insinuating that the indigenous population did not have a culture that they would value and dress in.”

“From his upside-down elitist point of view, he didn’t like tuxedos, no matter who wore them. But, in this case, he was saying that even people who don’t usually wear tuxedos wear them. “I don’t see how to avoid seeing this as offensive, but maybe that’s my point of view.”

But he wrote the same thing in his diary, namely that The Argentines were “Indians” and “Spaniards”.

And even though some of his research has highlighted that Einstein may have had a “positive” connotation about the term “Indian,” the scientist was still referring broadly to the South American population.

But that’s not all he wrote. He also said that He didn’t like Buenos Aires. He describes the city as “sterile from the point of view of romanticism and intellectuality”. I use terms like “shallow” and “cold.”

Although He loved Cordoba much more : He said that in this city he found “Vestiges of a true culture” And “a feeling of the sublime.”

Anyway, He continued to call Argentines “nonchalant,” “childish,” and “stupid.”

For the historian, these prejudices held by the renowned scientist fit into the context of German and European stereotypes about Latin America.

Albert Einstein’s next destination was Montevideo, Uruguay, where his experience was completely different. He visited for about a week.

“In Uruguay, I found true cordiality like few other times in my life. There, I discovered love for my land without any form of megalomania,” he wrote in his travel diary.

According to Rosenkranz, Einstein really liked small countries because he said that nations would get along better with each other (if they were smaller) and that the power of government would be reduced.

Furthermore, regarding Uruguay, The scientist liked the climate and the architecture, because they reminded him of Europe.

“He was also attracted by the fact that Uruguay was a republic and that there was a strict separation between the state and the clergy. It was important to him. “He was very impressed by the social protection programs that existed,” adds the historian.

Einstein said it was a “very liberal” country and that he had “real admiration for the Uruguayans.”

“Uruguay, a happy little country.”

Einstein’s final stop was Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he stayed for a little over a week.

In his notes we read that He was amazed by “the majesty” of the landscape and vegetation of the country. In Rio, Corcovado and Sugar Loaf are the sites that deserve a special place in one’s agenda.

“He was also enchanted by what he calls ‘racial diversity’, ethnic diversity,” Rosenkranz recounted.

However, he also made derogatory remarks: “Here, I’m a kind of white elephant for others, they’re monkeys for me.”

For the historian, this “is very close to a dehumanization of Brazilians. This tendency is also reflected in his view of the local inhabitants as monkeys. He also describes the inhabitants as “small”.

The expert explained that Einstein generally believed that warmer or more humid climates could harm people’s cognitive abilities. “He believed in something called geographic determinism.”

“And monkeys is a rather difficult term in German because it can also mean simply fools. But of course In the linguistic context, strictly speaking, it is dehumanization because you are comparing people to monkeys and, of course, there is a tradition of calling people monkeys which is not positive.

The historian explained that These are “Einstein’s very private thoughts that have been published.”

Although it thus refers to certain populations of South America, A few years later, the famous scientist became an activist against discrimination against black people in the United States and, in general, against racism.

“When you see how Einstein behaves over time, you realize that he says different things at different times. He even contradicts himself, he is like any human being, he changes his mind.

Furthermore, Rosenkranz stressed that the publication of these diaries, produced without censorship, gives us the opportunity to “face the fact that Even the most revered human beings have a darker side. more primitive that we cannot and should not ignore or reject.