52. Einstein, Albert. Typed letter signed (“A. Einstein”), 1 page (8.5 x 11 in.; 216 x 279 mm.), on his blind-stamped “A. Einstein, 112 Mercer Street, Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A.” letterhead stationery, 18 July 1953, written to Mr. Edwin B. Lindsay, Davenport, Iowa, who responds to Einstein's statements (made in a previous letter dated 4 July 1953; carbon copy included) that the Communists who want to overthrow the government by force are an impotent group, and that legislative inquiry (referring to Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee) is unconstitutional and invades a realm which is exclusively reserved for public prosecution and the courts. Usual folds.

Albert Einstein on the parallels between the McCarthy hearings and the rise of Hitler to power.

It is nothing less than a systematic move to destroy the political rights of the individual in favor of the unbridled rule of a reckless and adventurous political group, subsidized by big industry. This is the analogy between the present happenings in our country and the events in Germany which brought about Hitler's dictatorship.

Einstein writes in full:
Dear Mr. Lindsay: I am answering you again impressed by the sincerity of your reasoning. I find it astonishing, however, that you believe in earnest that there was ever a danger of our government being overthrown by infiltration of so-called communists. There is no such hysteria in the Western European countries and there is no danger for their governments of being overthrown by force or subversion, in spite of the fact that communist parties are not persecuted or even ostracized. Eastern Europe would have prevented German aggressive fascism under Hitler which grave mistake made it necessary afterwards to beg Russia for help. The overthrow of the so-called democratic Government in Germany was not produced by “infiltration” but by fears of the privileged classes who financed the Hitler movement and its private army. But even if a danger for America would exist as you suppose it seems to me that the cure one has engaged in is much worse than the alleged illness. It is nothing less than a systematic move to destroy the political rights of the individual in favor of the unbridled rule of a reckless and adventurous political group, subsidized by big industry. This is the analogy between the present happenings in our country and the events in Germany which brought about Hitler's dictatorship. Sincerely yours, A. Einstein
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June 11, 2015 11:00 AM PDT
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