People's Democracy

APPALLING as it may sound, the fact is that the Americans who made the most out of Albert Einstein’s scientific genius, never trusted his credentials and spied upon him till his last. While this celebrity was widely acclaimed and liked by all, including politicians, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other US agencies were constantly on his trail. And the reason? Just their suspicion that he had been a Russian spy in Berlin. But, then, what was the ground of this suspicion? Just that he had been supporting the civil rights, anti-war and socialist causes.

As it is widely known, Einstein lent throughout his life his name to a number of organisations dedicated to peace and disarmament. He was not only intimate with people like black singer-cum-actor Paul Robeson, but also denounced McCarthyism --- even in the days when it was at its worst, following the infamous and cooked-up trial of Rosenbergs.

In fact, Einstein was associated with so many activities that the Woman Patriot Corporation, a pro-establishment group, even felt compelled to write a 16-page letter to the state department. The group’s claim was that "not even Stalin himself" was associated with so many anarchist and communist organisations.

According to information available at foia.fbi.gov/einstein.html, the FBI’s suspicion even went to such a farcical level as believing that he was working on a death ray or that he was leading a communist conspiracy to take over Hollywood.

It is not that the story of FBI’s myopia has come to public knowledge only lately. In fact, as a US paper says, the broad outlines of this history have been known since 1983. But Fred Jerome has now come out with some new facts in his book The Einstein File: J Edgar Hoover's Secret War Against the World's Most Famous Scientist. Jerome has made his claims on the basis of some more files to which he had secured access.

According to the latest story, FBI agents checked each and every activity of this renowned scientist and constantly monitored his mail and telephone calls.

Though the investigation revealed nothing except that all the activities of our scientist were "routine," the agency did not give up its farce. Its agents remained on Einstein's trail till his death in 1955.

Not only that. According to Fred Jerome, the FBI even cooperated with an investigation by the US immigration authorities to determine whether they should deport the scientist.