Description:

Albert Einstein
New York, NY, May 20 & July 1, 1955
The Death of Einstein: Eye-Witness Physician Dr. Ehrmann on His Diagnosis, Rejects Claims of Syphilis- Unique Contemporary Account
Archive
A pair of two letters signed "R. Ehrmann" from Dr. Rudolf R. Ehrmann (1879-1963) to fellow physician and colleague of Einstein Janos O. Plesch (1878-1957). 2p of personal letterhead (untranslated in German), 7.25" x 10.5", New York, NY, dated May 20 & July 1, 1955. Within, Ehrmann writes of what he believed was the physicist's cause of death, namely an abdominal aneurysm, and rejects Plesch's theory that Einstein had suffered from syphilis. Both letters exhibit varying degrees of general age toning, creasing, and flattened letter folds; minor paperclip indentations present at top left. Otherwise, very good with bold signatures- two significant accounts in the months following Einstein's death.

In the first letter dated May 20, 1955, Ehrmann tells of his initial diagnosis and mentions a previous emergency operation conducted by Dr. Rudolph Nissen in 1948. Roughly translated in part:

"My preliminary diagnosis: inflammatory adhesions of the abdominal cavity. Adhesions between the abdominal organs with irritation, most likely due to inflammation… liver cirrhosis.
The unilateral abdominal operation was performed against my advice due to a suspected cyst…".

The second, dated July 1, 1955, shows Ehrmann's response to Plesch's theory that Einstein had contracted syphilis. Indeed, he writes of a negative Wassermann test, an antibody test for the disease popularized during the early 20th century. Ehrmann also mentions a "Frau E." on three separate occasions, possibly referring to Einstein's daughter Margot who lived with him in Princeton. A rough translation reads in part:

"As far as syphilis is concerned, the Wassermann test was always negative. Also, no signs of syphilis could be detected…
Your communications, which are known to me from Ms. E., only partly correspond to the facts, since Ms. E. has a great imagination. Therefore, I vaguely recall a case where the statements of Ms. E., in my opinion, were misleading."

Rudolf Ehrmann was Albert Einstein's personal physician in Berlin. After from escaping Nazi Germany in 1939, he moved to New York City where he worked at NYU's Bellevue Medical Center. Toward the end of Einstein's life, Ehrmann again acted as his physician when he was hospitalized for an abdominal aneurysm on April 17, 1955. The physicist, refusing additional surgery, died the following day on April 18th.

Janos Oscar Plesch was a Hungarian academic pathologist, physiologist, and physician. A close friend to Albert Einstein, he is most known for his research on blood circulation and developing a convenient way to measure blood pressure. Dr. Plesch had argued that his friend was "a strongly sexual person" who enjoyed the company of many partners, and therefore saw the abdominal aneurysm as a symptom of syphilitic infection. However, no evidence of syphilis was ever reported in Einstein's body, including his famously dissected brain. While no official autopsy was performed on the body itself, there is little connection to support a link between his condition and syphilis.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 7.25" x 10.5"
  • Medium: Archive

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