450 THE QUANTUM THEORYmade a stunning advance, increasing their number of seats in the Reichstag from
twelve to one hundred and seven.
Einstein's decision to move to Princeton was the result of three meetings with
Abraham Flexner [Fl]. The first of these was unplanned. Early in 1932, Flexner
had come to Pasadena to discuss with faculty members at CalTech his project for
a new center of research, The Institute for Advanced Study. On that occasion, he
was introduced to Einstein. The two men discussed the Institute plan in general
terms. When they met again in Oxford, in the spring of 1932, Flexner asked if
Einstein himself might be interested in joining the Institute. At their third meeting,
in Caputh in June 1932, Einstein said he was enthusiastic about coming, provided
he could bring his assistant, Walther Mayer; for himself he requested an annual
salary of $3000. 'He asked ... "could I live on less"?' [F2]. Formal negotiations
began at once [E19]. The appointment was approved in October 1932 [II]. His
salary was set at $15000 per year. The remarkable story of the negotiations con-
cerning Walther Mayer is found in Chapter 29.
Einstein originally intended to spend five months of the year in Princeton and
the rest of the time in Berlin [K2]. It never worked out that way. New elections
in July 1932 gave the Nazis 230 Reichstag seats. It was the following December
that Einstein told his wife that she would never see Caputh again (section 16d).
On December 10, 1932, the Einsteins, accompanied by thirty pieces of luggage,
left Bremerhaven on board the steamer Oakland, once again bound for California.
As it turned out, it was their permanent departure from Germany.
On January 30, 1933, Hitler came to power. Three days later, Einstein still
wrote to the secretariat of the Prussian Academy concerning his salary arrange-
ments [K3]. The situation deteriorated rapidly, however, and in a letter dated
March 28, 1933, Einstein sent his resignation to the Akademie in Berlin [K4].*
A week earlier, The New York Times had reported that 'one of the most perfect
raids of recent German history was carried out' [Nl]. The SA had raided the
Einsteins' Caputh home to search for hidden weapons. According to the Times,
all they found was a breadknife.
March 28 was also the day on which the Einsteins arrived in Antwerp, return-
ing from California. They had to return to Europe because Einstein had obliga-
tions and because arrangements had to be made for the move to Princeton, which
now, of course, was to be their only home. Family and friends helped them find
a temporary European abode, the villa Savoyard in Le Coq sur Mer on the Bel-
gian coast. There they were joined by Use and Margot, who had meanwhile gone
to Paris. Helen Dukas came from Zurich, Walther Mayer from Vienna. Their
establishment was completed by two guards (assigned by the Belgian government)
who were to watch over their safety. Rumors were rife of planned attempts on
Einstein's life.
Practical arrangements were made. Einstein's son-in-law Rudolf Kayser saw
*On April 21 he also resigned from the Bavarian Academy.