Albert Einstein and 'The Case of Juda Leman': From Yiddish Physics to Hollywood

This paper analyzes the complexpersonal relationship between Albert Einstein and his protegé Juda Leman (1899-1975). Leman was one or Einstein s private Ostjtide students in Berlin and became a leading popularizer or physics lor Jews in the 1920s, in part through the composition or physics books in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Shofar (West Lafayette, Ind.) Ind.), 2022, Vol.40 (1), p.63-87
Main Author: Chad, Jordan A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
20th century
Antisemitism
Careers
Colleges & universities
Einstein, Albert (1879-1955)
Jewish people
Middle class
Occupations
Physics
Religious orthodoxy
Screenwriters
Sociology
Students
Teaching
Theory of relativity
Writing instruction
Yiddish language
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Summary:This paper analyzes the complexpersonal relationship between Albert Einstein and his protegé Juda Leman (1899-1975). Leman was one or Einstein s private Ostjtide students in Berlin and became a leading popularizer or physics lor Jews in the 1920s, in part through the composition or physics books in Yiddish. However, while Einstein strongly encouraged Leman to pursue a career in teaching physics, Leman instead chose to attempt a career as a Hollywood screenwriter. This decision led to a deterioration or the Einstein-Leman relationship andpresented Einstein with what he called"the case oljuda Leman." The current paper aims to dissect this "case" by examining the sociological forces that shaped Leman's lire trajectory While Leman did not become the physicist that Einstein hoped for, this paper asserts that Leman's life mirrored the changing circumstances of manyJews and writers over the course of the twentieth century.
ISSN:0882-8539
1534-5165
1534-5165
DOI:10.1353/sho.2022.0003