Eminent physicist Albert Einstein was born in the year 1879. Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of peace, was born in 1869 and Adolf Hitler, the epitome of terror, in 1889. Hence the expression that Einstein was born between peace and terror.
Einstein admired Mahatma Gandhi. He even expressed this admiration in a letter written in 1931 addressed to the Indian leader. In it he praised the Mahatma for showing through his work the power non-violence has over the method of violence. He once said:
‘I believe that Gandhi’s views were the most enlightened of all the political men of our time. We should strive to do things in his spirit: not to use violence in fighting for our cause, but by non-participation in anything you believe is evil.’
Both Einstein and Hitler belonged to Germany. But with the rise of the latter and his Nazi Party, Einstein renounced his German citizenship in 1933. He spent the rest of his life in the United States.
