- Rudolf Einstein was Albert Einstein’s uncle and father-in-law.
- He supported Albert Einstein’s marriage to his daughter, Elsa.
- Rudolf Einstein’s financial situation declined, relying on Albert’s support.
Rudolf Einstein was born to Raphael Einstein and Jette Baruch in the German state of Wuerttemberg. Elsa Einstein, Albert Einstein‘s second wife and cousin, was his daughter, and he was the uncle and father-in-law of Albert. Until 1908, Rudolf worked as a partner in the Hechingen weaving mill B. Baruch and Sons. Rudolf was born on April 22, 1843, in Buchau, Württemberg, and died on April 27, 1927, in Berlin.
Rudolf Einstein’s Early Life
As a third-party investor in the biggest local textile mill, Baruch & Sons, Rudolf Einstein earned a substantial fortune by at least 1873. In 1864, he was already living at Schlossstrasse 16 in Hechingen. In 1901, Albert Einstein’s uncle was known as “Rudolf, the rich one,” a nickname given to him by his uncle’s substitute instructor.
In 1894 and 1895, Julius Koch (not to be confused with Julius Koch: The Giant) was a guest at the Einstein home in Hechingen. Hermann Einstein, Albert’s father, was a successful entrepreneur in the electrical business in Northern Italy despite having declared bankruptcy twice because of Rudolf Einstein’s generous loans, which he received due to the strong bonds of Jewish familial solidarity.
A Life in Berlin
Pauline Einstein, Hermann Einstein’s wife, and her sister Fanny Einstein and brother-in-law Rudolf Einstein relocated to Hechingen in 1903. Fanny was born on March 25, 1852, and died in Berlin on November 10, 1926. All three of their daughters eventually settled down in Berlin and started families.
The Einsteins, Rudolf and Fanny, relocated to Berlin in 1910. Pauline Einstein accompanied them at first, but she eventually left because of disagreements over money problems in 1911. Elsa Einstein, their divorced daughter, had also made her home at 5 Haberlandstrasse since 1908.
Rudolf Supported Elsa and Albert’s Marriage
In 1912, Elsa began having an affair with her cousin, Albert Einstein. Rudolf Einstein and Jakob Koch, two of Albert Einstein’s uncles, were not pleased with his slovenly appearance as he began his new teaching in Berlin in April 1914. Einstein gave in and got some new clothes, but he also wasn’t happy about it.
It wasn’t until 1917 that Albert Einstein officially moved into Elsa’s flat. Elsa Einstein was his second wife; they married in Berlin three months after he divorced Mileva Maric in Zurich, in 1919. After Einstein and his first wife, Mileva Maric, were divorced in July 1914, Rudolf Einstein became an outspoken proponent of Albert’s union with Elsa.
Rudolf felt it was very important for Elsa’s reputation and for her stepdaughters Ilse and Margot Einstein‘s chances of finding suitable husbands.
Einstein to Support the Rudolf Family
In 1922, Elsa and Rudolf Einstein saw their wealth drastically decrease, forcing them to rely on Albert Einstein for support. The Jewish Cemetery in Berlin-Weissensee is where Rudolf and Fanny Einstein rest in peace today.
Two oil portraits of Rudolf Einstein’s parents, Buchau businessman Raphael Einstein (1806-1880) and Henriette Baruch (1808 or 1809-1852), are on display in the United States. Both were painted by Matthaus Kern in 1850.
Possibly explaining Rudolf Einstein’s early affluence in 1871 or earlier, these photographs reveal that Rudolf Einstein’s parents lived well in Buchau at the time. In the summer of 1893, Rudolf Einstein gave his nephew Rudolf Moos a loan to help him start a shoe retail business in Berlin.
