Robert Einstein's family, Nina, Lorenza, Paola, Cici, Seba and Luce in Perugia, Italy, in an undated photo. Courtesy of Anna Maria Boldrini
On August 3rd, 1944, a small German patrol arrived at the Villa del Focardo near Rignano sull'Arno, a bit outside of Florence. The patrol was not military. They were looking for the family of Robert Einstein, cousin of Albert Einstein, world famous physicist and outspoken opponent to the Nazi regime.
Robert had taken refuge in the villa with his wife, Cesarina Mazzetti, and their daughters, Luce and Annamaria. They were a Protestant family living in hiding, thinking they might be let off the hook—but Robert was away when the patrol came. The soldiers gathered Cesarina and the daughters inside the house and executed them, without trial and without explanation. They then torched the villa and left a note that chillingly read, "We have executed the Einstein family, guilty of treason and Jewish origins."
When Robert returned to the villa, he found his entire family murdered. Although Robert was not Jewish, it was the familial connection to Albert Einstein that put the family in the crosshairs. Presumably heartbroken, he committed suicide on July 13th, 1945—exactly thirty-two years to the day of his wedding.
The culprits were never identified and no one was ever prosecuted.
This tragic and often- orgotten tragedy reminds us of the far reaching consequences of Nazi vengeance, even against non combatants that were related to exiles thousands of kilometres away, and that in war, ideology can trump one's smallest sense of humanity.
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