Bertrand Russell’s 1937 ‘Dinner With Hitler’ Letter Shown at Tolerance Museum
Image by getty images
The Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles purchased at auction a 1937 letter in which British philosopher Bertrand Russell says that the British should invite Hitler to dinner rather than fight the Nazis.
The museum is part of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The letter was purchased for $4,000 at an auction last month in London, according to the Associated Press. It will soon go on display in the museum.
“If the Germans succeed in sending an invading army to England we should do best to treat them as visitors, give them quarters and invite the commander and chief to dine with the prime minister,” Russell wrote to British critic Godfrey Carter. “Such behavior would completely baffle them.”
Russell, a pacifist, later changed his views on Hitler.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
