A handwritten letter by Albert Einstein rejecting religion has been auctioned for almost $3m (£2.3m).
The “God letter” was written in 1954 in Einstein’s native German in response to the work of the philosopher Eric Gutkind.
In the letter, the theoretical physicist outlines his thoughts on religion and his own Jewish identity.
The letter was sold for almost twice the auction house’s expected value of between $1m and $1.5m.
In his letter, Einstein states: “The word God is for me nothing but the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of venerable but still rather primitive legends.
He also gives his thoughts on his own Jewish identity, stating the religion is “like all other religions, an incarnation of primitive superstition”.
In the private writings, he describes the Chinese as an “industrious, filthy, obtuse people” and writes of “bandit-like filthy Levantines”. »