Many times impressive discoveries are made in tasks that may seem routine. This is what happened at the University of Salamanca during a documentation process for an exhibition on the relationship between Unamuno and science being carried out by the Scientific Culture Unit, as reported by Europa Press. In this process, a telegram was found at the Unamuno House-Museum demonstrating that the scientist Albert Einstein supported the former rector of the USAL during his exile under the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera.
The director of the Unamuno House-Museum, Ana Chaguaceda, acknowledged that this finding confirms the news that the exhibition curator, Marta García Gasco, had discovered in the press about the existence of a support group that showed solidarity upon Unamuno's return from exile, including Albert Einstein and about 20 other individuals, the cream of the intellectual elite living in Germany in 1930.
"This confirms the importance Unamuno had beyond our borders," she added. In addition to Albert Einstein, prominent figures such as the expressionist artist Käthe Kollwitz; Alfred Doeblin, author of the novel Berlin Alexanderplatz and a key figure in German modernism; and Ernst Toller, one of the most prominent playwrights of his time, stand out.
'His German friends', as the intellectuals identify themselves in the text, describe Unamuno as a "brave fighter, great poet, and philosopher" who has "endured with noble pride" his exile and greet him "on the occasion of his glorious return from honorable exile."
"For us, when collaborating on an exhibition, it is a very interesting moment of feedback because it allows us to revisit the information to be exhibited and helps us to better catalog it," stated Chaguaceda.
The rector of the USAL, Juan Manuel Corchado, emphasized that this valuable document is evidence of the "international relevance of Miguel de Unamuno, showing the broad dimension of his figure that transcended the realm of literature and reached scientists and intellectuals of the caliber of Einstein," who was already a popular science icon with international fame after publishing the Theory of Relativity.
"This note and other writings by Unamuno attest that both were aware of the work each was doing in their fields of knowledge," added the rector, for whom the discovery of this telegram is more than just an interesting fact.
This "meticulous" research and documentation work aims to create an informative exhibition illustrating the relationship between Unamuno and science and the scientists of his time, scheduled for 2026, as announced by the professor Raúl Rivas, who confirmed that "the complete document has not been disclosed or exhibited to date."
Therefore, it will be the first time it is displayed as part of the monographic exhibition on the relationship between Miguel de Unamuno and Science.
The Unamuno House-Museum, under the Library Service of the University of Salamanca, has as its primary functions the preservation and maintenance of the memory of Miguel de Unamuno, as well as the dissemination of his work, the conservation and expansion of his heritage, and the offering of cultural and educational programs in line with the center's theme. The Unamuno House-Museum preserves almost all of the writer's drafts, manuscripts, letters, drawings, and photographs.