Where To See Einstein Everywhere: on TV, Books and Magazines, USA, Germany, India, Israel, Taiwan and more

Einstein with Charlie Chaplin. Photo taken 1931. Public Domain. From Wikipedia.

 On a Singapore Airlines flight in January 2018 I watched an episode of a series of nine of a USA TV film series about Nobel prize winner Albert Einstein. All episodes were listed with a summary. 

The episode which I watched was about Einstein resisting attempts to get him to support the Hebrew university of Israel, before the founding of Israel. Very interesting picture of his strong second wife, Elsa. 

The film brings up all sorts of interests and controversies. Einstein and Judaism. Einstein and assimilation. Einstein and fund-raising. Einstein and communism. Einstein and Germany and being German before WWII. Einstein and America and being an American.

Einstein and the Atom Bomb

I also went to a Toastmasters meeting in Singapore where one of the speakers presented a defence of Einstein against accusation that he was the cause of the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima (presented as a bad thing in The Times magazine in the USA in the 1940s). Makes me want to read books about Einstein’s life.

TV Series
Genius (This National Geographic series on Einstein had ten Emmy nominations)

Places to visit (Alphabetically:) 

CZECH REPUBLIC
Panoptikum, Prague.

GERMANY
Germany

INDIA
Science park, Kannur, Kerala. The city of Kannur is called the crown of Kerala, land of looms and lores (stories as in folklore).

ISRAEL

Bust in Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.

English: Robert Berks (US-american, born 1922): Albert Einstein Millennial Monument, Jerusalem, Israel Academy Of Sciences And Humanities, Albert Einstein Sciences Garden. Replica of the 1979 monument located at the US National Academy of Sciences. Photo author Eftib in Wikipedia commons.

JAPAN

Hiroshima, Japan

Spain
Statue of seated Einstein at the entrance to the Science Park and Museum in Granada, southern Spain.

TAIWAN
Juming Museum. Lovely white statue of Einstein carrying a brolly and a bag.

USA - see giant statue of reclining EInstein, near Academy of Science, on Independence Avenue NW, Washington DC, USA

For photos of statues and busts, nothing in Wikitravel and nothing in the aritcle on Einstein in Wikipedia. I eventually tracked down photos of statues in commons.wikimedia.org .

Useful Websites
EINSTEIN
wikipedia
Wikiquote

TRAVEL
Spain
http://www.parqueciencias.com/parqueciencias/ Einstein statue

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

WWII in Singapore - video and museum at the Old Ford Factory

All that's left of the outside old Ford Factory is the wonderful art deco exterior.

All that's left of the interior is an accurate reproduction of the surrender table, where the British surrendered to the Japanese, plus chairs from WWII, which might have been the actual chairs used.

The price is a mere Singaporean $3 and free to both Singaporeans (lots of schoolchildren visit) and permanent residents (expats who are long time residents but still hanging onto their birthplace passports, such as British passports, which prevents them from becoming Singaporean).

The museum has a small number of books and gifts on sale at the entrance. To the right is a movie theatre room where you can watch a video of about half an hour which is an overview of WWII, or one of several other films, one of which is two hours long, so it's worthwhile to make repeat visits on your own or with friends, family and tourist visitors.

The overview video explained two things to me:

1 The end of the war was foreseen by locals and the Japanese after the air Battle of Midway, which reduced Japanese air power and like the Battle of Britain was an essential step towards success on the ground for the Allies.

2 a) The Japanese had previously invaded China and because of opposition groups fighting openly or covertly again Japanese in China they regarded the Chinese in Singapore as a potential threat, which is why Chinese deemed political were massacred at the start, in worse danger than the Indian and British or European POWs and civilians.
2) b) Tan Kah Kee, who has a station named after him on the Downtown line was on the Japanese hitlist.

3 The Burma railway was important (to the Japanese) because Burma was the barrier between Thailand (to the north of Malaysia) and India. With lack of access by sea, a land bridge was essential.

On a jollier note, we see how crops were grown locally. Goats provided milk. Pigs and chickens were fed cockroaches. I always wondered what use coach roaches are!

On display is a white wedding dress. Two ladies gave accounts of their wartime weddings.

The Japanese surrender marked the end of WWII. Although food rationing continued, and the buildings had to be rebuilt, it was a chance for the restoration of peace and prosperity.

The war in Europe had already ended about 6 months earlier. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, according to the testimony of Singaporean residents, brought a swifter end to the war in Asia.

It was not until decades later that the mass graves of missing Chinese massacred on the beaches and elsewhere were found.

A nice end note is Lee Kuan Yew's dignified and conciliatory commend on the WWII memorial, that is not to recall old enmities but to honour lost ancestors.

Photos being added shortly.
Please share this with anybody who might be interested. I have other posts on varied subjects and videos on YouTube and Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.