A letter written by physicist Albert Einstein to his sister in which he warned of rising sentiments against Jews in Germany has been sold in an auction in Israel for nearly $40,000.

Axar.az repots citing Anadolu Agency.

The letter was written in 1922 by the Nobel laureate to his sister Maria 11 years before the Nazis seized power in Germany in 1933. In the letter, Einstein warns of rising nationalism in Germany and growing sentiments against Jews in the country.

He also mentions the assassination of German Foreign Minister Walter Rathenau, who was a Jew, by right-wingers in October 1922.

“Here are brewing economically and politically dark times, so I’m happy to be able to get away from everything,” Einstein, who was a Jew, says in the letter.

He also tells his sister that he has gone into hiding after being warned by police that his life might be in danger after Rathenau’s assassination.

No information was available about the buyer of the letter.

Born on March 14, 1879, Einstein was described as the most important theoretical physicist of the 20th century.

He developed the theory of relativity and made significant contributions to quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics and cosmology.

Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 in recognition of his contributions to the theoretical physics and photoelectric effect.