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Karen Glinert Carlson discusses how she learned that Albert Einstein was her cousin, how he saved her mother and grandparents during World War II, and the importance of family history.
About the Speaker:
A child and grandchild of Holocaust survivors, Karen Glinert Carlson grew in Chicago in a “culture of silence,” knowing next to nothing about her family’s past. This led to confusion about her personal identity. In 2018 she was invited by leaders of Ulm, Germany, her mother’s hometown, to give a presentation about her family’s relationship to Albert Einstein. He had provided the lifesaving sponsorship and crucial financial support to rescue her mother and grandparents from Hitler’s Germany. It was to change her life. Since then, she has dedicated herself to tracing her family’s history before, during and after the Holocaust, a journey that has taken her to fourteen countries on three continents, during which she uncovered stories both heart breaking and inspiring, but best of all, she uncovered family.
A cousin of Albert Einstein, she returned to Ulm in 2024 to inaugurate the new museum, Die Einsteins: Einer Ulmer Familie. The museum honors Einstein and members of the Jewish community from Ulm, where he was born. Dr. Carlson also contributes to the planned Albert Einstein Discovery Center with a particular interest in highlighting facets of Einstein’s humanitarian impact.
Dr. Carlson was an educator for forty years, serving in a variety of roles: teacher, principal, executive director of the Chicago Schools Academic Accountability Council, director of specialized services, associate superintendent and superintendent. She was Associate Professor and Director of Leadership Programs at Dominican University, Director of Student Teaching Placement at Lake Forest College and has served as an executive leadership coach and professional developer for school leaders in metropolitan Chicago. She holds a doctorate in Education and Social Policy from Northwestern University. Karen Glinert Carlson serves on a variety of boards including the United Way of Lake County Community Impact Board, Leadership Greater Chicago Fellows Board, the Waukegan Historical Association, and the Princeton Einstein Museum Advisory Board. Dr. Carlson has given presentations internationally and is writing a memoir about her journey, "Einstein's Gift."
She is married with two children, four step-children, five grandchildren and four step grandchildren.
This event is co-sponsored by the library and the Princeton Einstein Museum of Science.
