page_title: Elsa Einstein
section_title: Married life
hierarchical_section_title: Elsa Einstein / Married life
caption_attribution_description: English: Albert Einstein with his wife Elsa. Date not recorded. Fur collar from fox or skunks. Deutsch: Albert Einstein und Frau Elsa bei Schiffsankunft mit SS Rotterdam in New York
context_page_description: Elsa Einstein was the second wife and cousin of Albert Einstein. Their mothers were sisters, making them maternal first cousins, and further, their fathers were first cousins, making them paternal second cousins. Elsa had the surname of Einstein at birth, lost it when she took the name of her first husband Max Löwenthal, and regained it in 1919 when she married her cousin Albert.
context_section_description: In 1896, Elsa married textile trader Max Löwenthal (1864–1914), from Berlin, with whom she had three children: daughters Ilse (1897–1934) and Margot (1899-1986), and a son who was born in 1903, but died shortly after birth. They lived together in Hechingen. In 1902, Max Löwenthal took a job in Berlin. His family stayed in Hechingen. She divorced Max on 11 May 1908, and moved with her two daughters to an apartment above her parents on Haberlandstrasse 5, in Berlin.
  She began a relationship with her cousin Albert Einstein in April 1912, while Albert was still married to his first wife, the physicist Mileva Marić. Einstein separated from Mileva in 1914 and their divorce was final on 14 February 1919. Elsa married him three and a half months later, on June 2, 1919.
  Elsa's and Albert's mothers were sisters, which made Elsa and Albert maternal first cousins, and their fathers were first cousins.
  With stepdaughters Ilse and Margot, the Einsteins formed a close-knit family. Although Albert and Elsa did not have any children of their own, Albert raised Ilse and Margot as his own. They lived in the Berlin area, also having a summer house in Caputh in nearby Potsdam. Ilse also served as Einstein's secretary for a brief period.
  Elsa spent most of her marriage with Albert acting as his gatekeeper, protecting him from unwelcome visitors and charlatans. She also was the driving force behind building their summer house in 1929.
caption: Elsa Einstein with her husband, Albert Einstein, arriving in New York aboard the SS Rotterdam
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