Structured around the life and work of Albert Einstein (1879-1955), the course will focus on the 1930s and 1940s, including the discovery of nuclear fission and the making of the atom bomb. Colleagues of Einstein, such as Max Born, Hans Bethe, Enrico Fermi, Lise Meitner, Erwin Schrodinger, and untold numbers of students, scientists, and engineers were forced out of their universities and laboratories by the rise of Fascism in Europe and sought shelter in the United States and elsewhere. Many contributed to the Allied World War II effort. Einstein himself became a facilitator for immigrant scientists, intellectuals, and artists seeking refuge. We shall use historical documents from the Einstein Archives to understand the complex collective and individual experiences and their impact on developments in science and technology during this turbulent historical period.