Suffering from an acute lack of heroes after losing two world wars, Germany has reclaimed Albert Einstein as one of its greatest national figures, even though the Jewish physicist fled the Nazis hating his native country. A century after the German born scientist formulated his famous theory of relativity in Switzerland, and 50 years after his death on April 18, 1955, Einstein is being reclaimed by the country he rejected. Celebrations of the so called Einstein Year of 2005 are taking place around the world, but nowhere are the tributes to the man with the droopy eyes and bushy grey hair so laden with historical baggage as in Germany. The German government has gone all out to latch onto Einstein, who became one of the world's first pop icons after his theories about space, time and relativity revolutionised science in the early 20th century. "It is a bit strange," said Juergen Neffe, author of a German biography on Einstein that has been near the top of best seller lists here since it was published in January. "Einstein hated the Nazis and extended his hatred to all Germans for letting it happen. It's certainly true that he hated Germany, but he would nevertheless be pleased about Germany's development in the last 30 years."