Mendelssohn Exhibit

The Mendelssohns are one of the great German family dynasties, starting with the pater familias, the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn (1729–86). Also known as the German Socrates, he was the founder of the Haskalah movement (the Jewish Enlightenment) that sought to create a modern, secular Jewish identity. In 1815 his sons Joseph and Abraham (father of composer Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy) founded a private banking house in Jägerstrasse 51, Berlin’s historical banking quarter. In 1938, the bank was forced into bankruptcy – many family members had fled Nazi Germany. Today an exhibit in the resurrected headquarters traces the fate and history of this influential family. Numerous other personalities are associated with Jägerstrasse. Alexander von Humboldt was born at No 22 and the painter Georg Grosz at No 63; in the house at No 54 (now the restaurant Vau) Rahel Varnhagen held her intellectual salons.