Joseph Mendelssohn
Encyclopedia
Joseph Mendelssohn was a German Jewish banker.
He was the oldest son of the influential philosopher Moses Mendelssohn
. In 1795, he founded his own banking house. In 1804, his younger brother Abraham Mendelssohn Bartholdy
, the father of the composer Felix Mendelssohn
, joined the company. The bank Mendelssohn & Co.
continued under the control of the Mendelssohn family
and would rise to prominence during the 19th century, becoming one of the most important and influential German banks during the early 20th century. Although the Mendelssohns had largely given up their Jewish religion by 1900, the bank was shut down by the Nazis in 1938 under the policy of Aryanization
.
Joseph's descendants include the neurologist Alexander Carl Otto Westphal
, (1863–1941).
He was the oldest son of the influential philosopher Moses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah is indebted...
. In 1795, he founded his own banking house. In 1804, his younger brother Abraham Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Abraham Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Abraham Ernst Mendelssohn Bartholdy was a German Jewish banker and philanthropist...
, the father of the composer Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
, joined the company. The bank Mendelssohn & Co.
Mendelssohn & Co.
Mendelssohn & Co. was a private bank residing in Berlin, Germany. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was one of the preeminent banking houses in Europe....
continued under the control of the Mendelssohn family
Mendelssohn family
The Mendelssohn family are the descendants of the German Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, and include his grandson, the composer Felix Mendelssohn....
and would rise to prominence during the 19th century, becoming one of the most important and influential German banks during the early 20th century. Although the Mendelssohns had largely given up their Jewish religion by 1900, the bank was shut down by the Nazis in 1938 under the policy of Aryanization
Aryanization
Aryanization is a term coined during Nazism referring to the forced expulsion of so-called "non-Aryans", mainly Jews, from business life in Nazi Germany and the territories it controlled....
.
Joseph's descendants include the neurologist Alexander Carl Otto Westphal
Alexander Carl Otto Westphal
Alexander Carl Otto Westphal was the son of the psychiatrist Carl Friedrich Otto Westphal and Clara Mendelssohn and the grandson of Otto Carl Friedrich Westphal....
, (1863–1941).
External links
- Sebastian Panwitz: Joseph Mendelssohn; in Mendelssohn-Enzyklopädie.