Mendelssohn family
Encyclopedia
The Mendelssohn family are the descendants of the German Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn
, and include his grandson, the composer Felix Mendelssohn
.
Moses Mendelssohn was a significant figure in the Age of Enlightenment
in Germany. Mendelssohn had ten children, of whom six lived to adulthood. Of those six children, only Recha and Joseph
retained the Jewish faith. Abraham Mendelssohn
, because of his conversion to Christianity, adopted the surname Bartholdy at the suggestion of his wife's brother, Jakob Salomon Bartholdy
, who had adopted the name from a property owned by the Salomon family.
Mendelssohn's wife, Fromet (Frumet) Guggenheim, was a great-granddaughter of Samuel Oppenheimer
.
In 1795 the eldest son Joseph Mendelssohn
established the bank Mendelssohn & Co.
in Berlin
, and his brother Abraham
joined the company in 1804. Many members of the family worked for the bank until it was forced to shut down in 1938. In 2004 relatives of the banker Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1875–1935), led by his great-nephew Julius H. Schoeps (born 1942), tried to reclaim paintings once owned by him and later sold in the 1940s by his widow, in breach of his will.
The family members include:
Link unknown: Henriette Mendelssohn (1905–1944), married 1943 as his second wife Emmanuel Simon Andre Marie, marquis de Crussol d' Uzès (1902–1952)
Children of Abraham Mendelssohn Bartholdy:
Moses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah is indebted...
, and include his grandson, 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...
.
Moses Mendelssohn was a significant figure in the Age of Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
in Germany. Mendelssohn had ten children, of whom six lived to adulthood. Of those six children, only Recha and Joseph
Joseph Mendelssohn
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...
retained the Jewish faith. Abraham Mendelssohn
Abraham Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Abraham Ernst Mendelssohn Bartholdy was a German Jewish banker and philanthropist...
, because of his conversion to Christianity, adopted the surname Bartholdy at the suggestion of his wife's brother, Jakob Salomon Bartholdy
Jakob Salomon Bartholdy
Jakob Salomon Bartholdy was a Prussian diplomat, born Jakob Salomon in Berlin of Jewish parentage, and educated at the University of Halle...
, who had adopted the name from a property owned by the Salomon family.
Mendelssohn's wife, Fromet (Frumet) Guggenheim, was a great-granddaughter of Samuel Oppenheimer
Samuel Oppenheimer
Samuel Oppenheimer was a Jewish banker, imperial court diplomat, factor, and military supplier for the Holy Roman Emperor. He enjoyed special favor of Emperor Leopold I, to whom he advanced considerable sums of money for the Great Turkish War...
.
In 1795 the eldest son Joseph Mendelssohn
Joseph Mendelssohn
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...
established 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....
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, and his brother Abraham
Abraham Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Abraham Ernst Mendelssohn Bartholdy was a German Jewish banker and philanthropist...
joined the company in 1804. Many members of the family worked for the bank until it was forced to shut down in 1938. In 2004 relatives of the banker Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1875–1935), led by his great-nephew Julius H. Schoeps (born 1942), tried to reclaim paintings once owned by him and later sold in the 1940s by his widow, in breach of his will.
The family members include:
- Moses MendelssohnMoses MendelssohnMoses Mendelssohn was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah is indebted...
(1729–1786), philosopher, married Fromet Guggenheim (1737–1812); 6 children - Dorothea MendelssohnDorothea von SchlegelDorothea von Schlegel was a German novelist and translator.-Biography :Dorothea von Schlegel was born in 1764 in Berlin. Oldest daughter of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, a leading figure in the German Enlightenment...
(1763-1839), married (i) Simon Veit, (ii) Friedrich von Schlegel
-
-
- Jonas Veit (1790-1854)
- Philipp VeitPhilipp VeitPhilipp Veit was a German Romantic painter. To Veit is due the credit of having been the first to revive the almost forgotten technique of fresco painting.- Biography :Veit was born in Berlin, Prussia...
(1793-1877)- Recha Mendelssohn (1767–1831)
- Joseph MendelssohnJoseph MendelssohnJoseph 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...
(1770–1848), banker
- Benjamin (Georg) Mendelssohn (1794–1874), geographer
- Alexander Mendelssohn (1798–1871), banker
-
- Marie Mendelssohn (1822–1891), married Robert Warschauer (1816–1884), banker
-
- Anna Warschauer (1841–1866), married Ludwig Passini (1832–1903), painter
- Marie Warschauer (1855-1906), married Ernst von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1846–1909) see below (A)
- Margarete Mendelssohn (1823–1890), married Otto Georg Oppenheim (1817–1909), jurist
-
- Hugo Oppenheim (1847–1921), banker, married Anna Oppenheim (1849–1931)
-
- Else Oppenheim (1873–1945), married Josef BlockJosef BlockJosef Block was a German painter.Block was born in Bernstadt an der Weide in Prussian Silesia. He was a scholar of the Breslau Art Academy, where his lifelong friendship with German dramatist Gerhart Hauptmann was established...
(1863–1943), painter
-
- Anna Luise Block (1896–1982), publicist; married: (ii) Heinrich Hauser (1901–1955), writer; (iii) Alfred Winslow JonesAlfred Winslow JonesAlfred Winslow Jones , a sociologist, author, and financial journalist, is credited with forming the first modern hedge fund and is widely regarded as the father of the hedge fund industry.-Background:...
(1900–1989), hedge fund pioneer
- Anna Luise Block (1896–1982), publicist; married: (ii) Heinrich Hauser (1901–1955), writer; (iii) Alfred Winslow Jones
- Robert Hugo Oppenheim (1882-1956), banker, married Charlotte Simon
- Else Oppenheim (1873–1945), married Josef Block
- Franz Oppenheim (1852–1929), chemist
- Clara Oppenheim (1861–1944), married Adolf GusserowAdolf GusserowAdolf Ludwig Sigismund Gusserow was a German gynecologist who was a native of Berlin. He married Clara Oppenheim , a descendant of Berlin banker Joseph Mendelssohn....
(1836–1906), gynecologist
- Franz von Mendelssohn (1829–1889), banker
-
- Robert von Mendelssohn (1857–1917), banker, married Giulietta Gordigiani, pianist
-
- Eleonora von Mendelssohn (1900–1951), actress, married Martin KosleckMartin KosleckMartin Kosleck was a German film actor. Like many other German actors, he fled when the Nazis came to power. Inspired by his deep hatred of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, Kosleck would make a career in Hollywood playing villainous Nazis in films. While in the United States, he would appear in more...
, actor - Francesco von Mendelssohn (1901–1972), cellist, theatre director
- Eleonora von Mendelssohn (1900–1951), actress, married Martin Kosleck
- Franz von Mendelssohn (1865–1935), banker, married Maria Westphal (1867-1957), see below (B)
-
- Lilli von Mendelssohn (1897–1928), violinist, married Emil BohnkeEmil BohnkeEmil Bohnke was a German violist, composer and conductor in Berlin.-Life:Emil Bohnke was the son of textile manufacturer Ferdinand Bohnke...
, violist and composer
-
- Robert-Alexander Bohnke (1927–2005), pianist
- Robert von Mendelssohn (1902–1996), banker
- Lilli von Mendelssohn (1897–1928), violinist, married Emil Bohnke
- Clara Mendelssohn (1840–1927), married Carl Friedrich Otto WestphalCarl Friedrich Otto WestphalCarl Friedrich Otto Westphal was a German neurologist and psychiatrist from Berlin. He was the son of Otto Carl Friedrich Westphal and Karoline Friederike Heine and the father of Alexander Carl Otto Westphal...
(1833–1890), psychiatrist
-
- Alexander Carl Otto WestphalAlexander Carl Otto WestphalAlexander 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), neurologist - Anna Westphal (1864–1943), married Eduard Sonnenburg (1848–1915), doctor
- Marie Westphal (1867–1957), married Franz von Mendelssohn (1865–1935), see above (B)
- Henriette (Maria) Mendelssohn (1775-1831)
- Abraham Mendelssohn BartholdyAbraham Mendelssohn BartholdyAbraham Ernst Mendelssohn Bartholdy was a German Jewish banker and philanthropist...
(1776-1835), banker, married Lea Salomon, granddaughter of Daniel ItzigDaniel ItzigDaniel Itzig was a Court Jew of Kings Frederick II the Great and Frederick William II of Prussia....
; 4 children
- Alexander Carl Otto Westphal
- Fanny MendelssohnFanny MendelssohnFanny Cäcilie Mendelssohn , later Fanny Hensel, was a German pianist and composer, the sister of the composer Felix Mendelssohn and granddaughter of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn...
(1805-1847) married Wilhelm HenselWilhelm HenselWilhelm Hensel was a German painter, brother of Luise Hensel, husband to Fanny Mendelssohn, and brother-in-law to Felix Mendelssohn....
(1794-1861)
-
- Sebastian Ludwig Felix Hensel (1830-1898) married Julie von Adelson
-
- Cécile Hensel (1858-1928) married Friedrich LeoFriedrich LeoFriedrich Leo was a German classical philologist born in Regenwalde, today known as Resko, Poland.From 1868 he was a student at the University of Göttingen, and following military duty in the Franco-Prussian War, he continued his education at the University of Bonn, where he had as instructors...
(1851-1914) - Paul HenselPaul Hensel----Paul Hugo Hensel was a German philosopher, son of the landowner and entrepreneur Sebastian Hensel, brother of the mathematician Kurt Hensel , grandson of the composer Fanny Mendelssohn and the painter Wilhelm Hensel, and a descendant of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn.Hensel was born in...
(1860-1930), philosopher - Kurt HenselKurt HenselKurt Wilhelm Sebastian Hensel was a German mathematician born in Königsberg, Prussia.He was the son of the landowner and entrepreneur Sebastian Hensel, brother of the philosopher Paul Hensel, grandson of the composer Fanny Mendelssohn and the painter Wilhelm Hensel, and a descendant of the...
(1861-1941), mathematician
-
- Albert Hensel (1895–1933), law professor
- Charlotte Hensel (1896–1990), married Werner BergengruenWerner BergengruenWerner Bergengruen was a Baltic German novelist.Bergengruen was born in Riga, Livonia. After growing up in Lübeck and attending the Katharineum, he started studying theology in Marburg in 1911. He later changed to studying Germanistics and art history, but failed to graduate; he then moved to Munich...
(1892–1964), novelist
- Cécile Hensel (1858-1928) married Friedrich Leo
- Felix MendelssohnFelix MendelssohnJakob 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...
(Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy) (1809-1847), composer married Cécile Charlotte Sophie Jeanrenaud (1817–1853)
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- Karl Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1838-1897), historian
-
- Cécile von Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1870-1943), married Otto von Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1868-1949), see below (C)
- Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1874-1936), law professor, married Dorothea Wach (1875-1949), see below (D)
- Marie Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1839-1897)
- Paul Mendelssohn BartholdyPaul Mendelssohn BartholdyPaul Mendelssohn Bartholdy was a German chemist and a pioneer in the manufacture of aniline dye. He co-founded the Aktien-Gesellschaft für Anilin-Fabrikation , a German chemical company.-Life:...
(1841-1880), chemist
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- Otto von Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1868-1949), banker, married Cécile Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1870-1943), see above (C)
- Paul Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1879-1956), chemist
- Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1843–1850)
- Elisabeth Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1845-1910) married Adolf Wach
-
- Felix Wach (1871-1943)
-
- Joachim WachJoachim WachJoachim Ernst Adolphe Felix Wach was a German religious scholar from Chemnitz, Kingdom of Saxony, who emphasised a distinction between the history of religion and the philosophy of religion....
(1898-1955)
- Joachim Wach
- Dorothea Wach (1875-1949) married Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1874-1936), see above (D)
- Rebecka Mendelssohn (1811-1858) married Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet (1805–1859), mathematician
- Paul Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1812–1874), banker
-
- Ernst von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1846–1909), banker, married Marie Warschauer (1855–1906), see above (A)
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- Katharine von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1870–1943)
- Charlotte von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1871–1961)
- Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1875–1935), banker
- Enole Marie von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1879–1947), married Albert Constantin, Graf von Schwerin (1870–1956), diplomat, had issue
- Marie Busch (1881–1970), married Felix Busch (1871–1938), state official
-
- Dorothea Busch (1915–1996), married Hans-Joachim Schoeps (1909–1980), theologian
-
- Julius H. Schoeps (born 1942), historian
- Alexander von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1889–1917)
- Nathan Mendelssohn (1781-1852) instrument maker, married Henrietta Itzig, cousin of Lea Soloman and granddaughter of Daniel ItzigDaniel ItzigDaniel Itzig was a Court Jew of Kings Frederick II the Great and Frederick William II of Prussia....
- Nathan Mendelssohn (1781-1852) instrument maker, married Henrietta Itzig, cousin of Lea Soloman and granddaughter of Daniel Itzig
- Arnold Mendelssohn (1817-1854), a political follower of Ferdinand LassalleFerdinand LassalleFerdinand Lassalle was a German-Jewish jurist and socialist political activist.-Early life:Ferdinand Lassalle was born on 11 April 1825 in Breslau , Silesia to a prosperous Jewish family descending from Upper Silesian Loslau...
- Ottilie Mendelssohn (1819-1848) married Ernst KummerErnst KummerErnst Eduard Kummer was a German mathematician. Skilled in applied mathematics, Kummer trained German army officers in ballistics; afterwards, he taught for 10 years in a gymnasium, the German equivalent of high school, where he inspired the mathematical career of Leopold Kronecker.-Life:Kummer...
(1810-1893), mathematician
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- Marie Elisabeth Kummer (1842-1921) married Hermann SchwarzHermann SchwarzKarl Hermann Amandus Schwarz was a German mathematician, known for his work in complex analysis. He was born in Hermsdorf, Silesia and died in Berlin...
(1843-1921), mathematician
- Marie Elisabeth Kummer (1842-1921) married Hermann Schwarz
- Wilhelm Mendelssohn (1821-1866) married Louise Aimee Cauer (sister to Bertha Cauer)
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- Arnold MendelssohnArnold MendelssohnArnold Ludwig Mendelssohn was a German composer and music teacher.Mendelssohn was born in the then Ratibor, Province of Silesia, son of Felix Mendelssohn's second cousin Wilhelm Mendelssohn who had married in 1854 Louise Aimee Cauer...
(1855-1933) composer, married Maria Cauer
- Arnold Mendelssohn
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Link unknown: Henriette Mendelssohn (1905–1944), married 1943 as his second wife Emmanuel Simon Andre Marie, marquis de Crussol d' Uzès (1902–1952)
Gallery
Children of Moses and Fromet Mendelssohn:Children of Abraham Mendelssohn Bartholdy: