Henriette Herz by Anna Dorothea Lisiewska 1778

Henriette Julie Herz (née de Lemos) (September 5, 1764 – October 22, 1847) is best known for the "salonnieres" or literary salons that she started with a group of emancipated Jews in Prussia.

Biography

She was the daughter of a physician, Benjamin de Lemos (1711–1789), descended from a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family of

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, and Esther de Lemos (née Charleville) (1742–1817). Henriette Herz had grown up in the

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

of the

Jewish emancipation Jewish emancipation was the process in various nations in Europe of eliminating Jewish disabilities, e.g. Jewish quotas, to which European Jews were then subject, and the recognition of Jews as entitled to equality and citizenship rights. It in ...

and had shared tutors apparently with

Moses Mendelssohn Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729 – 4 January 1786) was a German-Jewish philosopher and theologian. His writings and ideas on Jews and the Jewish religion and identity were a central element in the development of the ''Haskalah'', or ' ...

's daughters. At age fifteen, she married a physician, seventeen years her senior.

Markus Herz Markus Herz (; Berlin, 17 January 1747 – Berlin, 19 January 1803) was a German Jewish physician and lecturer on philosophy.

had studied medicine at the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Pruss ...

, one of only three universities that accepted Jews—but only in its medical faculty.Elon, Amos (2003). ''The Pity of It All: A Portrait of the German-Jewish Epoch, 1743-1933''. New York: Picador/Holt. p. 71. She was said to be an extremely beautiful woman.Davies, M. L., ''Identity Or History?: Marcus Herz and the End of the Enlightenment'' (

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Wayne State University Press Wayne State University Press (or WSU Press) is a university press that is part of Wayne State University. It publishes under its own name and also the imprints Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), ...

, 1995)
p. 149
/ref> After a few years the salon split in two, a science-seminar led by her husband and a literary salon by Henriette herself. Most notable men and women in Berlin were said to have attended her salon. Among her friends and acquaintances were

Dorothea von Schlegel Dorothea Friederike von Schlegel (; 24 October 1764 – 3 August 1839) was a German novelist and translator. Life She was born as Brendel Mendelssohn in 1764 in Berlin.In older literature and on her gravestone one finds the date 1763, but this i ...

Wilhelm von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt (, also , ; ; 22 June 1767 – 8 April 1835) was a Prussian philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of the Humboldt University of Berlin, which was named afte ...

Jean Paul Jean Paul (; born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, 21 March 1763 – 14 November 1825) was a German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories. Life and work Jean Paul was born at Wunsiedel, in the Fichtelgebirge mountain ...

, Friedrich Schiller,

Mirabeau Mirabeau may refer to: People and characters * Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798–1859), second President of the Republic of Texas French nobility * Victor de Riqueti, marquis de Mirabeau (1715–1789), French physiocrat * Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, com ...

Friedrich Rückert Friedrich Rückert (16 May 1788 – 31 January 1866) was a German poet, translator, and professor of Oriental languages. Biography Rückert was born in Schweinfurt and was the eldest son of a lawyer. He was educated at the local '' Gymnasium'' ...

Karl Wilhelm Ramler Karl Wilhelm Ramler (25 February 1725 – 11 April 1798) was a German poet, Berlin Cadet School master. Ramler was born in Kolberg. After graduating from the University of Halle, he went to Berlin, where, in 1748, he was appointed professo ...

Johann Jakob Engel Johann Jakob Engel (11 September 1741 – 28 June 1802) was a German author. Life Engel was born and died in Parchim, in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He studied theology at Rostock and Bützow, and philosophy at Leipzig, where he too ...

, Georg Ludwig Spalding, the Danish

Barthold Georg Niebuhr Barthold Georg Niebuhr (27 August 1776 – 2 January 1831) was a Danish–German statesman, banker, and historian who became Germany's leading historian of Ancient Rome and a founding father of modern scholarly historiography. By 1810 Niebuhr wa ...

Johannes von Müller Johannes von Müller (3 January 1752 – 29 May 1809) was a Swiss historian. Biography He was born at Schaffhausen, where his father was a clergyman and rector of the gymnasium. In his youth, his maternal grandfather, Johannes Schoop (1696–1 ...

, the sculptor Schadow,

Salomon Maimon Salomon Maimon (; ; lt, Salomonas Maimonas; he, שלמה בן יהושע מימון‎; 1753 – 22 November 1800) was a philosopher born of Lithuanian Jewish parentage in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, present-day Belarus. Some of his work w ...

Friedrich von Gentz Friedrich von Gentz (2 May 1764 – 9 June 1832) was an Austrian diplomat and a writer. With Austrian chancellor Von Metternich he was one of the main forces behind the organisation, management and protocol of the Congress of Vienna. Early ...

Fanny von Arnstein Baroness Franziska "Fanny" von Arnstein (29 September 1758 – 8 June 1818), born Vögele Itzig, was a Viennese socialite and salonnière. Biography Fanny Arnstein was born in Berlin, the daughter of Daniel Itzig. She was a member of the extensive ...

Madame de Genlis Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ...

, Alexander zu Dohna-Schlobitten, Gustav von Brinkmann, and

Friedrich Schlegel Karl Wilhelm Friedrich (after 1814: von) Schlegel (; ; 10 March 1772 – 12 January 1829) was a German poet, literary critic, philosopher, philologist, and Indologist. With his older brother, August Wilhelm Schlegel, he was one of the main figure ...

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, ...

often visited and even received Hebrew lessons from Henriette. The theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher was another frequent visitor. After the death of her husband she came under the powerful influence of Schleiermacher and converted to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

. Her grave is preserved in the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

''Friedhof II der Jerusalems- und Neuen Kirchengemeinde'' (Cemetery No. II of the congregations of Jerusalem's Church and New Church) in

Berlin-Kreuzberg Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in 1990 it has b ...

, south of

Hallesches Tor The Hallesches Tor was located in today's Berlin district Kreuzberg south of Mehringplatz. Today, as a historic monument listed underground station on the site of the former gate bears the name ''Hallesches Tor''. It is a major transfer point f ...

References

External links

Painting of Henriette Herz

Henriette Herz: Ihr Leben und ihre Erinnerungen (Google eBook)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herz, Henriette 1764 births 1847 deaths Converts to Protestantism from Judaism 18th-century German Jews German Protestants German Sephardi Jews People from Berlin People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg German salon-holders Jewish women People of the Haskalah

Biography

References

Further reading

External links