The Mendelssohn family are the descendants of Mendel of Dassau. The German Jewish philosopher

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 ' ...

and his brother Saul were the first to adopt the surname Mendelssohn. The family includes his grandson, the composer Felix Mendelssohn and his granddaughter, the composer Fanny Mendelssohn.

Moses Mendelssohn

Moses Mendelssohn was a significant figure in the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

in Germany. Mendelssohn had ten children, of whom six lived to adulthood. Of those six children, only Recha and

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

retained the

Jewish religion Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the M ...

Abraham Mendelssohn Abraham Ernst Mendelssohn Bartholdy (born Abraham Mendelssohn; 10 December 1776 – 19 November 1835) was a German banker and philanthropist. He was the father of Fanny Mendelssohn, Felix Mendelssohn, Rebecka Mendelssohn, and Paul Mendelssohn ...

, because of his conversion to

Reformed Christianity Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...

, 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 Samuel Oppenheimer (born 21 June 1630, Heidelberg – 3 May 1703, Vienna) was an Ashkenazi Jewish banker, imperial court diplomat, factor, and military supplier for the Holy Roman Emperor. He enjoyed the special favor of Emperor Leopold I, to w ...

Mendelssohn & Co. Bank

In 1795 Moses Mendelssohn's eldest son

established the bank Mendelssohn & Co. in

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 ...

, and his brother

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

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.

Mendelssohn family

Descendants of

* Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786), philosopher, married Fromet Guggenheim (1737–1812); 6 children ** Brendel Mendelssohn (1763–1839), married (i) Simon Veit, (ii)

Friedrich von 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 figures ...

*** Jonas Veit (1790–1854) ***

Philipp Veit Philipp Veit (13 February 179318 December 1877) was a German Romantic painter and one of the main exponents of the Nazarene movement. It is to Veit that the credit of having been the first to revive the nearly forgotten technique of fresco ...

(1793–1877) ** Recha Mendelssohn (1767–1831) ** Joseph Mendelssohn (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 Block (1863–1943), painter ******* Anna Luise Block (1896–1982), publicist; married: (ii) (1901–1955), writer; (iii)

Alfred Winslow Jones Alfred Winslow Jones (9 September 1900 – 2 June 1989) was an Australian investor, hedge fund manager, and sociologist. He is credited with forming the first modern hedge fund and is widely regarded as the "father of the hedge fund industry." ...

(1900–1989), hedge fund pioneer ****** Robert Hugo Oppenheim (1882–1956), banker married (i) Charlotte Simon; (ii) Ehrentraut Margaret Von Ilberg 4 children Hugo Oppenheim, Alexander Oppenheim, Imogene Oppenheim, Roberta Marielouise Oppenheim ***** Franz Oppenheim (1852–1929), chemist ***** Clara Oppenheim (1861–1944), married Adolf Gusserow (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 Kosleck Martin Kosleck (born Nicolaie Yoshkin, March 24, 1904 – January 15, 1994) 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 made ...

, actor ****** Francesco von Mendelssohn (1901–1972), cellist, theatre director ***** Franz von Mendelssohn (1865–1935), banker, married Maria Westphal (1867–1957), see below (B) ****** Lilli von Mendelssohn (1897–1928), violinist, married

Emil Bohnke Emil Bohnke (11 October 1888 – 11 May 1928) was a German violist, composer and conductor active in Berlin. Life Born in Zduńska Wola near Łódź, Poland, Emil Bohnke was the son of textile manufacturer Ferdinand Bohnke. From 1901 to 1908, ...

, violist and composer ******* Robert-Alexander Bohnke (1927–2005), pianistProfile of Robert-Alexander Bohnke, Bach Cantatas website
Retrieved on 14 May 2009. ****** Robert von Mendelssohn (1902–1996), banker **** Clara Mendelssohn (1840–1927), married

Karl Friedrich Otto Westphal Karl Friedrich Otto Westphal (23 March 1833, in Berlin – 27 January 1890, in Kreuzlingen) was a German psychiatrist from Berlin. He was the son of Otto Carl Friedrich Westphal (1800–1879) and Karoline Friederike Heine and the father of Alexa ...

(1833–1890), psychiatrist ***** Alexander Carl Otto 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 Bartholdy (1776–1835), banker, married Lea Salomon, granddaughter of

Daniel Itzig Daniel Itzig (also known as Daniel Yoffe 18 March 1723 in Berlin – 17 May 1799 in Potsdam) was a Court Jew of Kings Frederick II the Great and Frederick William II of Prussia. Biography Itzig was born in Berlin. His family was mercantile. I ...

; 4 children *** Fanny Mendelssohn (1805–1847) married Wilhelm Hensel (1794–1861) **** Sebastian Ludwig Felix Hensel (1830–1898) married Julie von Adelson ***** Fanny Römer, née Hensel (1857–1891) ***** Cécile Hensel (1858–1928) married Friedrich Leo (1851–1914) ****** Erika Leo (1887–1949) married Walther Brecht ****** Ulrich Leo (1890–1964), Literary scientist ****** Paul Leo (1893–1958), Lutheran pastor and theologian, married 1.: Anna Siegert († 1931), 2.: Eva Dittrich (1901–1998) ******* Anna Leo (born 1931), Children's author ******* Christopher Leo (born 1941), political scientist ******* Monica Leo (born 1944), puppeteer *****

Paul Hensel Paul Hugo Wilhelm Hensel (17 May 1860, Groß-Barthen near Königsberg – 11 November 1930, Erlangen) was a German philosopher. Biography Hensel was born in Groß-Barten near Königsberg, Prussia. He was the son of the landowner and entrep ...

(1860–1930), philosopher *****

Kurt Hensel Kurt Wilhelm Sebastian Hensel (29 December 1861 – 1 June 1941) was a German mathematician born in Königsberg. Life and career Hensel was born in Königsberg, East Prussia (today Kaliningrad, Russia), the son of Julia (née von Adelson) and lan ...

(1861–1941), mathematician ****** Albert Hensel (1895–1933), law professor ****** Ruth Hensel (1888–1979) ****** Charlotte Hensel (1896–1990), married Werner Bergengruen (1892–1964), novelist *** Felix Mendelssohn (Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy) (1809–1847), composer married Cécile Charlotte Sophie Jeanrenaud (1817–1853) **** 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 Bartholdy Paul Mendelssohn Bartholdy (born Paul Felix Abraham Mendelssohn Bartholdy; 18 January 1841, Leipzig – 17 February 1880, Berlin) was a German chemist and a pioneer in the manufacture of aniline dye. He co-founded the Aktien-Gesellschaft für Ani ...

(1841–1880), chemist ***** 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 Wach Joachim Ernst Adolphe Felix Wach (; January 25, 1898 – August 27, 1955) was a German religious scholar from Chemnitz, who emphasized a distinction between the Religious Studies (Religionswissenschaft) and the philosophy of religion. Wa ...

(1898–1955) ***** Dorothea Wach (1875–1949) married Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1874–1936), see above (D) *** Rebecka Mendelssohn (1811–1858) married

Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet Johann Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet (; 13 February 1805 – 5 May 1859) was a German mathematician who made deep contributions to number theory (including creating the field of analytic number theory), and to the theory of Fourier series and ...

(1805–1859), mathematician **** Walter Lejeune Dirichlet (1833-1887) married Anna Sachs (1835-1889) ***** Elisabeth Lejeune-Dirichlet (1860-1920) married Heinrich Nelson (1854-1929), lawyer ******

Leonard Nelson Leonard Nelson (; ; 11 July 1882 – 29 October 1927), sometimes spelt Leonhard, was a German mathematician, critical philosopher, and socialist. He was part of the neo-Friesian school (named after post-Kantian philosopher Jakob Friedrich Fr ...

(1882-1927), philosopher *** Paul Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1812–1874), banker, married Pauline Louise Albertine Heine (1814-1879) **** Ernst von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1846–1909), banker, married Marie Warschauer (1855–1906), see above (A) ***** 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

*** Arnold Mendelssohn (1817–1854), a political follower of Ferdinand Lassalle *** Ottilie Mendelssohn (1819–1848) married

Ernst Kummer Ernst Eduard Kummer (29 January 1810 – 14 May 1893) was a German mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned ...

(1810–1893), mathematician **** Marie Elisabeth Kummer (1842–1921) married

Hermann Schwarz Karl Hermann Amandus Schwarz (; 25 January 1843 – 30 November 1921) was a German mathematician, known for his work in complex analysis. Life Schwarz was born in Hermsdorf, Silesia (now Jerzmanowa, Poland). In 1868 he married Marie Kummer, ...

(1843–1921), mathematician *** Wilhelm Mendelssohn (1821–1866) married Louise Aimee Cauer (sister to Bertha Cauer) **** Arnold Mendelssohn (1855–1933) composer, married Maria Cauer Descendants of Saul Mendelssohn include: *Philibert Mendelssohn, as a mathematician appointed as 'Koenigliche Rechnungsrat' in the Prussian State Survey :*

Kurt Mendelssohn Kurt Alfred Georg Mendelssohn FRS (7 January 1906, Berlin-Schoeneberg – 18 September 1980) was a German-born British medical physicist, elected a Fellow of the Royal Society 1951. Family life He was the only child of Ernst Moritz Mendelsso ...

, mathematician, one of Philibert's grandchildren :* Heinrich Mendelssohn, biologist, also one of Philibert's grandchildren

Gallery

Children of Moses and Fromet Mendelssohn: Image:Dorothea Schlegel.jpg, Dorothea von Schlegel née Mendelssohn c. 1790, by

Anton Graff Anton Graff (18 November 1736 – 22 June 1813) was an eminent Swiss portrait artist. Among his famous subjects were Friedrich Schiller, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Heinrich von Kleist, Frederick the Great, Friederike Sophie Seyler, Johann Go ...

Image:Abraham Mendelssohn Bartholdy - Zeichnung von Wilhelm Hensel 1823.jpg, Abraham Mendelssohn Bartholdy, 1823, by his son-in-law, Wilhelm Hensel Children of Abraham Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Image:Fanny Hensel 1842.jpg, Fanny Hensel née Mendelssohn, 1842, by

Moritz Daniel Oppenheim Moritz Daniel Oppenheim (7 January 1800 in Hanau, Germany – 26 February 1882 in Frankfurt am Main) was a German painter who is often regarded as the first Jewish painter of the modern era. His work was influenced by his cultural and religio ...

Image:Mendelssohn Bartholdy.jpg, Felix Mendelssohn, 1829, by James Warren Childe Image:Rebecka Mendelssohn - Zeichnung von Wilhelm Hensel 1823.jpg, Rebecka Mendelssohn, 1823, by Wilhelm Hensel

Notes

References

* ''This article was initially translated from the German Wikipedia.''

External links

Guide to the Mendelssohn Family Papers
at the

Leo Baeck Institute, New York The Leo Baeck Institute New York (LBI) is a research institute in New York City dedicated to the study of German-Jewish history and culture, founded in 1955. It is one of three independent research centers founded by a group of German-speaking J ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendelssohn Family Business families Jewish-German families