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From the mid 18th century on, three successive generations of the Mendelssohn family, had a critical impact on Berlin and greatly influenced European thought. Moses Mendelssohn ( 1729-1786), was a religious Jew and a hunchback. He was the author of "The Phaedon" and one of the most prominent philosophers of his day. In Jewish history he is regarded as the father of Emancipation. So thoroughly did Moses Mendelssohn emancipate the Jews that his own descendants renounced their religion and converted. His daughter, Brendel Mendelssohn(1764-1839), changed her name to Dorothea Von Schlegel. At the forefront of women's liberation of her day. Dorothea ran a salon and authored a book about a cross-dressing woman. Felix Mendelssohn (1807-1847), grandson of Moses, was the dominant composer of his time. His most famous work was "The Wedding March".His sister, Fanny(1805-1847), was also a composer whose life's work is only now being rediscovered. an accomplished pianist, she performed her music with the French painter, Ingres. In 1769 King Frederick of Prussia passed a discriminatory ruling which forced Jews to buy porcelain from his struggling Berlin factory bofore receiving benefits of any kind. This porcelain, the low quality and overpriced remainders of his Royal Porcelain Manufacturer(KPM) became known as " Judenporcelan". Thus Moses Mendelssohn involuntarily became the owner of twenty porcelain monkeys. |
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