The Mendelssohn-Remise, which documents Jewish life in Berlin and the music of musician Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, may soon go down
Jewish members of the Mendelssohn family made significant contributions to the intellectual, financial, and cultural life of Germany beginning in the 18th century. They were also musicians and financiers.
But when the Nazis took over Germany in 1933, the family’s golden age came to a sudden end. A building in the heart of Berlin that previously belonged to the Mendelssohn family now serves as a memorial to their dramatic past.
Located on a side street off Berlin’s Gendarmenmarkt Square, the Mendelssohn-Remise served as a carriage house before becoming a part of a bank. A privately managed museum now occupies this historic property; it hosts events such as readings, concerts, tours, and talks.
Between a bank and a performance hall
This museum, however, will only be able to rest easy until 2024 comes to a close. Rent has gone up significantly, and the museum is under pressure from the building’s owner, a hedge fund, to negotiate a contract that allows for early termination. Thomas Lackmann, director of the Mendelssohn-Remise, said DW that the museum would be unable to operate under current circumstances.
Private contributions and membership fees have primarily supported this treasure trove of Jewish German history and culture for the last 20 years via the Mendelssohn Society. The group, which has been in operation since 1967, is in charge of the museum and all of the events held there.
“If there is no forthcoming institutional support that can help compensate for our structural budget deficit, this memorial site will become an on-call history workshop,” Lackmann stated, emphasizing the situation. The rent for the building is going up 25% to around €80,000 ($86,000) per year.
“The 12-month notice period will mean we can no longer undertake sensible museum work,” he added. He went on to say that the three-year notice period that was being considered was also out of the question since it would incur an extra €28,000 termination cost.
It would “harm the culture of remembrance” to close Mendelssohn-Remise
If the Mendelssohn-Remise were to lock its doors at the end of this year, a world-class chamber music concert series would also come to a stop with the yearly “The Last Rose of Summer” festival, which takes place in mid-August.
Internationally renowned artists including violist Judith Ingolfsson and pianist Vladimir Stoupel will be performing this year, as well as a piano quartet by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s sister Fanny Hensel.
Although Hensel wrote over four hundred and fifty pieces throughout her lifetime, her brother was much more well-known. In the picturesque courtyard of the Mendelssohn-Remise, which has a fountain and seating, guests are greeted by busts of the two siblings, who were born in Hamburg.
While Felix was the Gewandhaus Kapellmeister (conductor) in Leipzig, the two composers spent most of their creative time in Berlin.
Museums dedicated to Mendelssohn may be found in Leipzig and Hamburg. Lackmann said, “But soon, Berlin won’t have one.” He went on to say that such a situation “would damage the culture of remembrance.“
Overcoming animosity and constructing bridges across faiths are the meanings of the name Moses Mendelssohn. Moses Mendelssohn was an influential figure in the 18th-century Enlightenment because of his work as a philosopher and polymath.
Lackmann is anxious to bring this tradition’s significance to light, describing it as “a legacy of tolerance, but also of civic responsibility.”
According to Lackmann, a journalist and novelist, the abundance of interesting anecdotes from the vast Mendelssohn family shows how one may be involved with society. In his view, it is the responsibility of the state to safeguard the legacy of the Mendelssohn school of thought.
Claudia Roth is Germany’s commissioner for culture and the media, or BKM, and DW went to her office to get an update on the issue. A representative said: “Institutional funding from the BKM budget is not possible, but the society could, in principle, apply for funding from the Capital Cultural Fund.”
Lackmann is of the opinion that that organization can only provide short-term aid to the Mendelssohn-Remise because to its focus on project financing.
No one from Roth’s office was willing to weigh in on the Mendelssohn-Remise’s impact on Berlin’s intellectual and cultural life or the question of whether the city could afford to part with this historic landmark, which has deep ties to the Mendelssohn family. The federal government was not held accountable in any instance, according to the agency.
The preservation of the Mendelssohn-Remise as a site for meetings, events, and exhibitions is a major issue for us,” a spokesperson told DW in response to DW’s question to Joe Chialo, Berlin’s senator for culture and social cohesion. With its 2004 inauguration, the Mendelssohn-Remise has grown into a site of exceptional political and artistic significance.
In a letter sent to the building’s owner, Chialo has asked that the Mendelssohn Society’s leasing agreement be extended under the same conditions as before.
“In addition, we are currently making inquiries to determine whether the state of Berlin can support events at the Remise.”
The Mendelssohn House was formerly Nazi-era and had the swastika painted on the entryway.The end ofPhoto credit: Mendelssohn-Gesellschaft
Seek financial support
The likelihood of rescue seemed to be decreasing daily, and Chialo’s office said that it could not guarantee long-term financial assistance. Now that they’ve exhausted all other options, Lackmann and his volunteer team are appealing to the public for private contributions.
American opera house sponsors who had previously been in Berlin for their own event at the Mendelssohn-Remise sent a cheque to the Mendelssohn-Remise not long ago. “I think people on the outside have a much more sensitive and enthusiastic view; they can see how special this place is,” he remarked.
Lackmann can only hold out hope that the whole building complex is purchased by someone very rich. With a dash of idealism, of course, but also as an investment in the grand legacy of the Enlightenment.
