Skip to main content

VIRTUAL EXHIBITION: Business of Emancipation

The German-Jewish struggle for legal equality and economic prosperity

Business of Emancipation map
Imperium Romano Germanicum, 1727; Courtesy of David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.
VIRTUAL EXHIBITION: Business of EmancipationVIRTUAL EXHIBITION: Business of EmancipationVIRTUAL EXHIBITION: Business of EmancipationVIRTUAL EXHIBITION: Business of EmancipationVIRTUAL EXHIBITION: Business of EmancipationVIRTUAL EXHIBITION: Business of EmancipationVIRTUAL EXHIBITION: Business of EmancipationVIRTUAL EXHIBITION: Business of EmancipationVIRTUAL EXHIBITION: Business of EmancipationVIRTUAL EXHIBITION: Business of EmancipationVIRTUAL EXHIBITION: Business of Emancipation
Baron Adolph Karl von Rothschild Portrait (79.521)
An elegant portrait of Baron Adolph Karl von Rothschild painted by Moritz Daniel Oppenheim, who served as the official Rothschild family portraitist in the 19th century. Leo Baeck Institute, 79.521. Leo Baeck Institute, 79.521.
Frankenthal letterhead
Letterhead of the company, Frankenthal, 1925. Courtesy of Werner Schäfer.
Landauer Factory
Landauer factory before the takeover. Leo Baeck Institute, Landauer Family Collection, AR 207, Box 1, folder 2.

Visit Business of Emancipation here.

The goal of Business of Emancipation, prepared by the Leo Baeck Institute New York | Berlin is to tell a complex story about the economic integration of Jews into German society and its impact on their families, professions, and the wider community. Because civil rights are intimately bound up with economic rights, the story of Jewish emancipation is also the story of the economic liberties afforded to Jews. The emancipation of German Jewry was not instantaneous, nor was it irreversible; rather Jews gained rights and, sometimes, lost them again throughout the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. By exploring the commercial activity of Jews during this period through a few well-chosen examples, the exhibition will underscore the importance of the relationship between political freedom and economic liberty in a way that is historically accurate and currently relevant.

As important as it is to tell the story of the fate of German Jews beginning in 1933, it is equally important to preserve German-Jewish history before 1933. From the tremendous accomplishments of German Jews in the face of legal adversity to their remarkable contributions as they gained the rights of citizenship, the business of German-Jewish emancipation offers a unique perspective on the importance of integrating minorities into industrialized societies. Examining the relationship between political rights, economic opportunities, social discrimination, and commercial success and failure offer important lessons for today.