From Mendelssohn to Einstein, from Wolfenbuettel to New York (and back)—Jewish Paths to Modernity

In November 2016, the Landesmuseum Braunschweig hosted the exhibition “From Mendelssohn to Einstein, from Wolfenbüttel to New York (and back)—Jewish Paths to Modernity.” It was based on the LBI’s 2015 exhibition on the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement and its far-reaching impact. On display were unique items from the LBI archives, including original handwritten materials by Moses Mendelssohn, Heinrich Heine, Leopold Zunz, and Albert Einstein, many of which were returning to their country of origin for the first time. The curators Cord-Friedrich Berghahn, Katrin Keßler, Alexander von Kienlin, Ulrich Knufinke und Heike Pöppelmann adapted the exhibition for Germany.

Ismar Schorsch, President Emeritus of the LBI and Chancellor Emeritus of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, spoke at the opening of the exhibition on November 16, 2016. For Schorsch, the invitation to open the event was timely; the scholar of Jewish history and leader at institutions with direct links to the Wissenschaft recently published his latest book, a biography of Leopold Zunz. (Leopold Zunz: Creativity in Adversity. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016).