Immigrant, Enlightenment philosopher, and self-made intellectual: in his time, Moses Mendelssohn was already a European celebrity and he remains a central figure in German Judaism to this day.
The exhibition told of Mendelssohn’s life in Berlin and showed him as a figure who integrated polarizing forces in the midst of historical upheaval and awakening.
With his Christian and Jewish friends, Moses Mendelssohn discussed philosophical and political questions. As an author he challenged his audience to think critically. As an observant Jew, he linked tradition with Enlightenment ideas, and championed secular education and civil equality for his “Jewish nation.” His translation of the Torah made religious knowledge accessible to all.
The exhibition presented the era of the Enlightenment as a laboratory for radical change, in which human rights, freedom of opinion, and the diversity of individual ways of life were articulated and demanded. With his arguments for the emancipation of Jews, rights for minorities, and the separation of religion and the state, Mendelssohn opened paths into modernity—and provoked questions about Jewish identity that persist to this day.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Federal President of Germany, spoke at the opening festivities.

Johann Christoph Frisch, Portrait of Moses Mendelssohn, Berlin 1783; Jewish Museum Berlin, accession 2013/355/0, photo: Roman März. Further information on this painting can be found in our online collections (in German).

Johann Christoph Frisch, Portrait of Moses Mendelssohn, Berlin 1783; Jewish Museum Berlin, accession 2013/355/0, photo: Roman März. Further information on this painting can be found in our online collections (in German).
Accomanying Program
Moderated by Frederek Musall and with a rotating cast of panelists, the Mendelssohn Discourses took Moses Mendelssohn’s writings as a point of departure for discussions of contemporary issues and debates. Each of the discussion events was devoted to a thematic area: Enlightenment: Fake News, Sentimentality, Reason; Power: Tradition, State, Religion; Media Revolution: The Public Sphere, Celebrity, and the Proliferation of Imagery.
An exhibition of the Jewish Museum Berlin in cooperation with the Mendelssohn Society, Berlin.
With the support of

Exhibition Information at a Glance
- When14 Apr to 11 Sep 2022
- WhereOld Building, level 1
Lindenstraße 9-14, 10969 Berlin
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Events accompanying the exhibition: “We dreamed of nothing but Enlightenment” – Moses Mendelssohn (12)