Pictured: The Mosse Palais, circa 1915, was destroyed by Allied Forces after the Nazi Party confiscated it.
Prominent Berlin publishers, philanthropists and art collectors, the Mosse family became the targets of Nazi anti-Semitism when their flagship newspaper was critical of Adolf Hitler.
They were forced to flee Germany in 1933, leaving behind The Mosse Palais, their family residence in the heart of Berlin’s cultural district, as well as their extensive art collection. Both were confiscated by the Nazi Party. An Allied air raid destroyed the family home in 1945, and eventually the Berlin Wall ran through its ruins.
When local architect and Mosse family member Hans Strauch returned to the site of The Mosse Palais after the fall of the Berlin Wall, there was nothing left of the once majestic structure. But not for long. As the founder and president of HDS Architecture in Cambridge, Strauch was given the remarkable opportunity to design the reincarnation of the former residence in 1996.
“This was perhaps one of the greatest challenges I have ever experienced as an architect: To design a new building that would help resurrect the name of an important German Jewish family and its rightful place in history,” recalls Strauch.
On Thursday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. at Lesley University’s Washburn Auditorium, Strauch will speak about his efforts to rebuild The Mosse Palais and rekindle the family’s legacy of art and philanthropy.
This free event is part of the Strauch-Mosse Visiting Artist Lecture Series. Washburn Auditorium is located at 10 Phillips Place, Cambridge. Find more information and RSVP here.
Rebuilding a legacy of education and service
Strauch is a descendent of Rudolf Mosse, creator of a major publishing and advertising enterprise in Germany whose flagship newspaper, the liberal Berliner Tageblatt, was an outspoken critic of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialists. The Mosse family became a symbol of the hated “Jewish press” and was forced to flee the country in 1933.
Hans Strauch’s aunt, child psychiatrist Dr. Hilde L. Mosse, settled in New York after fleeing Germany and dedicated the rest of her life to improving mental health for marginalized children. She established The Mosse Foundation with a modest amount of funds prior to her death in 1982. After the opening of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Hilde’s brother, renowned historian George Mosse, connected nephews Hans and Roger Strauch to the family’s past. This sparked the effort to restore the iconic Berlin address, Leipziger Platz 15, and later to launch The Mosse Art Restitution Project, one of the largest post-Nazi stolen art investigation and restitution efforts in Germany.
“The Mosse Foundation grew in its value as a result of successful restitution claims after the Berlin Wall came down in 1989,” Strauch recalls. “It became clear we had an opportunity to make an impact.” Strauch, along with his brother, Roger, is co-president of the foundation.
In the 1990s, Hans Strauch designed and oversaw the reconstruction of the Mosse Palais, one of the first buildings to open in the post-Cold War demilitarized zone in Berlin. Its first tenants included the European headquarters of the American Jewish Committee.
In 2004, Strauch joined the Lesley University Board of Trustees, and in 2009 he led the establishment of the Strauch-Mosse Endowed Fund for Visiting Artists through a $1 million gift that has brought a wide array of influential artists and social activists to campus. He also endowed a merit-based scholarship program for master of fine arts students.
“Lesley is unique in that its mission reaches far beyond its own student body to engage neighboring communities, schools, and organizations,” says Strauch. “We’re proud to play a role in furthering students’ education through exposure to influential visiting artists, and by extending this exciting cultural offering to the general public.”
Strauch-Mosse Visiting Artists
In the past decade, the Strauch-Mosse Visiting Artist Lecture Series has welcomed a wide array of visionaries and artists to Lesley, including famed choreographer Twyla Tharp, human rights photographer Sebastiao Salgado, “Arthur” creator Marc Brown, jazz musician Hugh Masekela, Nobel prize winning poet and playwright Derek Wolcott, Broadway and “Hamilton” star Christopher Jackson, and Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead, author of “The Underground Railroad.”
