Here's an image of the old Berlin wall, with Rosenthaler Tor front and center (under the "H"). The map looks south, toward Alexanderplatz and Museum Island. The triangle or trig-compass shape at the right is formed by Auguststrasse and Oranienburgerstrasse. The circle marks the site of future courtyards near Hackescher Markt; the image comes from a little book about one of them.
Moses Mendelssohn would have entered Berlin from this direction. Mendelssohn blended strains of Jewish thought with liberal Enlightenment philosophy, paving the way for future writers like I.B. Singer and (sorry!) Saul Bellow.
posted by Michael Scott Moore |
3:13 PM
