Mendelssohn on the Hudson

Mendelssohn on the Hudson


Episode 4: Lillian (Opus 85, No. 6)

September 30, 2021

Northwest corner of 185th St. at 551 Fort Washington Avenue



We are outside the current home of the Hebrew Tabernacle of Washington Heights congregation. It owns a copy of the Gedenkbuch, the Book of Remembrance, which memorializes the 150,000 Jews lost within German borders between 1933 and 1945. For the religious, synagogues remained an important part of their lives here.

Lillian, a member of this congregation, tells a story illustrating the close calls that made the difference between emigrating and not being able to leave Europe at all.