Philippson family home

Alfred Philippson (1864 - 1953) was the youngest son of the rabbi and writer Ludwig Philippson and his second wife Mathilde. Ludwig Philippson (1811- 1889) moved to Bonn when he retired on May 1, 1862. His early retirement at the age of 51 was due to a congenital disease that led to almost complete blindness. His final resting place is in the Jewish cemetery in Bonn-Castell, on the corner of Römerstra<e and Augustus-Ring.

Alfred began his career as a professor of geography at the University of Bonn. After teaching at the universities of Bern and then Halle-Wittenberg, his path led him back to Bonn, where he took up linguistics as an equal area of geography and made the Bonn Institute the top address in Germany.

With the support of his Swedish friend Sven Hedin, he survived Theresienstadt with his wife and daughter Dora.

At the age of 81, he returned to Bonn and resumed teaching at the University of Bonn.