Mendelsohn, Erich [key], 1887–1953, German architect, pioneer of expressionism. He is best known for his exuberant, sculptural design for the Einstein Tower in Potsdam (1919–21). Mendelsohn turned to more restrained forms in such later works as the Schocken Department Stores in Stuttgart (1926–27) and in Chemnitz (1928). He escaped from Nazi Germany to England in 1933 and after 1934 designed medical centers and other buildings in Haifa and Jerusalem. In 1941, Mendelsohn became a resident of the United States, where he designed several impressive synagogues in the Midwest.
See studies by A. Whittick (2d ed. 1956), W. von Eckardt (1960), and B. Zevi (1985).
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