ABSTRACT

The Rothschilds have a distinguished reputation in the establishment of medical facilities for the needy, particularly in building clinics and hospitals in Jerusalem, Frankfurt, Vienna, London, Berck-sur-Mer, and Paris.2 James Mayer, Adolphe, and Henri make up the trinity of great Rothschild medical providers in Paris. On 26 May 1852, a colorful and newsworthy event took place in the somber rue de Picpus (now in the 12th arrondissement), in the east of Paris; the event attracted a crowd of upper crust Parisians who would not usually be found in that part of the city. Among the powerful males present were the minister of public works, the prefect of the Seine, members of the Paris municipal council, the mayor of the 8th arrondissement – before 1860 it included the Picpus quarter – and distinguished representatives of French Jewry. A publication devoted to the critical discussion of important institutions for the poor, the Annales de la charité, devoted a full article to the occasion.3 The festive and also solemnly religious occasion was the opening of another Parisian hospital, but not just any hospital: it was a private hospital, odd enough in Paris, and, even more odd, a Jewish hospital. The founder was James Mayer de Rothschild, a baron after 1822, thanks to his support for Metternich, and often referred to as “le grand baron.”