Reich, Markus

Hearing. An ethnic German Jew; native of Kolin, Bohemia; went to Germany in 1865 to study deaf education, first at the Jewish Teachers Training College in Berlin and then at the Royal Institution for the Deaf in Berlin (1870-1871). Noticing that Jewish deaf children were often denied admission to the Royal Institution, he decided to establish a Jewish institution for deaf children. In 1873, he founded the Israelitsche Taubstummenanstalt fur Deutschland (Israelite Institution for the Deaf of Germany). Over time, this little school grew, moved to Berlin, and became one of the world's best schools for the deaf. Markus Reich was succeeded as head of the school by his son, Felix Reich (q.v.).