Hirsch family documents

Identifier
WL1120
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 70240
Dates
1 Jan 1934 - 31 Jan 1957
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Biographical History

Adolph Hirsch died in 1935.

According to the later correspondence (1120/11-13) the Hirsch family was an old established Jewish family emanating from Denmark. Jonni Hirsch's grandfather, Wolf Hirsch, was president of the local Jewish community and instrumental in the building of a Kiel synagogue.

It is not known what happened to Jonni Hirsch after 1938. In a letter dated 22 January 1957, he writes from his home in Kiel and, amongst other things, mentions the fact that his earlier home in Fischerstr. was bombed during the war.

Whether he spent the entire period between 1938 and 1957 in Kiel is not known. Nor is the fate of other family members known.
The relationship between the depositor and Jonni Hirsch is not known.

Acquisition

Donated October 1993

Donor: George Clare

Scope and Content

The papers in this collection document aspects of the life of Jonni Hirsch a Jewish Mischling, from Kiel, Schleswig-Hollstein, and of certain members on the Jewish side of his family. The papers are evidence of the way in which the lives of Jews in a German city became ever more difficult as a consequence of growing antisemitism. This is demonstrated in subtle ways by, for example, the copies of Abraham Hirsch's 19th century war record c1935 (-/4); the letters from shops and cafes requesting Jonni Hirsch not to frequent them because the customers do not like it (-/5, -/7, -/15); and the permit to leave the concentration camp Sachsenhausen (-/8)- he was imprisoned on 12 November 1938, 2 days after Kristallnacht, and described as a Jew. A certificate issued by the chief of police, Kiel, 1 December 1938, describes Jonni Hirsch as Mischling I Grades, and therefore not Jewish according to German law (-/9).

There are a couple of oblique references to Hirsch family businesses. According to an anonymous, undated typescript note (-/14), an unidentified Hirsch family member owned a Saftladen (a kiosk selling juice ?), which was threatened with closure by 2 SS men in March 1933. A letter from the Kieler neueste Nachrichten (-/10) dated 12 December 1938 addressed to Firma Adolph Hirsch regrets (without qualification) that they can no longer display adverts for the firm. No mention is made of the nature or extent of the business.

System of Arrangement

The papers have been arranged chronologically.

Conditions Governing Access

Open

People

Subjects

Places

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.