Israelitische Krankenhaus/ Jewish hospital © Wilhelm Mosel, Deutsch-jüdische Gesellschaft Hamburg. Former Israelitische Krankenhaus/Jewish hospital at No. 2 Simon-von-Utrecht-Straße Former Israelitische Krankenhaus/Jewish hospital in the former Marienstraße, later Eckernförderstraße. Former Jewish Hospital, today Local Government Offices for Central Hamburg. Central Section of the Building with the former Synagogue. Memorial Plaque on the outside front of the building. The hospital was founded by Salomon Heine (1767-1844) in memory of his wife Betty and built in 1839 by the architect J.H. Klees-Wülbern. It was a large hospital for its time, even for Hamburg. Jews could, with their own hospital, observe their religious laws even in illness and death. The two-storey building, influenced by both the renaissance and romantic styles of architecture, with its facade of round-arched and middle risalit windows, remains today, in a restored state. The entrance is from the rear at No. 4a. The former synagogue is situated on the first floor above to the attic, with its circular windows, in the central part of the building. It is the only remaining 19th century synagogue in Hamburg and today serves as a memorial, and function hall. The significance of this room is indicated from the outside by its lavishly fashioned windows with pilasters and round arches. The synagogue was furnished according to orthodox ritual. Women sat in a narrow gallery in the attic when taking part in services. The Renovated Former Synogogue Today View of the circular windows Functioning as a meeting room View of the Rear of the Building The following inscription was situated on a pediment on the outside of the synagogue: Krankenhaus der Deutsch-Israelitischen Gemeinde. Der sel. Frau Betty Heine zum Andenken erbaut von ihrem Gatten. Hamburg Anno 1841. Memorial Plaque on the outside rear of the building. The furnishings were destroyed after the compulsory handing over of the building to the City of Hamburg in 1939. Today the main building houses Social Service Departments. The former Isolation Pavilion today houses a multicultural meeting centre. The former Old Surgery Deparment, directly opposite the rear of the building, today houses an Aids Hospice. Aids Hospice. The former New Surgical Department is today a block of flats. The former hospital of the Wandsbek community situated at No. 52 Bei den Hütten on the embankment opposite the end of the former No. 3 Peterstraße had been inadequate for years. The overriding problem was how to raise the necessary funds for a new hospital. An extraordinary meeting of the Jewish Community was held on 10.11.1939. On this evening the wealthy banker Salomon Heine made his generous donation of 80,000 Mark. He made three conditions: 1. The hospital was to be named after his wife Betty. 2. The existing money from an earlier collection was also to be employed. 3. A commemorative plaque carrying his name was to be errected in the synagogue. The offer was approved and the conditions accepted. On the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone on 10.06.1841 Salomon Heine's nephew Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) wrote this famous poem: The New Israelite Hospital in Hamburg. A hospital for sick and needy Jews, For those poor mortals who are trebly wretched, With three great evil maladies afflicted: With poverty and pain and Jewishness. The worst of these three evils is the last one, The thousand-year-old family affliction, The plague they carried from the grim Nile valley, The old Egyptian faith so long unhealthful. Incurable deep-seated hurt! No treatment By vapour bath or douche can help to heal it, No surgery, nor all the medications, This hospital can offer to its patients. Will Time, eternal goddess, some day end it, Root out this black misfortune that the fathers Hand down to sons? And some day will the grandsons Be healed and whole, and rational and happy? I do not know! But meanwhile let us honour The heart that sought so lovingly and wisely To soften the afflictions one can soften, By pouring timely balm upon the lesions. The worthy man! He builded here a refuge For sufferings the doctors' arts could physic - Or death's could cure, as well! - providing For beds, refreshments, care, and tender nursing. A man of deeds, he did what could be done; A day's wage for good works this man devoted In his life's evening, out of love of mankind, To find relief from toil in benefaction. He gave with open hand - but gifts still richer Rolled from his eyes at times, the precious teardrops, The lovely teardrops that he wept lamenting The great incurable malady of his brothers.                                         Heinrich Heine, 1841       Translated by Hal Draper. 100 years later Chief Rabbi Dr. Joseph Carlebach replied with another poem. (see below). In 1840, a year prior to the laying of the foundation stone, the City of Hamburg had made the site available. The Jewish Community had merely to pay an annual fee of 2 Mark. Over 500 quests were invited to the opening ceremony. The interest in the hospital was so great that it was necessary to open the building to public viewing for several weeks. A large garden behind the building provided patients with peaceful convalescence; in addition there was space for vegetables and two milkcows. The large 8 bed wards, the small 4 bed wards, and the private rooms all had a toilet. The 80 bed hospital served for the reception, catering for, and medical care of Jewish patients of all ages and of both sexes. The poor and those without means were given priority of admission. Paying patients and non-Jews were admitted when beds were available. In 1865 the Jewish Community were once again the benefactors of Heine family benevolence: Salomon Heine's son Carl Heine (1810-1865) donated more than 400,00 Mark to secure the financial independence of the hospital. Like his father, Carl Heine made no stipulation regarding religion. This was also the case with his will, in which he once again remembered the hospital, and numerous Jewish institutions, but also left large amounts of money to christian institutions. The City of Hamburg received a generous 200,000 Mark. (The Museum of Art). After the death of Carl Heine the city named the street that runs from St. Pauli to the Israelitische Krankenhaus/Israelite Hospital Heine-Straße in recognition of the exceptional philanthropy of two generations of the Heine family. Today the street is renamed Hamburger Berg. Until 1880 two doctors and numerous nursing staff cared for the patients. Dr. Alsberg was engaged as houseman in this year, and later became the successor to Dr. Leisrinck as senior consultant for surgery. Later he became the highly regarded head of the medical department. In 1880 an outpatients' department, the first in Hamburg, was opened in the main building. It was the initiative of Dr. Leisrinck and had departments for eye diseases, venereal disease, skin diseases, and diseases of the eyes, nose and throat. It was not long before the premises proved to be too small. Four doctors i.e. Deutschmann, Michael, Unna and Dehn offered to build, maintain and run a new outpatients' department. This was opened in 1891, enlarged in 1900 and the medical treatment extended. Towards the end of the century the generosity of the Heine family was experienced once again. Cécile Heine, Carl Heine's widow, donated 50,000 Mark for numerous improvements to be made to the hospital, and additionally left 20,000 Mark to the hospital in her 1896 will. Hardly had the century begun when discussions began regarding a further enlargement. The generosity of the four Lewisohn brothers: Leonard, Adolph, Philip and Albert, at this time having left Hamburg for New York, made the changes possible. In 1901 they donated 130,000 Mark for the building of villas and medical instruments. In 1906 a nurses' home was built with the 90,000 Mark donated by the firm M.M. Warburg & Co.. the last enlargement took place between 1928-1931. The main building was enlarged to house a surgical department with financial assistance from the City of Hamburg. The main building was renovated with generous financial support from the Warburg family. Following the Nazi rise to power in 1933 the hospital suffered from financial difficulties, the decline in the number of patients, personnel problems, and the problem of religious care. The financial situation became critical due to the government loans of over 1 million RM made to finance the extension. The interest on the loan and repayment could not be met in the face of the decline in patients, private patients in particular. Medical insurance companies neither payed for non-Jewish patients in Jewish hospitals nor for Jewish patients in any hospital. The number of Jewish patients decreased rapidly. Already in 1933 the Israelite Hospital was no longer allowed to run the nursing school. The senior consultant for internal medicine Professor Dr. Rosenthal was robbed of his title as professor. Also several Jewish doctors were deprived of their appointments. In the late 1930s the hospital personnel began to diminish. Doctors sought to save themselves and their families by "emigrating" to Palestine, England, the USA, etc. By 1937 the fate of the Israelite Hospital was sealed. The administration made every attempt to keep the hospital running. Fritz Warburg, the committee chairman, informed the Jewish Community of the critical financial situation of the hospital. The City of Hamburg was not prepared to reduce or delay the annual payments. The Community subsidized the hospital until 1939 with approximately 200,000 Mark. This amount however did not adequately cover the financial burden. As a result of the decline in the number of non-Jewish patients, and the general decline in the Hamburg Jewish population, mainly through forced emigration, the hospital became too large. In September 1939 the financial difficulty with the City of Hamburg was settled, to the benefit of the city, in the following way: The Jewish Community signed over the assets, the building and the property to the city financial department. In return the city waived the unpaid debts. When required the building was to serve as a hospital. This became necessary after the war. The closing of the hospital in 1935 necessitated the relocation of the patients. There was an unsuccessful attempt to allocate them in wards separate from "German" patients in state hospitals; for example the Universitätskrankenhaus Eppendorf/Hamburg University Teaching Hospital refused "in the interest of a strict separation of Jewish and "Aryan" patients." No. 68 Johnsallee. No. 54 Johnsallee (Rebuilt) Patients and personnel were initially moved to the private clinic of Dr. Adolf Calmamm, known as the Calmannsche Frauenklink, at No. 68 Johnsallee, on the corner with Schlüterstraße, later being transferred to No. 54 Johnsallee, the Siloah-Diakonissehaus, (later destroyed by bombing) before the remaining 47 patients, 4 nurses and 4 other hospital personnel were, in 1942, moved to No. 29 Schäferkampsallee its former inmates having been deported to Theresienstadt. The Hospital Complex in 1930 A 1841 Israelite Hospital B 1853/9 Mortuary C 1891 Outpatients' Department D 1899 "Administrators' Residence" E 1902 Isolation Department F 1902 Old Surgery Department G 1906/15 Nurses' Home H 1930 New Surgery Department During the war the army used the former Israelite Hospital as an orthodontic clinic and reserve army hospital. In August 1939 Chief Rabbi Dr. Joseph Carlebach held the last service in the hospital synagogue celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the hospital. In 1941 a modest commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone took place. Dr. Joseph Carlebach wrote the following poem in celebration of the occasion: Dem Jüdischen Krankenhaus zur Hundertjahrfeier am 10. Juni 1941. Fully a century has passed by Vergangen sind nun volle hundert Jahre, Since a noble man created this hospital Seitdem dies Hospital ein Edler schuf For human beings thrice wretched Für Menschenkinder, welche dreifach elend Through poverty, physical pain and Jewishness. Durch Armut, Körperschmerz und Judentum.     The undertaking has known many a change, Wohl manche Wandlung hat das Werk erfahren; It rose to greatness and splendour Zu Glanz und Größe ist's emporgestiegen, And then smaller with the changing times Und wieder kleiner ward's im Zeitenwandel, Almost modest on its centenary. Fast ärmlich schlicht am Tag des Säculums.     Lunisolar, one thing remained unchanged: Doch eins in ihm blieb gleich im Mondenwechsel: The loving care of noble humanity, Die schöne Menschlichkeit liebreicher Pflege, The lofty skill of dedicated doctors Die hohe Kunst selbstloser großer Ärzte The selfless devotion of its nurses. Und seiner Schwestern selbstvergess'ne Treue.     From it issued a stream of blessing Ein Segensstrom hat sich aus ihm ergossen, Renewing vigour, allying pain. Hat krafterneuernd, schmerzenstillend Vielen The firm hand of creative compassion Mit starker Hand einfühlend tät'gen Mitleids Dispelled death, reawakened life. Den Tod gescheucht und Leben neu geweckt.     In this it fulfilled its defined goal. Darin erfüll' es seine Zeilbestimmung. And surpassed it in other aspects: Im Andern aber griff's hinaus darüber: Not merely the poor and not only Jews Nicht Arme sind's allein und nicht nur Juden, Found care and balm within its walls. Die Pflege sich und Balsam hier geholt.     Behold, all sought healing and shelter Sieh': alle, alle suchten Heil und Obdach In its serene, clean and sunny halls; In seinen stillen, saub'ren, sonn'gen Sälen; There was no distinction between rich and poor, Verschwunden war von Arm und Reich die Trennung, And religious segregation was forgotten. Der Religionen Scheidewand vergessen.     Yet particularly Jews seek recovery here Doch die als Juden hier Genesung suchen, Who especially today, from near and far Die heut' besonders, so von fern wie nah, As ill Jews, may only stay here. Nur hier als kranke Juden weilen dürfen, Is it true, is being a Jew an affliction? Ist's wahr, gilt ihnen Judesein als Elend?     Is this faith truly a millennial affliction, Ist's wirklich tausendjähriges Gebrechen, An Egyptian plague, dragged through the ages Ägypt'sche Plage und verschleppter Glaube, As a poet at the time of its dedication scoffed Wie Dichtermund im Weihspruch einst gespöttelt In agonized embitterment against the world? Aus trag'scher Weltverbitt'rung Höllenqualen?     We know better, we who know this world Wir wissen's besser, die wir seine Welt With its sweetness and poisons. In ihrer Süße, ihren Giften kennen, The contrary: It was our faith that made us happy Nein, unser Glaube g'rad war der Beglücker, That makes us strong enough to overcome the world. Der weltenüberwindend stark uns macht.     This festivity also, when Jewish love of fellow men Auch dieses Fest, da jüdische Menschenliebe Marks its hundred-year old triumph, Den hundertjährigen Triumph begeht, Strengthens in us the proud avowal of faith: Bestärkt in uns das stolze Treubekenntnis, To be a Jew is the ultimate, greatest happiness. Ein Jude sein ist letztes, höchstes Glück! Chief Rabbi Dr Joseph Carlebach, Hamburg The Architect J.H. Klees-Wülbern's Building Plan. D Attic C Second Floor B First Floor A Basement A 1. Basement: The covered rear garden entrance 2.3, leads to the stairs 1.1 to the basement. The first of two vaulted rooms 1.2 and 1.3 contained crockery and food for daily use in the kitchen, the other stocked the fuel supply for the kitchen range 1.12.1. (1904, 1.2 was used as a kitchen for dairy produce). Room 4.1 was used by service personnel. Two adjoining vaulted rooms 1.5 and 1.6 were originally intended for the storage of food. Room 1.6 was used to store peat. The two rooms 1.7 and 1.8 were accessed by separate outside strairways 1.9. They housed the dead prior to burial. As the customary watching over the body, its washing and ritual preparation was not done by hospital personnel, and not in the wards, this necessitated a separate entrance. A further room with an outside entrance housed the laundry 1.10 and mangle room, completely separated from the rest of the basement. To prevent steam reaching the mainbuilding the ceiling was covered with asphalt. The laundry was not in an entirely separate building as the warm water heating originated from the steam-boiler in the main kitchen 1.12. The laundry stove was used in winter to dry the clothes in the attic. 1.12 Kitchen The hospital and kitchen were run strictly according to Mosaic Law. The kitchen contained a pressure cooker. The stove was built in accordance with Jewish dietary laws. A room 1.13 leading off the kitchen was used to wash up the cooking implements. Room 1.14 was a pantry. 1.17 Water Supply and Sewage Sytem Adjacent to the two water tanks 1.17.1 suction and pressure pumps brought water from the local water supply through the pipes 1.17 to the storage tanks on each floor. When all tanks were full the water rose to "reservoir" 4.3 in the attic. The sewage pipes 1.18 ran into a sewer and from there into the river Elbe. B 2. Ground Floor 2.1 and 2.3 Entrances A wall with railings fronted the building. The main entrance 2.1 was lit at night by two large side lanterns. From here one entered the vestibule 2.2. The rear covered entrance 2.3 allowed patients to be taken to reception 2.4 protected from the weather. 2.4Reception The recption 2.4 was adjacent to the room where the porter lived. He had a view of the entrance and controlled entry and exit, and between 06.00 and 22.00 hrs greeted patients and delivered them to the administration. 2.5 Doctors' Day Room To the right and left of the vestibule were administration rooms. Room 2.5 was used as a day room by doctors. 2.6 Conference Room Adjacent was the council conference room, with richly framed pictures of Salomon Heine and his wife Betty on the wall. 2.7 Doctors' Residence The adjacent two interconnected rooms were residence for a houseman or surgeon. 2.8 Administrators' Residence Left of the entrance. The administration had the duty to see that the hospital management and regulations were run in accordance with Jewish religious law. 2.9 Laundry Room This contained an built-in cupboard 2.91 stocking bed linen, bed clothes, etc. 2.10 Bathrooms The bathrooms were situated on the ground and first floors containing two copper baths 2.10.1. 2.11 Wards These airy, well lit rooms contained eight beds. The nursing staff were responsible for the heating stove 2.11.1. The fuel came from the basement. South facing rooms had linen blinds 2.11.2. On each side of the door to the wards were small chambers. one containing personal belongings not permitted in the ward, the other the "self-acting-water-closet" 2.11.3. Small circular windows permitted ventilation and illumination 2.11.4. A washbasin with tap was situated in the centre of the ward, on the chimney wall, for the ceremonial washing of the hands throughout the day. 2.12 Dressing Kitchens The stove 2.12.1 was used to sterilize the dressings. Quantities of water were also prepared for room baths. 2.13 Corridors The well lit corridors extended the full length of the building. Doors closed off the ward sections on each wing of the cooridor. Visitors passes, set visiting hours, and the ban on commercial activity regulated the wards. There were ""self-acting-water-closet" on both sides of the stairs 2.13.2. On both ground and first floors, towards the end of the corridors opposite the stairs, in the wings, were semi-circular alcoves 2.13.3 containing washbasins for normal use. 2.14 Rooms for Mentally-Ill Patients These were rooms with a single window. C 3. First Floor 3.1 Synagogue The synagogue was situated above the main entrance. It was furnished with a gold embroidered velvet curtain with the words of thanksgiving in hebrew. It covered the holy Torah scrolls. A member of the administration regulated announcement of services, the allocation of seating, and the prevention of conversation and over loud praying. DUring normal services this administrator led prayers. Only on Sabbath and religious holidays did the employed prayer leader direct services. He was entitled to lead the reading from the Torah, and to rely on the assistance of the porter as sexton. Patients had the opportunity of attending morning and evening prayers. Prior to a service the porter checked whether individuals had the necessary permit. Ambulatory assistance was offered to those required it. The hospital waved all responsibility for prayer shawls or prayer books left behind after a service. 3.2 Private Rooms Private rooms were more luxurious. Each had a wardrobe, a sofa, a washstand, and repository for utensils. 3.3 Stairs In addition to the central main stairs there were stairs in both wings 3.4. They had access to the garden. 3.5 Operating Room The OP had windows on two sides and centrally fron above 3.5.1. There was a stove with bellows, a wall hook to operate a block and tackle, and an alcove for bandages, dressings, etc. D 4. Attic The unusual form of the room right of the staiurs 4.1 was due to the light well 3.5.1 that ran from the ceiling of the OP to the roof of the attic. In the winter the drying room 4.2 received warm air to dry the hospital washing. In the second room adjacent to the stairs were the two, pressure pump filled, reservoirs 4.3 that supplied the entire building with water. Access to the room was only through room 4.4.1, containing a shaft through which peat was lowered from the attic 4.5 to the basement. All attic rooms were accessed via a narrow corridor 4.6 which included the womens' gallery in the synagogue 4.7. The small ventilation chimneys for the wards are 4.8. Chronological Table 10. November 1839 Donation of 80,000 Marks by Salomom Heine for the building of a new hospital for the German-Israelite Community in commemoration of his wife Betty. 11. December 1839 The Hamburg Senat allocated the land. 10. June 1841 Laying of the foundation stone. 7. September 1841 The handing over of the property to the Trust. 1953 Building of a Mortuary in Talstraße. 1877/71 First extensive restoration and modernization. 1. July 1880 Opening of an Outpatients' Department. 1884 Closing of the Smallpox Department. 1891 Building of a new Outpatients' Department as a pavilion left of the main hospital building. 1893 Restoration of the inside and outside of the hospital. 1897 Extension of the Mortuary (Schaar and Hinzpete, architects). 1898/99 Building of an "Administrators' Residence", right of the main hospital building. 1901/02 Building of a Medical Department, left of the Mortuary, and an Isolation Department, in a pavilion, between the Outpatients' Departmentnt and the Mortuary (Friedheim, architects). 1904 Installation of a heating system oin the main hospital building, extensions to the side wings to house sanitary facilities and waiting rooms (Friedheim, architects). 1906 Building of a Nurses' Home, to the rear of the "Administrators' Residence". 1914/15 Extention to the Nurses' Home. 1929-1931 Building of an extention, right of the Surgury Department, on todays Hein-Hoyer-Straße (Distel and Grubitz, architects). 1930 Remnovation of the Department of Internal Medicine, the resiting of the main entrance to the end of the east wing (Distel and Grubitz, architects). 1938 Last renovation of the Synagogue. 10.8.1939 Last synagogue service. Compulsory surrender of the hospital to the City of Hambvurg (Health Department). Converted to an orthodontic clinic. Destruction of the Synagogue with the insertion of dividing walls and a ceiling dividing the first floor from the attic, to establish sick rooms. The bricking up of the synagogue windows to establish a standard size. 1943 Disolving of the German-Israelite Hospital Trust. Bomb damage to the main hospital building and extension buildings. From 1947 Simplification of the pediments, bricking up of the round arches of the windows in refurbishing the main hospital building as flats and a business (fish restaurant). 9.7.1968 The Development Plan for the St. Pauli 2 District prescribed a widening of Simon-von-Utrecht-Straße necessitating the demolition of the main hospital building. 13.9.1977 The Hamburg Senat decides to build a swimming baths in the Budapester Straße previously planned to be built in the grounds of the former hospital. 1980-1982 In connectio with the discussion over the St. Pauli district development plan the continued existence of the building was secured. A suitable use for the building was sought. 1987 Beginning of the renovation of the outside of the main building by Sprinkenhof AG in collaboration with the Department for the Protection of Historic Buildings. 1.11.1988 Discussion of the Hamburg Senat regarding the restoring of the former synogogue. 1988/89 Renovation and conversion of the inside of the main building as offices in accordance with the original building as a protected buiilding (Sprinkenhof AG/ Karres, Hartinger, Dreyer, architects). 4.4.1989 The Hamburg Senat decides the building will house the Behörde für Arbeit, Gesundheit und Soziales/ Department of Employment, Health and Welfare. 15.1.1990 Renovation completed. Today (1997) the building houses the Department of Social Services and the Gabriel- Riesser-Stiftung. Future It is planned that the St. Pauli District Administration occupy the building. Literature: Mary Lindemann, 140 Jahre Israelitisches Krankenhaus. Vorgeschichte und Entwicklung. Hamburg 1981. Hal Draper, The Complete Poems of Heinrich Heine. A Modern English Version. OUP 1982. German Text: Dip.-Pol. Wilhelm Mosel. German Text: Kulturbehörde Hamburg - Denkmalschutzamt, Imstedt 20, 22083 Hamburg, Denkmalpflege Hamburg, Nr. 5/Mai 1991 - Das ehemalige Israelitische Krankenhaus.