On 25.12.1928 the former Deutsch-Israelitische Gemeinde (German Israelite Community) held a ceremony
to officially open the new community building at No. 54 Johnsallee. The building had been acquired
by the community in the spring of 1928. Hermann Philipp, member of the board of the community
gave the opening address. He said, among other things, that the First World War and its aftermath had
caused a complete social restructuring of many Hamburg Jews. The children required more
intensive care than had previously been the case. Young people, whose ideals had been shattered,
were looking for new values. They were struggling for a new world view. This had resulted in
amalgamations and organisations of all kinds. The community had to be the necessary centre of support
for all these organisations.
The cellar and ground floor were to accommodate the children's refrectory and day-homes. Previously,
these had been accommodated in totally inadequate rooms in the various Jewish schools. The careers
guidance was also to be accommodated here.
The second floor was to accommodate a club accessible to all Jewish youth organizations. Thanks to
the generosity of a member of the house committee it had been possible to furnish the centre
with a certain comfort. However, there were only four rooms available for the 2,000
organizations.
Finally, Hermann Philipp referred to the rooms that were to serve the cultural life of the community.
He greeted Professor Dr. Isaak Markon, who had undertaken to establish a library and education
system.
Prior to the building becoming the community building of the Deutsch-Israelitische Gemeinde (German Israelite Community), No. 54 Johnsallee had accommodated the Krüß-Farbersches Konservatorium (Music Conservatory). The building had been recently converted for this purpose.
Groundfloor. First Floor Second Floor. (1913)
The house committee was specifically formed to be responsible for the community building. In the
meantime it was called "Kommission", and in 1930 became known as Gemeindehausausschluß
Johnsallee 54.
The following were members of this committee between 1929 and 1937:
Hermann Philipp, Else Hamlet, Irma Schindler, Dr. Bruno Tannenwald, Nathan Hirsch Offenburg,
Dr. Max Plaut, Dr. Ernst Loewenberg, Dr. Fritz Warburg, John Hausmann and Max Stern.
The following organisations used the building between 1929 and 1937:
· Hebräische Sprachschule Iwriah (Iwim, son of Ewer = Hebrew)
· Jung-Jüdischer Wanderbund
· Jüdischer Turn- und Sportverein Bar Kochba (Bar Kochba (132-135 AD), leader of the last
major Jewish revolt against the Romans)
· Esra (Ezra: preist and scribe of the 5th century BC who was sent from Babylon by the
Persian king Artaxerxes I to reconstitute observance of the Jewish law and worship in Jerusalem
after the captivity), (the youth organisation was orthodox but not Zionist)
· Ostjüdischer Verein Adas Jeschorim
· Deutsch-Jüdische Jugend
· Lehrlingsverein
· Kadimah (a Zionist scouting organisation in Germany)
· Religionsschule des Jüdischen Schulvereins
· Deutsch-Jüdischer Studentenbund
· Verein ehemaliger Schüler der Talmud Tora Realschule
· Verein jüdischer Handwerksgehilfen
· Verein jüdischer Akademiker
From 1929 to 1931 the Landesausschuß der jüdischen Jugendorganisationen Hamburg (Regional Committee of the Hamburg Jewish Youth Organisations) administered the disposal of the rooms to the various youth organisations. Bernhard Jacobson was chairman of this committee from 1929 to 1930. In 1929 and 1930 a total of 19 youth organisations with 2,000 members were affiliated to the Regional Committee. In 1934 an average of 4,000 youths a month frequented No. 54 Johnsallee.
The Kinderhort des Jugendamtes der Gemeinde (Day-Home of the Youth Welfare Department), also
known as Hort für schulpflichtige Kinder (Day-Home for school children), known as the
Tagesheim für schulpflichtige Kinder (Day-Home for school-aged children), was open daily. The
children were supervised while doing their homework, and occupied with games and manual work. They
received lunch and supper. The day-home was open to all Jewish school children, including
those that attended non-Jewish schools. In 1934, 150 children attended the day-home.
A day-home committee was responsible for the day-home.
The following were members of the committee, the whole or part of the period, between 1929
and 1937:
Arthur Spier (chairman from 1929 to 1933), Gertrud Benzian, Else Hamlet, Dr. Alberto Jonas,
Raphael Plaut (chairman from 1934 to 1937), Helene Rieck (youth leader), Eduard Schloß
(teacher), Rahel Möller (nursery-school teacher), Dr. Ernst Loewenberg, Thekla Picard
(youth worker), Henny Kahn (youth leader) and Toni Lyon (youth leader).
The Jüdische Berufsberatungsstelle (Jewish Careers Guidance) was accommodated at No. 54 Johnsallee from 1929 to 1934. From 1930 it was simply called the Berufsberatungsstelle (Careers Guidance). Frau Dr. Zadik was its head. In 1935 the Careers Guidance was transferred to No. 2 Beneckestraße.
The Bibliothek und Lesehalle der Gemeinde (Community Library and Reading Room) was accommodated at No. 54 Johnsallee between 1929 and 1931. Due to the endeavour of its director Professor Dr. Isaak Markon the collection grew to 15,000 and finally 18,000 books. These included the complete library of around 5,000 books of the deceased former Hamburg rabbi Dr. Nehemias A. Nobel, who was later incumbent in Frankfurt am Main. His library came under the administration of the Committee for Jewish Culture, Art and Science.
One of the largest organisations whose members met in the community building at No. 54 Johnsallee
was the Jüdische Turn- und Sportverein Bar Kochba (Jewish Gymnastics and Sports Club Bar Kochba).
The club had its
office here from 1933 to 1937. On 1.01.1935 the club had 450 members. In
1935 the club became Zionist orientated. It was a gymnastics and sports club: boxing, Faustball
(a form of volleyball), football, athletics, hockey, rowing and swimming).
The following were members of the board of the club for the entire or part of the period between
1929 to 1937:
Martin Salinger (chairman from 1929), Edith Koppel (head of women's gymnastics from
1931), Dr. Edgar Marx (chairman from 1930 to 1931, and again from 1932 to 1933), Salli
Sonnenreich (chairman from 1931), Herbert Cohen (chairman from 1934 to 1935), Ernst
Julius Scheier (chairman from 1936), Dr. Max Flesch (chairman from 1937 to 1938).
Henry Rechtern was gymnastics teacher from 1929.
From 1930 the club used the following state school gymnasiums in its vicinity for gymnastics:
Heinrich Hertz-Realgyymnasium, No. 58 Bundesstraße/Beim Schlump (for men and boys aged 13-16)
Helene Lange-Oberrealschule, No. 32 Bogenstraße (for women and girls aged 12-16)
In 1931 a gymnastics department was established at the Volksschule No. 14 Amselstraße for both men
and women. This was on the opposite side of the Alster lake in the district of Barmbek-Süd.
Gymnastics for infants was held in the mornings in the youth club at No. 54 Johnsallee.
From 1930 the club used the following sports fields:
Rothenbaum, Ulmenallee, and Hindenburg, as well as their own grounds in
Bramfeld.
From 1932 the club had its own boathouse at No. 162 Eppendorferlandstraße.
From 1931 the club held regular social evenings, study evenings, singing evenings, organised
one-day or longer journeys, and later orchestra practices.
The club also had its own youth organisation named Bar Kochba Hazair. From 1932 to 1934 it was
called Makkabi Hazair. The Makkabi Hazair and a further 133 clubs with 22,000 members (1934)
belonged to the Deutsche Makkabikreis (German Makkabi Circle) founded in 1898. The latter was a member
of the Makkabi-Weltverband (Makkabi World Federation).
From 1933 the club only used the gymnasiums of the Jewish schools in Hamburg:
Talmud Tora Schule, No. 30 Grindelhof (for men and boys)
Mädchenschule der Gemeinde, No. 35 Carolinenstraße (for women and girls)
From 1933 the club only used the Hindenburg sportsfield and its own grounds in
Bramfeld.
From 1935 no gymnasiums or sportsfields of the club are any longer dectectable.
The Jüdische Religionsverband (Jewish Religious Federation) had to make No. 54 Johnsallee
available for the purpose of hospital provision, as No. 68 Johnsallee had insufficient space.
Thereby from mid September 1939 the community building became a part of the Israelitische
Krankenhaus (Israelite Hospital). In July 1942 the patients had to be transfered from the
hospital at No. 54 Johsallee to No. 68 Johnsallee as, due to the "reduction" in the number of nurses
(4) and other personnel (4), it was no longer possible to run both buildings. The hospital at No. 68
Johnsallee had 47 patients. The "reduction" in staff refered to by the hospital was a cautious
and indirect way of describing the circumstances in which the hospital found itself with a total of
8 staff having been deported on the transports on 11.07.1942 to Auschwitz and
19.07.1942 to Theresienstadt, or presumably forced to commit suicide.
6 of these individuals are identifiable, through their stated occupation and last private address of
54 Johnsallee, as having been deported in July 1942.
From the total of 7 individuals who were deported from No. 54 Johnsallee on 11.07.1942 to Auschwitz the following are named:
| Name | Status | Date of Birth | Place of Birth | Occupation | Address |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goldbarth, Toni | Single | 9.11.1887 | Posen | Masseuse | No. 54 Johnsallee |
| Hirschberg, Dr. Else Mathilde Lina | Single | 11.02.1892 | Berlin | Physiologist | No. 54 Johnsallee |
| Mannheim, Herta | Single | 31.03.1922 | Ahlden an der Aller | Domestic Servant | No. 54 Johnsallee |
| Michelsohn, Bertha née Hirsch | widow | 23.10.1899 | Hamburg | Domestic Servant | No. 54 Johnsallee |
From the total of 5 individuals who were deported from No. 54 Johnsallee on 19.07.1942 to Theresienstadt the following are named:
| Name | Status | Date of Birth | Place of Birth | Occupation | Address |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brauer, Charlotte Helene | Single | 13.07.1921 | Kattowitz | Domestic Servant | No. 54 Johnsallee |
| Glück, Ellen | Single | 19.04.1924 | Hamburg | Domestic Servant | No. 54 Johnsallee |
On 18.12.1942 the circa 814 m² property at No. 54 Johnsallee, that had in the meantime become the property of the Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland (Reich Organization of Jews in Germany), was compulsorily sold to the city of Hamburg.
Today, the former community building no longer exists. It was a victim of the bombing raids during
the Second World War.
Today, a new private building occupies the site which is a residential building.