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III. Buildings Integral to the Former Life and/or Persecution of Jews in Hamburg - Rotherbaum II/Harvestehude.© Wilhelm Mosel, Deutsch-jüdische Gesellschaft Hamburg. 17. Von-Melle-Park. (Green area between No. 1 Allende-Platz and No. 48 Grindelallee).
A memorial plaque on the side of the the building No. 1 Allende-Platz, housing the Dispatch and Duplication Department (ZVV), adjacent to the green area, reads:
Hier standen ab 1895 die Gebäude Beneckestraße 2, 4 und 6.
In diesen Einrichtungen wirkten u.a.:
Ab 1942 mußten diese Häuser auch als sog. Judenhäuser Alle Gebäude wurden danach durch Bomben zerstört.
Gedenket der Menschen, die hier arbeitetet, lebten,
Zum 50. Jahrestag der Transporte jüdischer Menschen
In 1895, I. H. A. Schulz built a semi-detached four-storey residential building at No. 2 Beneckestraße and a single four-storey house, with an attic storey at No. 6 Beneckestraße. In 1895 the community of heirs of I. H. A. Schulz built a three-storey building and the Neue Dammtor-Synagoge (New Dammtor Synagogue), No. 4 Beneckestraße, to the rear of No. 2 and No. 6 Beneckestraße. The architects were Schepps and Rzekonski. A three metre wide passageway between No. 2 and No. 6 Beneckestraße led to No. 4 Beneckestraße at the rear. In 1897, No. 2 Beneckestraße housed 5 tenants, in 1901, 13 tenants, and in 1908, 18 tenants. Between 1907 and 1919 the buildings No. 2, No. 6 and No. 4 belonged to various private owners. In 1928, the Neue Dammtor-Synagoge (New Dammtor Synagogue) owned all these buildings but from 1928 on the Deutsch-Israelitische Gemeinde (German Israelite Community) was the owner.
No. 2, semi-detached building, No. 6, single building, No. 4, rear building and Neue Dammtor-Synagoge.
From the year 1937/38, No. 2 Beneckestraße housed the following:
From 1938 on the building additionally housed the following:
The purpose of the Hilfsverein der Juden in Deutschland e.V., formerly the Hilfsverein der deutschen Juden, (Relief Organization of Jews in Germany) was the promotion of the intellectual, moral and economic development of Jews, as well as emigrant assistance. On 1.01.1935, the Hamburg organization had a membership of 270.
The following figures show the number of Jews that emigrated from Hamburg in 1936:
Of a total of 1,043 emigrants from Hamburg in 1936, 443, i.e. 43%, emigrated to other european countries, 227, i.e. 22%, to the Americas, and 186, i.e. 18%, to Asia. It is worth noting that only 184 individuals emigrated to Palestine. The reason for this was that emigration to Palestine dropped off sharply in the second half of 1936 and because Hamburg, being a port, had especially strong family and business connections abroad. Between 1933-1938 the Hilfsverein der Juden in Deutschland e.V. (Relief Organization of Jews in Germany) supported around 26,000 emigrants. In 1937 it gave advice to over 100,000 individuals. Apart from information and support the advisory office also helped many individuals emigrating via Hamburg. It was a fortunate circumstance that there was a personal union between the Relief Organization and the Daniel-Wormser-Haus, situated in the Altstadt district of Hamburg: Max M. Warburg was chairman of the committee of the Relief Organization and patron of the Daniel Wormser House, and Henry Chassel was head of the Hamburg branch of the Relief Organization and head of the Daniel Wormser House.
with the narrow passage between. The Kommission für das Wohlfahrtswesen (Committee of the Welfare Department of the Jewish Community) held its meetings at No. 2 Beneckestraße from 1935 onward. Its main tasks were carried out here. The central office of the 16 regional social work offices (1937) was here.
The Jugendamt der Gemeinde (Büro), (Office of the Youth Welfare Department of the
German Israelite Community) was at No. 2 Beneckestraße from 1935 onward.
The Beratungsstelle für jüdische Wirtschaftshilfe (Advice Bureau of the Jewish Economic
Assistance) also
had its office at No. 2 Beneckestraße.
Rudolf Samson, lawyer, was, for years, chairman of the Jüdischen Kulturbund (Jewish Cultural Federation), chairman of the administration advisory committee of the Jüdischen Gemeinschaftshaus (Jewish Community Building), and chairman of the Jüdischen Central-Verein (Jewish Central Organization), formerly Centralverein deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens (Central Organization of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith). When the Jewish Community appointed Samson chairman of the Advice Bureau he did not foresee the burden and responsibility that was to be conferred on him. "He was always there, where practical help was required (...) and everyone felt that a warm heart beat beneath his taciture, often embarrassed, reserved nature." When he suddenly died it was said that his finest quality was his charm, the kindness and friendliness, with which he approached and persuaded people. Up until the beginning of 1938, a total of 800 youths received vocational training. In 1938, 200 youths were in training. Up until the end of 1937, around 5,000 Jews emigrated from Hamburg. At the end of 1938 until the outbreak of war in 1939, emigration from Hamburg was considerably greater than in previous years. This was true of Germany as a whole: 4,819 individuals emigrated from Germany in 1937, over 8,647 in 1938, and 23,954 in 1939.
No. 2 Beneckestraße was also the last Administration Office of the Jüdischen Religionsverband Hamburg (Jewish Religious Federation) after the building at No. 38 Rothenbaumchausee had to be sold following the Pogrom Night of 9/10 November 1938. In this connection the committee of representatives was dissolved and a new board appointed. This was subordinate to the supervision of the Gestapo, that also assumed an extensive supervision of the entire Jewish community. The Gestapo sought to guarantee their control by appointing the former syndic of the Jüdische Religiondverband (Jewish Religious Federation), Max Plaut, director of the Religious Federation, and to the board of all Jewish organizations, being personally accountable to the Gestapo. Of the former board of the Jewish Community only Dr. Leo Lippmann and John Hausmann remained. The rest had emigrated. Hausmann emigrated in 1941. John Hausmann, member of the board since 1935/36, had rendered outstanding service to the community principally as head of the department of property management.
In accordance with a Reich-wide regulation dated 4.08.1939 a new constitution was also stipulated for the Hamburg Jewish Community. This constitution brought the authoritarian principle into force. The committee of representatives and all committees remained dissolved. There were no longer any regular board meetings. Each board member was the accountable head of his area of responsibility. The new constitution demanded a new board. Initially, it comprised: Dr. Max Plaut, chairman, Dr. Leo Lippmann, vice-chairman, John Hausmann, Dr. Walter Rudolphi and Arthur Spier. The first meeting of this new board took place at No. 2 Beneckestraße on 23.10.1939. Prior to this, and later, board meetings took place at No. 17 Mittelweg. When Arthur Spier emigrated, Robert Solmitz assumed his position, until he himself emigrated.
Finally, the independence of the Jüdische Religiondverband (Jewish Religious Federation) could no longer be maintained. The Jewish community was so depleted by the emigration between 1933 and 1941 and the deportations from 1941 onward that it was necessary for it to be incorporated into the Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland (Reich Organization of Jews in Germany). This organization was founded in accordance with the "10. Verordnung zum Reichsbürgergesetz" ("10. regulation of the Reich Citizenship Act") of 4.07.1939. All "Jews" (as defined by the Nuremberg decrees) living in the Reich became compulsory members. The "Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland" was a registered society with its office in Berlin. The local branches of the "Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland" replaced the local Jewish religious associations. The organizations had the goal of promoting the forced emigration. It was also responsible for Jewish education and social welfare. The "Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland" was subordinate to the Reichsinnenminister (Reich Home Secretary. He had the power to disband Jewish societies, organizations and charitable foundations, or to order their incorporation within the "Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland". The incorporation took place administratively on 1.08.1942 and legally on 21.11.1942. The Hamburg area was administered through the North-west German District Office of the Reich Organization of Jews in Germany, which had its office at No. 2 Beneckestraße. This district office was also responsible for Braunschweig, Bremen, Mecklenburg, Oldenburg, Hannover provinces, excluding Osnabrück, and Schleswig-Holstein, including Lübeck. Dr. Max Plaut was director, and Dr. Leo Lippmann was vice-director of the district office. They were the only remaining members of the board of the former Jüdische Religiondverband (Jewish Religious Federation).
Dr. Walter Rudolphi was deported to Theresienstadt on 15.07.1942, and
Dr. Leo Lippmann, in the face of his impending deportation, was driven to commit suicide,
with his wife, on 11.06.1943.
It is not surprising that, having fulfilled such a function, people judged Dr. Plaut differently:
In 1975, a former female employee of the Jewish community gave the following opinion of
Dr. Plaut: When he reported daily to Gestapo chief Claus Göttsche we never knew whether he would return or not. He had to deliver the bad news which was reflected on him. Even the rare cases where he was able to help were played off against him. However, this female employee knew of no one who would have freely assumed his position. Heavily burdened by pressure from both sides he always presented a calm equanimity.
Göttsche had promised to allow Dr. Plaut and his mother to emigrate to Palestine. Following seven months imprisonment in a concentration camp Dr. Plaut reached Palestine in October 1944. He left Palestine before the declaration of independence of the State of Israel in 1948. He attempted to settle in Munich and Hamburg, before finally settling in Bremen, where he became vice-chairman of the Jewish community. He died in Hamburg in 1974.
Following the four deportation transports in 1941 only 4,051 Jews, as defined by the
"Nuremberg Laws", remained in Hamburg. Of these 4,051, 1,290 lived, or had lived, in a
"Mischehe" ("racially mixed-marriage"). On 31.12.1942, only 1,805 Jews remained
in Hamburg. Of these 1,805, 230 lived in "nicht privilegierten Mischehen"
("non-privileged mixed-marriage") and 911 in "privilegierten Mischehen"
("privileged mixed-marriage"). 121 had previously lived in a "privilegierten Mischehen",
now dissolved. In 1933, around 20,000 and in 1925 around 24,000 religious Jews lived in the Hansestadt Hamburg (Hansa Town Hamburg).
The term Hansestadt Hamburg came into force on 1.04.1938 following the
"Gesetzes über Groß-Hamburg und andere
Gebietsbereinigen" ("acts relating to Greater Hamburg and other areas").
The Prussian municipalities i.e. the city boroughs of Altona, Wandsbek, Harburg-Wilhelmsburg, and numerous
rural communities, the city of Hamburg and its constituent state communities were incorporated. The
incorporation of the former Prussian municipalities had already taken place on 1.04.1937. In 1933, Jews made up around 1·4% of the total population of Hamburg, around 3·8% of the population of Berlin, and around 4·7% of the population of Frankfurt. The implementation of the deportation transports in 1941 and 1942 created additional work for the employees of the Jüdischen Religionsverband (Jewish Religious Federation). Significantly, the work in connection with the Zentralkartei (central card index) was carried out by Arthur Ballin's office. Employees of the Jewish Religious Federation were not exempted from the deportation transports. In July 1942 a total of 95 employees and 12 charity workers of the Jüdischen Religionsverband (Jewish Religious Federation), as well as 7 employees of the district office of the Reich Organization of Jews in Germany were deported.
Among those deported were:
Standing, left to right: Fanny David, Dr. Albert Oppenheimer, Dr. Ludwig Loeffler, Lotte Mansfeldt née Posner, Jakob Seligmann. Sitting: Ida Hagenow. On 31.12.1942 there were still 67 employees, 29 men and 38 women, employed in the Hamburg administative office of the North-West German District Office of the Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland (Reich Organization of Jews in Germany). On 1.01.1942 the corresponding figures were 158 and 10.
Later, No. 2 Beneckestraße was designated a "Judenhaus" (Jewish Building) by the Gestapo, as
were other buildings administered by the Jüdischen Religionsverband (Jewish Religious
Federation). Whereas practically all Jews who had to wear the yellow Star of David had to move into
the other "Judenhäuse" by 1.04.1942, No. 2 Beneckestraße did not assume this function
until 1.09.1942. From then on No. 2 and No. 4 Beneckestraße had to accommodate
all Jews, including foreign Jews and those wearing the yellow Star of David but excluding
the infirm, Jews living in "Mischehen" (racially mixed-marriages), and Jews with special authorization. A total of 80 Jews had to move into No. 2 and No. 4 Beneckestraße. Regular religious services were held on weekdays, with the help of mixed couples, in one of the halls of No. 2 Beneckestraße until the end of March 1943. In 1942/43 a mikveh, i.e. a pool used especially by women for ritual purification after their monthly period, was constructed at No. 2 Beneckestraße on the initiative of Daivid S. Goldschmidt. This demonstrated great courage. It had to be constructed after dark. The necessary material was acquired with black market money.
Literature: Ernst Loewenberg: Aus der Arbeit der Hamburger Jüdischen Gemeinde nach 1933, in: Fremd in der eigenen Stadt. Erinnerungen jüdischer Emigranten aus Hamburg, Hrs. Charlotte Ueckert-Hilbert.
In 1897 the building at No. 6 Beneckestraße had 4 tenants, in 1907, 7 tenants,
and in 1933, 10 tenants, as well as accommodating community institutions such as the
Library and Reading Room on the groundfloor.
In 1937/38, the Community Library had around 40,000 books, and 40 newspapers and periodicals. Use of the library was free. The library was open every morning, and from Monday to Friday between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Dr. Fritz M. Warburg was chairman of the library board. Dr. Isaak Markon was librarian from 1929, and Else Menken was his assistant. It was especially gratifying that pupils of the Jewish schools, the youth of the Hachschara (Jewish organization for the preparation and vocational training of young people for a life of physical labour in Palestine), and the various association members made use of the library. On 327 days in 1937, 18,375 readers registered in the Reading Room of the Library (an average of 57 per day). On the 276 library loan days 9,996 books were borrowed (an average of 36 books per day). The library moved here in April 1931. The premises were seen as being suitable and conveniently situated. The library gradually developed into the intellectual focus of the community. The library was used by people of all ages and walks of life. The Verein "Jüdische Bibliothek und Lesehalle" (Jewish Library and Reading Room Society) was founded on 24.11.1909. The library and reading room was opened on 1.04.1910 at No. 4 Bieberstraße. In the first years Marcus Beith was the librarian and then from around 1921 onward Max Deutschländer. The library and reading room was closed between June 1921 and 1.12.1922 as No. 4 Bieberstraße had to be evacuated. The founding of the University of Hamburg in 1919 made a good Jewish library all the more necessary. On 1.12.1922 the Library and Reading Room was finally reopened at No. 2 Bornstraße, the home of the Agudas Jisroel Jugendgruppe Hamburg/Altona (Israel Federation Youth Group Hamburg/Altona). A contract with the youth group stipulated that two rooms were to be rented for the purpose of a library. In February 1923 the Deutsch-Israelitischen Gemeinde (German Israelite Community) resolved to take over the library and reading room. The renamed Bibliothek und Lesehalle der Deutsch-Israelitischen Gemeinde (Library and Reading Room of the German Israelite Community) had the purpose of allowing all Jews in Hamburg to acquaint themselves with Jewish literature and with questions concerning Judaism. At the beginning of 1929 the community library and reading room was moved to No. 54 Johnsallee and Dr. Isaak Markon became librarian. Professor Dr. Markon was born in Russia in 1875 and had previously worked at the universities of St. Petersburg, Moscow and Minsk, as well as in Berlin at the Rabbi Seminary. He was particularly involved in the collaboration and publication of the Jüdischen Enzyklopädie or Jüdischen Lexikon (Jewish Encyclopedia). Dr. Markon significantly expanded the library and reading room. He managed to acquire the deceased Rabbi Dr. Nehemia Anton Nobel's library of around 5,000 books at a reasonable price. When the library and reading room moved to No. 6 Beneckestraße it had a stock of 18,000 books. In 1938 Dr. Markon emigrated to Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
No. 6 Beneckestraße also accommodated the following Jewish youth organizations:
Following the deportations in July 1942, No. 6 Beneckestraße also accommodated
infirm people. No. 6 Beneckestraße accommodated the majority of infirm, followed by
No. 37 Laufgraben and Nos. 25/27 and No. 29 Schäferkampsallee.
Prior to the deportation transports in July 1942, No. 6 Beneckestraße, together with
Nos. 25/27 Schäferkampsallee, became the Alterheim der Bezirksstelle Nordwestdeutschland
der Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland (Old People's Home of the North-west German District
Office of the Reich Organization of Jews in Germany).
The residential building at No.4 Beneckestraße was situated to the rear of
No. 2 Beneckestraße. In 1897 there were 5 tenants, in 1908, 7 tenants, and
in 1928, 9 tenants.
Jakob Katzenstein was one of the few non-German Jews still remaining in Hamburg in
1943. He was a Danish citizen and teacher at the Tamud Tora School from 1906-1942,
and a member of the school board.
Katzenstein lived in Rutschbahn until July 1942 when he moved to No. 15 Dillstraße to Alfred Heymann. Heymann's daughter was Dr. Max Plaut's secretary. Later he and the Heymanns moved to No. 4 Beneckestraße. Katzenstein gave private tuition in his flat to Jewish children despite the prohibition. The "(Reichs-)Erlaß des Reichsministers für Erziehung und Unterricht über den Schulbesuch jüdischer Kinder" ("Decree of the Reich Minister of Education concerning the school attendance of "Jewish" children") of 15.11.1938, which enacted the exclusion of all "Jewish" children from attending German schools. "Each morning I conversed for one or two hours with the remaining two Hammerschlag girls and the two Rumanian Jewish Rosner children about all manner of things. We looked at picture books from the Talmud Tora School and I could not avoid clarifying grammatical and analytical problems." In 1971 Dr. Max Plaut related that it was to Katzenstein's merit that he orgainized these lessons. Plaut was of the opinion that the Jews of Hamburg owed him much gratitude. Katzenstein also taught various other Jewish children and children who were unknown to him. He was able to emigrate to Copenhagen on 30.03.1943 having waited five months for the necessary permit. He then escaped to Sweden on 1.10.1943, with the other remaining Danish Jews. Numerous Jews were deported from No. 4 Beneckestraße as well as No. 6 Beneckestraße. No. 2 Beneckestraße did not appear in the deportation transport lists at this time as it had not been cleared for residential use. Later, Katzenstein related that for the sake of simplicity there were no individual orders given to Jews living in Jewish housing trusts or other community buildings on the deportation transports in July 1942. There was simply a notice put up on the house entrance. The inhabitants of No. 4 and No. 6 Beneckestraße were deported to Auschwitz on 11.07.1942 and to Theresienstadt on 15.07.1942 and 19.07.1942. Katzenstein added that the Jews on the deportation transport on 19.07.1942 were allowed to return home or to the synagogue following the "muster" on the Sabbath, and had to report to the Volksschule Schanzenstraße (Schanzenstraße School) on Sunday at 8 a.m. The following deportees are representative of those deported from No. 4 and No. 6 Beneckestraße:
Finally, Nos. 4, 2 and 6 Beneckestraße were not only "Judenhäuser
("Jewish Buildings") but also simultaneously deportation assembly buildings for the
7 deportation transports in 1943. A total of 413 individuals were
deported on these 7 transports of whom 347 were murdered. From what
Dr. L. L., a survivor of the last of the seven transports, i.e. on 23.06.1943,
related in spring 1983, it is certain that all seven transports in 1943 started from the
buildings in Beneckestraße.
Käthe Starke née Goldschmidt, a survivor of the transport to Theresienstadt
on 19.07.1943 writes in her book "Der Führer schenkt den Juden eine Stadt, ...":
The less officious behaviour was already perceptible at the completion of formalities. We
were able to spend the last night in our own beds and not assembled
and kept under lock and key a day prior to departure as was previously the case (...) An unusual conciliatory atmosphere prevailed during registration for the deportation transport list. There were no beatings, no loud commands and no one had their head held under the water tap. The two attractive Gestapo secretaries gingerly returned our Judenkennkarten (Jewish identity card) in which they had stamped that the holder was "evacuated" that day, and ticked us off their list. In this way we were struck from the book of the living and, contrary to prior custom, allowed to return to our rooms to spend the remaining time their. We used this reprieve to write brief letters containing distress signals to friends abroad which read: Today I am transferring my domicile to the protectorate Theresienstadt. While we were writing our letters we received a visit from our guards, led by Herr Behn. Behn, who had attempted to kiss the horrified Jeannette Baer, in her room, was the "dignified" representative of the Oberfinanzpräsident (Director of the Finance Department). He momentarily awaited our departure before sealing the doors. The inventary of belongings was devolved upon him and was later auctioned "volantarily by order of the owner". (...)
Our journey, from which no one was meant to return, began at the isolated goods depot, i.e. the Hannöverschen Railway Station, which had been the scene of so many previous deportation transports of Jews from Hamburg. It began on a fine, bright summer day unusual for Hamburg. The sun lit up the dull red paint of the goods waggons in a warm light. The clear air mercilessly presented the scene of our bedridden ill, eldest and non-moveable being carried over the empty platform to the waggons that had been fitted out as makeshift couchette waggons. Washed as clean as corpses and cared for a last time they disappeared behind the sliding doors of the waggons, (...)
"To the country." (Caricature).
The Gestapo men bid farewell to their two colleagues who were to be our escort.
Dr. Plaut stood alone, near us, (...) He was givng away the last of his staff:
Fanny David and Irma Zancker, Jeannette Baer and Thea Heymann,
Erna Goldschmidt, Fritz Benscher and Sami Lazarus. His expression was
indescribable as he wished us well and sent greetings to those who had travelled before us.
Would they be there for us to greet? (...)
The waggon doors were pushed shut. The deportation transport was ready to depart. We
realized that we were under way. (...) The Clothes Depot of the Deutsch-Israelitische Gemeinde (German Israelite Community) continued to exist at No 2 Beneckestraße almost until the last moment. It was established and run by Benno Hirschfeld (1879-1945). Hirschfeld was arrested, with others, in May 1943, and taken to the so-called Fuhlsbüttel Police Prison and from there deported to Auschwitz and later to Buchenwald where he was shot.
After July 1943 the last office of the Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland (Reich Organization of Jews in Germany) was situated at No. 22 Bornstraße.
Literature: Käthe Starke: Der Führer schenkt den Juden eine Stadt: Bilder, Impressionen, Reportagen, Dokumente, Haude und Spener, Berlin, 1975
in Beneckestraße and "Synag." Synagoge vor dem Dammtor in Bieberstraße. The Neue Dammtor-Synagoge (New Dammtor Synagogue), a conservative religious association, was built by the architects Schlepps and Rzekonski, and officially inaugerated on 15.08.1895. The synagogue goes back to one in a house in Jungfernstieg opened by Dr. Joseph Isaacsohn of the "Newe Schalaum" (place of peace) on 9.09.1879. This synagogue had places for 180 men and 90 women. It had to be closed in 1887 as the fire regulations could not be adhered to. As, in the last decades of the nineteenth-century, more and more Jews settled vor dem Dammtor it became necessary to establish a larger synagogue. (Tor = gate, Dammtor: a term for the gate that formerly stood where todays railway bridge crosses Dammtordamm. The area north-west of Dammtor was referred to as "vor dem Dammtor", vor = in front of). The Synagoge-Verband (Synagogue Society) made several attempts to establish a new synagogue here. In 1892 a general appeal brought several men together who formed a "committee for the establishment of the new Dammthor-Synagoge" under the leadership of Moritz Stavenhagen.
The signatories to this appeal were: The statutes of the synagogue stipulated that the religious services were to be held according to orthodox ritual, but with the omission of the Pijutim, i.e. prayers added to the service on the sabbath and during festivals in orthodox ritual. No musical instrument was to be used but a good four-part choir was to be employed. A particular emphasis was placed upon absolute silence during services. It was also desired that a good cantor and preacher be acquired. In the founding years the Synagogue Society made several attempts to join the synagogue. These negotiations were unsucessful as the Synagogue Society set unacceptable conditions regarding the order of prayers and the structural arrangement of the synagogue. Finally, the Synagogue Society, that had attempted to avoid the building of another synagogue in the same district, had to build the Synagoge am Bornplatz (Bornplatz Synagogue). Also, later negotiations with the Tempel-Verband (Temple Society), a liberal religious association, led to nothing. The New Dammtor Synagogue finally remained independent because it adhered to the wishes of its founder: to hold respectful religious services without being long-draw-out but also without reforms.
The New Dammtor Synagogue was also a synagogue built in a courtyard to the rear of buildings fronting the street. In addition it was almost entirely built-in on all four sides. The architects only had the possibility of constructing a kind of façade on the north side of the building. The vestibule was reached through a narrow corridor from which two doors led to the male preserve. The almemar, i.e. the raised platform on which the reading desk stands, was not situated precisely in the east, as in orthodox custom.
A colourfully glazed dome spanned the room which was bordered on three sides by the women's gallery. The circa 30 cm high grill of the women's gallery contrasted with the completely closed women's gallery of orthodox synagogues. The interior was in the Moorish or oriental style. The horseshoe-shaped canopy of the shrine and the copious ornament were examples of this style. This was the first synagogue in Hamburg to display this style externally: horseshoe-arches framed the side doors and an oriental style dome towered above the entrance of the building. The dome itself was ringed by four smaller domed towers. The colourful brick pattern also gave the building an oriental character. As the lease of the New Dammtor Synagogue expired in 1905 the guarators instructed the board to transact a new lease with the owners of the property. On 28.03.1912 the "Neue Dammtor-Synagoge zu Hamburg" Society was registered in the official register of societies and associations at the Hamburg County Court.
The purpose of the society was to maintain and cultivate the Jewish religion, to hold Jewish religious
services, and to establish the requisit synagogues for Jews living in Hamburg and its environs. The society was administered by a board, an administrative committee, a committee of representatives, and a general meeting. The board, which was empowered to represent the society legally and generally, was made up of 3 members. The administrative committee, which managed the business of the society, was made up of 7 members, 3 of whom constituted the board. Members whose children, being minors, practiced another faith, or whose sons had not been circumcised, or who themselves had entered into a mixed marriage could not be members of the administrative committee. The committee of representatives, which was constituted to participate in the internal administration, was made up of 11 members. Members of this committee were elected for a period of 3 years by active society members above the age of 31. The general meeting was a meeting of active members of the society. Members of the first administrative committee were: Wolf Peine, chairman, Martin Fränkel, Meyer Seehoff, secretary, Eduard Bleier, Georg Rothenberg, treasurer, Rudolf Levy and Philip Goldschmidt.
The first rabbi of the New Dammtor Synagogue, from 1895 to 1903, was Dr. Max Grunwald.
He then held office in various synagogues in Vienna, and was able to emigrate to his son in Jerusalem
in 1938. Dr. Grunwald was also an historian, in particular a folklorist.
He wrote the history of the Jewish communities in which he worked.
Dr. Abraham Löwenthal (1868-1928) succeeded Dr. Grunwald as rabbi of the New Dammtor Synagogue. He held the post from 1903 to 1917. He then held office in Berlin until his death in 1928. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the New Dammtor Synagogue both Dr. Max Grunwald and Dr. Abraham Löwenthal returned to Hamburg to be honoured by Martin Fränkel who had been chairman of the board during their periods of office. He thanked Dr. Grunwald for his devoted work. Every community member remembered him with pleasure. Dr. Löwenthal considered it important to acquire friends both inside and outside the community. He succeeded in this with his conciliatory manner and understanding that he also had for other religious thought.
When Dr. Löwenthal moved to Berlin in 1917 an arrangement was made with the Israelitische Tempel-Verband (Israelite Temple Association), i.e. the liberal religious society, that their rabbis should serve in the New Dammtor Synagogue, in the manner prescribed by the latter. Members of the New Dammtor Synagogue were to volantarily transfer 10% of the community tax to the Temple Association. The two rabbis were to be paid for their services in the New Dammtor Synagogue from this money. However, as a money transfer to the Temple Association could only be made by their own members this meant that the members of the New Dammtor Synagogue simultaneously acquired membership of the Temple Association without involving additional monetary commitments. From 1917 onward the two preachers of the Israelite Temple Association (the Israelite Temple Association used the title preacher instead of rabbi), Dr. David Leimdörfer and Dr. Jacob Sonderling also served in the New Dammtor Synagogue. Dr. Sonderling held his post in the (Second) Temple in Poolstraße in the Neustadt district of Hamburg from 1908 onward. He was army rabbi during the First World War and after the war described the horror. He emigrated to the USA in 1921. A synagogue attender later related that the sermons of both preachers were well structured and were masterpieces of oratory. Many members of the Synagogue Society also attended the New Dammtor Synagogue to experience these sermons.
The preachers of the Temple Association also held the so-called girls' confirmation in the New Dammtor Synagogue. The girls, clothed in white with a floral head decoration, were led onto the almemar where they read a verse from a section of the Torah. In addition they held a short talk giving an explanation of Jewish ethics and law. Finally, the rabbi gave his confirmation sermon. Following the death of Dr. Leimdörfer (1851-1922) the New Dammtor Synagogue again elected a rabbi. Dr. Paul Holzer (1892-1961) served from 1923 to 1938. Dr. Holzer, with his wife Grete, were particularly committed to youth work. Dr. Holzer, from 1937 onward, also gave spiritual welfare to Jewish prisoners awaiting trial and those serving prison sentences. Dr. Holzer and his wife emigrated to England in 1938. After the war Dr. Holzer once again served as rabbi, from 1946 to 1954, in Hamburg.
The difficult negotiations for recognition of the New Dammtor Synagogue as a
religious organization
took place during Dr. Holzer's initial years of office. Prior to this the
Deutsch-Israelitische Gemeinde
(German Israelite Community) only recognised the Synagoge-Verband and Tempel-Verband.
The New Dammtor Synagogue initially applied to be recognised as a new, independent religious
organization in 1910. They indicated that they had 341 community tax paying members and that a
total of 300 such members were sufficient. On 22.01.1923 the New Dammtor Synagogue
had a membership of 430 male members and again requested recognition by the Jewish community. On 5.02.1924 the Synagogue Association pointed out that throughout Germany there were not more than 2 Jewish religious lines of thought. Only a conservative and a liberal wing were recognized. The harm already inflicted upon Judaism by fragmentation would intensify "immeasurably" if further factions were allowed. Finally, on 28.03.1924 the Jewish community recognised the New Dammtor Synagogue as a religious organization with, however, qualifications. The Synagogue Association demanded a so-called safety contract with the Jewish community and an amendment to their statutes, and the appointment of a court of arbitration.
A fundamental renovation and extension of the New Dammtor Synagogue was long overdue. This took place in 1927. Instead of abiding by the resolved renovation work the men responsible for the supervision of the work decided on a complete conversion. By the time the administration realized what had taken place it was too late to intervene. The final cost was six times as high as initially approved. The Deutsch-Israelitische Gemeinde assumed ownership of the buildings in Beneckestraße in spring 1928 as the New Dammtor Synagogue was unable to pay for the cost of the conversion. The New Dammtor Synagogue now had the obligation of maintaining the synagogue and of allowing all Deutsch-Israelitische Gemeinde members to participate in their religious services.
Henry Chassel was chairman of the administrative committee from 1929 to 1937 and in accordance with the statutes also chairman of the board of the New Dammtor Synagogue. Jacob Valk junior was vice-chairman of the adiministrative committee between 1931 and 1932. He was honorary chairman from 1937 onward. Wilhelm van Cleef was chairman of the committee of representatives from 1929 to 1937.
The New Dammtor Synagogue also had a religious school. This was located in the Helene Lange-Oberrealschule between 1929 and 1932, and in the Jewish community Girls' School, at No. 33 Johnsallee between 1933 and 1937, with a branch at No. 5 Haynstraße, in the Eppendorf district, between 1934 and 1935. Rabbi Dr. Holzer was director and teacher of the religious school. The teachers were Josef Heinemann, also Torah reader, Grete Holzer and Hermann Lieber, also chief cantor. On the night of the Reich-wide Pogrom Night of 9/10 November 1938 the Hamburger Tageblatt newspaper reported that antisemitic demonstrations had also taken place in Hamburg the day before. On the basis of a rumour that "additional" weapons were hidden in synagogues demonstrators had "opened" several synagogues. These demonstrations also affected the Beneckestraße Synagogue. The Beneckestraße Synagogue was not completely devastated internally.
Brückheimer, in the Brückheimer Collection of the Yad Vashem Archives, relates: "Few were
involved". The Torah silver was seized but the Torah rolls were "hardly damaged". Nothing was
vandalized inside the buildings at No. 2 and No. 6 Beneckestraße. The Beneckestraße Synagogue played an important role after the 1938 pogrom. Dr. Plaut relates that it was the only synagogue in the German Reich to be rebuilt after the Pogrom Night of 9/10 November 1938. Dr. Plaut managed this with donations that he collected. Religious services were held, which were later prohibited. The services were continued despite the prohibition. Look-outs were posted and the services were never discovered or betrayed. Religious services were held regularly every morning and evening until the end of January 1944. But, on 19.10.1939 Gestapo Regional Headquarters Hamburg informed the Hansestadt Hamburg that the Beneckestraße Synagogue at No. 4 Beneckestraße, and the synagogue at No. 38 Marcusstraße, in the Neustadt district, that had not been destroyed were still in use by Jews for the holding of religious services. On the occasion of the inaugeration of the "common synagogue for our community", the chief-rabbi of the Synagogue Association, Dr. Joseph Carlebach wrote to Dr. Plaut on 17.02.1939 thanking him for the beautiful building he had presented to the community. He wished to honour him with the crown of a "worthy name" and membership of the Chawerim ("companion", an honorary title for a scholar). From February 1939 the orthodox Chief-Rabbi Dr. Joseph Carlebach of the destroyed Bornplatz Synagogue led orthodox religious services in the Beneckestraße Synagogue, which would never have been possible previously. Prior to this the almemar was moved to the centre and the womens' gallery was equipped with a grille. Even a mikveh was built in the cellar of the synagogue. The Beneckestraße Synagogue was also the only synagogue in Hamburg in which religious services were held up until 1943. In the spring of 1939 the three Hamburg religious associations had to discontinue their work. The Deutsch-Israelitische Gemeinde then assumed responsibility for the religious life of the community. The Synagoge Association and New Dammtor Synagogue dissolved themselves. The Temple Association technically continued to exist due to legal grounds connected with the land registry office.
In 1941 the Gestapo informed the Reichsvertretung der Juden in Deutschland (Reich Organization of Jews in Germany) that the funds of the Jewish religious communities were no longer allowed to be employed for the maintenance of Jewish religious life. This included the salaries paid to the rabbis, which could now only be met by voluntary donations. When Chief-Rabbi Joseph Carlebach was deported to Riga on 6.12.1941, Dr. Nathan Max Nathan succeeded him as syndic and spiritual leader of the Jewish community, until his deportation to Theresienstadt on 19.07.1942. Following the deportation of the liberal rabbi, Dr. Joseph Norden to Theresienstadt on 15.07.1942, liberal services in Hamburg only took place in adjoining rooms of the Beneckestraße Synagogue at No. 4 Beneckestraße. In January 1943, Dr. Leo Lippmann was confident that Jewish religious services would continue in Hamburg, although in a restricted capacity. Cleary, in Hamburg, this was "tolerated" by the Gestapo. The Beneckestraße Synagogue and the other community buildings in Beneckestraße were destoyed in an air-raid in July 1943.
Today the place where the former Nos. 2, 6 and 4 Beneckestraße once stood is a green area within the University of Hamburg, Von-Melle-Park campus, between No. 1 Allende-Platz and No. 48 Grindelallee. Beneckestraße no longer exists.
A memorial stone and plaque adjacent to the pathway between No. 1 Allende-Platz and
No. 48 Grindelallee reads:
Rabbinner Dr. Max Grunwald amtierte hier
Nach Schändung am 9. November 1938
German text: Dipl.-Pol. Wilhelm Mosel, Deutsch-Jüdische Gesellschaft, Hamburg.
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