Former administration building of the trading house "Aron Hirsch & Sohn" (1922-27)

1922 New construction of the administration building for the "Handelshaus Aron Hirsch & Sohn" in Halberstadt Abtshof (design: P. Mebes, Berlin)

1927 Relocation of the company headquarters to Berlin, acquisition of the building by the Halberstadt local health insurance

Aron Hirsch (born 1858 in Halberstadt) joined the metal trading company Aron Hirsch & Sohn in Halberstadt, founded by his grandfather Aron Hirsch (1783-1842), in 1877. In addition to trading in copper and brass, the company maintained two important copper and brass plants in Eberswalde and Ilsenburg. The company was run according to Orthodox Jewish tradition and also generously supported the Jewish community.

In 1898, Aron Hirsch moved to Berlin to take over the management of the Eberswalde brass works after the death of his uncle, Gustav Hirsch. In 1907, the industrial activities were spun off from the trading house into the newly formed Hirsch Kupfer- und Messingwerke AG (HKM) company in Berlin.

In Halberstadt, too, HKM continued to offer numerous jobs into the 1920s, especially for Jewish workers*. After the relocation of the company to Berlin, the tax revenue of the city of Halberstadt dropped significantly. Jewish community life also experienced a deep cut.