Institute for the History of the German Jews

In 1783, the first school for poor Jewish boys was established.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the November pogroms of 1938 the Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg inaugurated the "Synagogue Monument" by Margrit Kahl (1942-2009), which was designed as a walk-in square, on November 09, 1988.

The Grindelviertel developed into the Jewish center of Hamburg in the 19th century. Several institutions such as synagogues, Talmud Torah schools and cemeteries for German-Israelite or Portuguese-Sephardic communities led to a strong growth of the Jewish population in Hamburg. At the time of National Socialism, approximately 25,000 Jews lived here. During the Reich Pogrom Night in 1938, most of the synagogues and community facilities were destroyed. From 1941, the remaining Jews who had not managed to escape were deported to Eastern Europe and murdered there.

The Jewish cemetery at Grindel is named after its Hamburg neighborhood Grindel, which is located in the district of Rotherbaum. The cemetery was  laid out as early as 1712 on the outskirts of the city and initially served as a burial place for the poor and servants. It was not until 1835 that the cemetery became the main cemetery of the High German Jewish Community and the Portuguese Community in Hamburg, located in the Grindelviertel.  Only a few years later in 1909 the last burial took place and due to full occupancy the cemetery was closed.