Otto Hirsch (1885-1941), was born in Stuttgart and he studied law. He joined the civil service first at the municipal then later at the provincial level. Active in Jewish affairs, he became one of the leaders of the Centralverein deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens and was amongst those who promoted Jewish settlement in Palestine. He became interested in Jewish adult education and after a meeting with Martin Buber established a Jewish house of study in Stuttgart. He was one of the founders of the Reichsvertretung (later Reichsvereinigung) der Juden in Deutchland, in which he played an important role providing economic aid to Jews, vocational training, and facilitating emigration. Hirsch was arrested several times during the 1930s by the Nazis and finally deported to Mauthausen in February 1941, where he was tortured to death.
Open
This personal account of the life of Otto Hirsch was intended to be included in the WL eyewitness testimonies series. It retains the original reference number (PI.d. No. 362) but for some unknown reason was not integrated into this series.
Personal account of the life of Otto Hirsch