Congregation Habonim (New York, N.Y.)

Erwin Hirsch was born in Strasbourg in 1914 to Milly and Sally Hirsch. The family lived in Mannheim. He studied at the Jüdische Lehrerbildungsanstalt in Würzburg under Cantor Ruben Eschwege. In 1937, he became Hazzan Scheni under Cantor Hug Adler at the Hauptsynagoge in Mannheim. He was interned in Dachau from November 10, 1938 to January 1939, when he left for the US. In 1940, Erwin Hirsch was hired as the first full time Cantor of Congregation Habonim in New York. He retired in 1983 and died in 2001.

From the guide to the Erwin Hirsch Collection., 2004, (Leo Baeck Institute Archives)

From the guide to the Erwin Hirsch Collection., 2004, (Leo Baeck Institute Archives)