born born 9 March 1907 in Dortmund
died 29 December 1991 in London, England
Historical former address Müncheberger Straße 3
Stumbling stone Eisenbahnstraße 147
Date of stone-laying 6 September 2017

Werner Hirsch was born into a Jewish family in Dortmund on 9 March 1907. On 18 August 1937, he married Hilde Storch in Fürstenwalde. The couple lived for a while in Oschersleben near Quedlinburg, where they both worked in the department store “Mendelsohn & Kugelman”.

During the November pogroms on the night of 9 November 1938, Werner Hirsch was arrested and taken into “protective custody” in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. In early 1939, he was released as part of an agreement between the “Central British Fund for German Jewry” and the “Reich Association of Jews in Germany” – on the condition that he leave Germany immediately. He travelled to Kent in England and was accommodated in the “Kitchener Camp”, a transmigration camp for male Jewish refugees from the “Third Reich” on their way to the United States, Australia or elsewhere.

Hilde managed to escape from the “Third Reich” to England on 12 July 1939. The couple initially lived in Sandwich and from 1946 in London. Werner served in the British Army until he was discharged for health reasons. Hilde worked as a domestic help. In 1941, their son Harry was born. The family changed their German name Hirsch to the more English-sounding Hurst. Werner Hirsch died in London on 29 December 1991, his wife Hilde on 13 January 1999.

Family members:
Hilde Ruth Hurst née Storch (formerly Hirsch)
Eva Flora Prager née Storch
Josef Prager
Heimann Storch
Rosa Storch née Behrendt