Abraham und Henriette Rohr'sche Stiftung (Posen)

The Jewish Hospital for the Sick and Infirm in Posen was founded by the brothers Moritz (1835-1896) and Isidor Rohr (1839-1904). On June 30, 1887, in memory of their parents, Abraham (1812-1885) and Henriette Rohr (1809-1877, née Tugendreich), they established the Abraham and Henriette Rohr ‘sche Stiftung zur Verbreitung und Förderung des Handwerks, der technischen Gewerbe, der Ackerbau und der Gartenkultur unter den Juden der Gemeinden Jarotschin und Posen. The foundation was endowed with a share capital of 220,000 marks, of which 200,000 marks were earmarked for the synagogue community in Jarotschin and 20,000 marks for the synagogue community in Posen. The Rohr family was connected to both places, among others Isidor Rohr was born in Jarotschin in 1839. An annual sum of 1,000 marks was to be distributed to the poor, regardless of their denomination, from the interest on the capital earmarked for the synagogue community in Jarotschin.

Moritz Rohr continued his commitment as a philanthropist and in 1893 donated 600,000 marks for the construction of a Jewish hospital and infirmary in Posen. On May 31, 1893, the synagogue community in Posen celebrated the laying of the foundation stone. The site was located on the so-called Posen Kaisergelände in a “park-like setting, in the immediate vicinity of the city - in front of the Königsthor”. Construction was due to be completed in October 1894. Construction was due to be completed in October 1894. The renowned Berlin architect and building councillor, Johann Heino Schmieden (1835-1913), had designed the building project. August Lauber von Spielberg, then government architect in Poznan, took over the construction management. Moritz Rohr arranged for the hospital to be donated to the synagogue community in Posen. The hospital opened on June 18, 1895 and Julius Salz (1852-1909), a Posen councillor of justice, took over the management.  A synagogue was set up right next to the hospital building (see Fig. 2, part of the building with the dome on the left).

The men's ward of the hospital had a capacity of 15 beds, the women's ward of 14 beds, and the hospital could accommodate 18 patients at a time. In the reporting year 1908/1909, 496 people were treated in the hospital, in the following year there were 500 (424 Jews and 76 Christians). In the reporting year 1912/1913, the number of patients rose to 571 (493 Jews and 78 Christians). In the years from 1930 to 1931, a total of only 190 people were treated in the hospital.  Consideration began to be given to closing the hospital for cost reasons. However, this was averted by subsidies from the synagogue community. The hospital was able to continue operating until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939.

On September 10, 1939, the German Wehrmacht occupied the city, which now functioned as the capital of the “Reichsgau Wartheland”. In November 1939, Gauleiter Karl Heinrich Wilhelm Koppe (1886-1975) announced that Posen and its surroundings were to be “free of Jews” within three months. The first deportations of Jews still living in the city began in November 1939. As the hospital building was located directly on the imperial grounds, which the Nazi authorities wanted to transform into a Nazi-compliant administrative district, the Jewish Hospital had to close in 1939. The National Socialists rejected its subsequent use by the Nazi authorities, who wanted to build a hospital for the local military and police units, for ideological reasons. The planned construction of a new hospital and the restructuring of the district were not realized until the end of the war.  The building of the Jewish hospital was destroyed during the last hostilities in and around Posen in 1945. Only the building of the infection ward survived the war and was converted into a residential building after the end of the war.

In addition to a synagogue, the rooms of the Jewish Hospital Posen also housed a library. Nothing is known about the extent of its holdings.

The book was recorded in the Berlin City Library (BStB) on September 26, 1945 in the 1945 Gift Receipt Book with the receipt number “148”. The “Kulturamt” was entered as the supplier, although it is unclear exactly which organization was involved. The book was intended for use and was given the shelfmark “Kh 528” on November 19, 1946. Even though there is no handwritten number in the book, it is reasonable to assume that the salvage office for scientific libraries could have been the supplier. This is supported by previous findings, according to which, in addition to the “Salvage Office”, the “Book Depository” or “Cultural Office” were also arbitrarily noted as suppliers in the “Gift” accession books after the end of the war. The additions with the aforementioned suppliers began at the time when the salvage office was set up in the Ermelerhaus.