Early life Hirsch studied history at the
University of Heidelberg where he graduated under German historian and political journalist,
Hermann Oncken in 1924. After university, Hirsch moved to Berlin to pursue a career in journalism at the
Berliner Tagelblatt and later became the editor at the
Achtuhr Abendblatt. Following the rise of
Nazism, Hirsch went into exile in America, and completed a librarian degree at
Columbia University in 1936. He subsequently moved to Bard College, where he would teach history and expand the library.
Kurt Soelling controversy On 18 May 1932, Judge
Kurt Soelling (born
Seligsohn), the chairman of the Berlin
District Court, brought a libel action against Hirsch for an article he wrote in the
Achtuhr Abendblatt that revealed Soelling's Jewish identity. Soelling was born into a Jewish family, but baptised a
Protestant in later life. He had been a member of the
Social Democratic Party of Germany but in 1931, declared himself a
monarchist and became a prominent supporter of the burgeoning
Nazi Party and
Adolf Hitler. Hirsch's article not only revealed the judge's Jewish identity, but alleged that he had converted to Protestantism to further his judicial career. Hirsch denounced Soelling as a "dishonest politician".
Marriage and children Hirsch married long-term friend, academic
Elisabeth Feist in 1938, and they had two children together. Towards the end of his life, he suffered from
Parkinson's disease. He died in 1982, at a retirement home in Newtown, Pennsylvania. == Notes ==