Today (November 23) marks the 150th birthday of Dannie N. Heineman. The city took this date as an opportunity to Heinemannhofto put up a new city sign at the retirement home he had donated for elderly Jewish women.

Head of culture Konstanze Beckedorf and head of social affairs Sylvia Bruns have the board together with Petra Stittgen, district councillor Kirchrode-Bemerode-Wülferode, and Dr. Rainer Lütke, Managing Director of the Minna James Heineman Foundation (Essen), beginning. She hangs on the Brabeckstrasse 86 and provides historical information about the Heinemannhof. After the unveiling, architect Daniel Wunder and Holger Geis from the Senior Citizens Department gave a tour of the outdoor area and through the exhibition in the Heinemanhof building.

The donor: Dannie N. Heinemann

Dannie N. Heineman was born on November 23, 1872 in Charlotte/North Carolina and died on January 31, 1962 in New York.

His Jewish ancestors come from Germany. After the early death of her husband James Heineman, the mother Minna returned to Germany and settled with her son in Hanover in 1883, where she died in 1927. The Minna James Heinemann Foundation, established in 1928, is dedicated to her and her husband’s memory.

The purpose of the foundation was “that older, needy, single women of the educated classes, preferably Hanoverian women of Jewish faith, be accommodated in a foundation home and be given free accommodation and food there until the end of their lives.” For this purpose, Heineman acquired in Kirchrode the property at Brabeckstrasse 86.

On the history of the Heinemannhof

Minna James Heineman Foundation around 1931

Heineman commissioned the well-known architect Henry van de Velde with the construction, which was built in the years 1929 to 1930 with particularly spacious apartments. At first about 60 people lived in the Heinemannhof. Every woman has her own apartment with a bedroom and living room, anteroom and balcony, so an extraordinarily generous planning. The garden, which is no longer preserved in its original form, was created by the landscape architect Wilhelm Hübotter.

The fate of the residents

By September 1941 at the latest, the situation for the residents of the home had changed dramatically: The Heinemannhof was forced to be converted into a so-called “Jewish house” and was completely overcrowded with almost 200 people. The inmates were taken to other “Jewish houses” in Hanover until the end of the year or deported directly to the Riga ghetto on December 15, 1941.

post war history

The Minna James Heineman Foundation, expropriated by the National Socialists, was re-established in 1951 with a different purpose and the building and property were sold to the city of Hanover in 1960 on condition that it be run as a retirement home again.

As a municipal facility, the Heinemannhof is now a care center and competence center for dementia. It was extensively renovated between 2010 and 2020 as a cultural monument of national importance.

city ​​boards

The Hanoverian city boards were created on the initiative of Rudolf Hillebrecht. They are part of the city’s history. In addition to replacing damaged or missing ones of the original 134 boards, the current city board project also envisages the successive installation of new boards in the city area. A total of around 200 panels should be achieved. This fills in gaps in the past.

The approximately 104 centimeters high and 52 centimeters wide city signs are printed with historical images and short German and English texts.