HIAS is located in a neo-renaissance-style townhouse at Rothenbaumchaussee 45 in the heart of the university quarter. The university guest house, the state library, and numerous facilities of Universität Hamburg are within walking distance, as are the Outer Alster Lake and the Hamburg Dammtor train station. With its impressive 19th and early 20th century townhouses and villas, the neighborhood is one of Hamburg’s most beautiful and historic.
The building that houses HIAS also has a storied past:
The building was constructed in 1892 as part of a complex of buildings at Rothenbaumchaussee 41-45 designed by the Hamburg architect Richard Jacobssen (1851-1920). In 1935, it was acquired by the Hamburg coffee merchant and financier Eduard Lassally (1854-1939) in a foreclosure sale. Lassally was a Protestant of Jewish descent and joint proprietor of Lassally & Sohn. At the time of the purchase, Lassally had owned and lived with his family at the adjacent Rothenbaumchaussee 43 since 1895.
In 1939, only four years after its purchase, Eduard Lassally was dispossessed of the building as part of the liquidation of his business holdings in the context of the general political pressure on the “Jewish” population. Only a few days after the sale, Eduard Lassally committed suicide.
In a property restitution proceeding in 1951, Oswald Lassally (1899-1975), a Hamburg law enforcement officer and the only surviving son of Eduard Lassally, reached an agreement with the heir of the building under which the heir paid compensation. The property was purchased by Universität Hamburg in 1961 as part of its expansion.
With its current use by the Hamburg Institute for Advanced Study, the building will hopefully become a place of hospitality, international exchange and cultural diversity, providing a counterpoint to its complex history.
Author: Jakob Hahn
Source: Althoff, Hendrik: Expert Opinion. National-Socialist History and Subsequent History of the Property Rothenbaumchaussee 45.