Nicolaus Ferdinand Haller (21 January 1805 in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

– 10 October 1876 in Hamburg) was a jurist, a senator and the

First Mayor of Hamburg The following is a chronological list of mayors of Hamburg, a city-state in Germany. The mayors are the head of the city-state, part of the government of Hamburg. Since 1861, according to the Constitution of Hamburg, constitution of 28 Septembe ...

, and the head of state from 1863 to 1864; 1866 to 1867; 1870 to 1873.

Family

The Haller family was one of the 50 Jewish families expelled from

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, whom the Great Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg (reign 1640–1688) had granted asylum in his realm. The family first settled in Frederick William's

Duchy of Magdeburg The Duchy of Magdeburg () was a province of the Margraviate of Brandenburg from 1680 to 1701 and a province of the German Kingdom of Prussia from 1701 to 1807. It replaced the Archbishopric of Magdeburg after its secularization by Brandenburg, gi ...

in the city of

Halle upon Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Magdeburg as well as th ...

, whence it adopted its surname. Ferdinand Haller's grandfather Joseph Benjamin Haller died in Halle in 1772. Ferdinand Haller's father later moved to Hamburg. Ferdinand Haller's parents were Blümchen Gottschalk from

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

and Mendel Joseph Haller (1770–1852), who was technically a

Schutzjude (, "protected Jew") was a status for German Jews granted by the imperial, princely or royal courts. Within the Holy Roman Empire, except some eastern territories gained by the Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries (e.g. Brandenburg), Jews usu ...

under the more liberal Danish rule in Holsteinian Altona, allowing them to practically work and live in the adjacent, but more restrictive Hamburg. In 1794, Mendel Joseph Haller founded a banking and trading company in Hamburg, from which in 1797, the Bank Haller, Söhle & Co. developed. Ferdinand's elder sister Auguste (1799–1883) married (1801–1871), the son of their father's partner in the bank. Blümchen Gottschalk's sister Amalie (1777–1838) was married to Baron

Ludwig von Stieglitz Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname), including a list of people * Ludwig von Koopa, a character in Mario (the game) Arts and entertai ...

, court banker of

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

. Mendel Joseph Haller's niece Philippine Haller (1822–1892) was married to the wealthy cotton merchant Louis Liebermann, parents of the painter

Max Liebermann Max Liebermann (20 July 1847 – 8 February 1935) was a German painter and printmaker, and one of the leading proponents of Impressionism in Germany and continental Europe. In addition to his activity as an artist, he also assembled an important ...

. In early 1805, the elders of Altona's Ashkenazi kehilla sued Haller's father at Altona's Beit Din for not having had Ferdinand Haller

circumcised Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...

.Klaus Mühlfried
„Konfessionswechsel in der Spätaufklärung: Der Übertritt Martin Joseph Hallers vom Judentum zum lutherischen Bekenntnis“
in: ''Zeitschrift des Vereins für Hamburgische Geschichte'', vol. 91 (2005), pp. 51-75, here p. 68, retrieved on 24 February 2016. The Beit Din inflicted the ḥērem on Mendel Joseph Haller and, as was the law, prompted the secular authorities to execute that ban. Already for quite some time Mendel Joseph Haller was inclined not to observe Jewish law and looked for a solution to live an enlightened life, as he described to Allermöhe's

Pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

Karl Johann Heinrich Hübbe in a letter on 30 May 1805.Klaus Mühlfried
„Konfessionswechsel in der Spätaufklärung: Der Übertritt Martin Joseph Hallers vom Judentum zum lutherischen Bekenntnis“
in: ''Zeitschrift des Vereins für Hamburgische Geschichte'', vol. 91 (2005), pp. 51-75, here p. 64, retrieved on 24 February 2016. Without pious devotion to Christianity, but vaguely acknowledging

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

's supposed offer to live a life as he described, Haller delicately explained to Hübbe his wish for a fast and secret conversion.Klaus Mühlfried
„Konfessionswechsel in der Spätaufklärung: Der Übertritt Martin Joseph Hallers vom Judentum zum lutherischen Bekenntnis“
in: ''Zeitschrift des Vereins für Hamburgische Geschichte'', vol. 91 (2005), pp. 51-75, here pp. 64-69, retrieved on 24 February 2016. On 26 June 1805 Hübbe baptised the Hallers, with the parents adopting altered first names, Elisabeth instead of Blümchen and Martin instead of Mendel, and their children Nicolaus Ferdinand and his elder sister and brother Augusta (Auguste) Clara and Wilhelm Ludwig, all taken place far out of Hamburg in the .Klaus Mühlfried
„Konfessionswechsel in der Spätaufklärung: Der Übertritt Martin Joseph Hallers vom Judentum zum lutherischen Bekenntnis“
in: ''Zeitschrift des Vereins für Hamburgische Geschichte'', vol. 91 (2005), pp. 51-75, here p. 69, retrieved on 24 February 2016. Lutheranism was the prevailing Christian denomination in Hamburg and Altona. In later years Martin Joseph Haller became a lay judge for commercial matters. In 1831 Ferdinand Haller married Philippine Adele Oppenheimer (1807–1873), sister of , lawyer, jurist and judge at the in

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

, whose family (except for their father Jacob Oppenheimer 778–1845 was baptised by Hübbe by 1813.Klaus Mühlfried
„Konfessionswechsel in der Spätaufklärung: Der Übertritt Martin Joseph Hallers vom Judentum zum lutherischen Bekenntnis“
in: ''Zeitschrift des Vereins für Hamburgische Geschichte'', vol. 91 (2005), pp. 51-75, here p. 71, retrieved on 24 February 2016. Adele Oppenheimer was a cousin of Johann Gustav Heckscher. Ferdinand Haller became through one sister of his wife brother-in-law of the Hamburg Senator (1786–1862) and through another sister of hers uncle of the future

mayor . Ferdinand Haller's son, Martin Emil Ferdinand Haller, was a known architect of Hamburg.

Career

Ferdinand Haller studied law at the Ruperto Carola in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and the

Georgia Augusta Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of peo ...

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

. In 1827 Haller set up as lawyer in Hamburg, mostly busy in matters of

commercial law Commercial law (or business law), which is also known by other names such as mercantile law or trade law depending on jurisdiction; is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of Legal person, persons and organizations ...

. In 1844 the

Senate of Hamburg The government of Hamburg is divided into executive, legislative and judicial branches. Hamburg is a city-state and municipality, and thus its governance deals with several details of both state and local community politics. It takes place in two ...

, the executive government of the city-state, coöpted Haller as fellow senator. As a senator Haller engaged in the debate on and reform of the Hamburg constitution. Under the new constitution of 1860 the senate reformed too in 1861. The new constitution provided for the election of senators by the

Hamburg Parliament The Hamburg Parliament (; literally “Hamburgish Citizenry” or, more poetically, “Hamburgish Burgess (title), Burgessry”) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the German state of Hamburg according to the constitution of Hamburg. ...

, doing away with the senate's prior coöptation. Haller was one of the pre-reform senators who remained in office. After 1860 he was a successful senator of finance presiding over the deputation of finances (Finanzdeputation), a joint commission of burghers and officials competent for the city-state's budget.Klaus Mühlfried
„Konfessionswechsel in der Spätaufklärung: Der Übertritt Martin Joseph Hallers vom Judentum zum lutherischen Bekenntnis“
in: ''Zeitschrift des Vereins für Hamburgische Geschichte'', vol. 91 (2005), pp. 51-75, here p. 51, retrieved on 24 February 2016. Besides his colleague Gustav Kirchenpauer, with whom he rotated in office as First Mayor, Haller was one of the formative personalities of the period. From 17 August to 1 September 1863 Haller represented Hamburg in the

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

meeting () of

federal prince Federal prince (, "Princes of the Federation") was the generic term for the royal heads of state (monarchs) of the various states making up the German Empire, with the exception of the states that were republics and Alsace-Lorraine which had a spec ...

s and

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...

s of the states within the German Confederacy. On 30 June 1876 the

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

-ridden Haller resigned from senatorship, and died later the same year.

Hallerstraße

The Hallerstraße and the homonymous underground station in Hamburg are named in Haller's honour. In 1938 the Nazi senate of Hamburg renamed street and station, arguing that Haller's parents were Jewish.Gabriele Ferk, „Umbenennung der »Hallerstraße« in »Ostmarkstraße«“, in: ''Vierhundert Jahre Juden in Hamburg: eine Ausstellung des Museums für Hamburgische Geschichte vom 8. November 1991 bis 29. März 1992'', Ulrich Bauche (ed.), Hamburg: Dölling und Galitz, 1991, (=Die Geschichte der Juden in Hamburg; vol. 1), p. 446, In 1945 station and street were given back their original name.

References

* * * Klaus Mühlfried
„Konfessionswechsel in der Spätaufklärung: Der Übertritt Martin Joseph Hallers vom Judentum zum lutherischen Bekenntnis“
in: ''Zeitschrift des Vereins für Hamburgische Geschichte'', vol. 91 (2005), pp. 51–75, retrieved on 24 February 2016.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haller, Ferdinand 19th-century German lawyers Mayors of Hamburg Senators of Hamburg (before 1919) Jews from Hamburg German Lutherans Heidelberg University alumni University of Göttingen alumni 1805 births 1876 deaths Jurists from Hamburg 19th-century Lutherans 19th-century mayors 19th-century German politicians 19th-century German Jews