The Sephardic jews who settled in Hamburg at the end of the 16th century, were wealthy merchants with extensive trading connections oversees. Not only because of their involvement in the Hamburg Bank, founded in 1619, they supported the rise of Hamburg to an international trade and money centre in the 17th century. During that time there was a strong social classification among the Jews in the city consisting not only of rich traders and estate agents, but also of bakers and cooks, workers and domestic employees. Apparently, in the middle of the 18th century, the 858 Ashkenasi taxpayers were practising 68 different types of work in the city. Because of the the restrictions of the profession, enforced since the middle ages, they were, as a rule, excluded from expert skilled trade and for that reason concentrated on the trade and the money business. These reached from hawking to wholesale trade, from the pawnshop to money -changing. The Jews were especially active in the small business and trading in the streets. All in all, the Jews distinguished themselves through highly professional mobility. They also became active employers in the manufacturing industry - for example in Kattun printing - The printing counted as of exceptional quality beyond Hamburg and Altona. An example for the independant employment of women in business, is Glückel von Hameln (1646-1724) The participation of jewish families in the foundation of private banks in the 19th century, still belonged to their traditional economical business, which was favoured by the growing increase of investment and the widespread connections of Jews abroad. In the new upcoming industry there were no registrative restrictions, so that jewish employees were able to invest into this expanding economical branch, prepared to take risks with flexibility. Above all, they were successfull in the chemical and metal industries and mechanical engineering. The introduction of the freedom of trade in 1865, the vast increase in the population and the new mass production of textiles supported the construction of warehouses, a new type of trading with abundant supply and low prices. More Jews on average were owners of these warehouses.

Branches of large concerns from other cities, however, developed in Hamburg as for example, the firm of Hermann Tietz (Hertie) During the empire and the Weimar republic four jewish shipping companies were founded in Hamburg. But Jews also worked in leading positions of other shipping lines; the general director of HAPAG, Albert Ballin, belonged, along with the Banker Max M. Warburg, to the very influential personalities of their time. The outstanding position of some individual jewish industrial personalities and firms should not hide the fact that the majority of jews living in Hamburg was occupied in various economical branches of the city with widespread possibilities of income. Traditional prejudice and envy of the successful jewish competition made it easier for the National Socialists, to expel the jews from 1933 on from most of their jobs, to confiscate jewish property, to expropriate jewish firms and therefore to deprive the jewish population of their existencial foundation.

Jews in Hamburg
- The arrival of the first Jews in Hamburg
- Enlightment and emancipation
- Jews in the german empire
- Jews and the Weimar Republic
- Persecution and the holocaust under the national socialist leadership
- Jewish Schools
- Jews and business in Hamburg
- Living conditions and Jewish residential areas
- The Synagogue