Aron Hirsch (1783 – 1842) founded the metal trade, which was to develop into the global company Aron Hirsch & Sohn over the next 100 years. The trading company was expanded in 1829 with the acquisition of the copper hammer in Ilsenburg and in 1863 the brass works in Eberswalde.

In the Jewish community, the members of the large Hirsch family were important players in conjunction with the Auerbach and Hildesheimer rabbinical families. They pursued the neo-Orthodox orientation of community life. This meant strict adherence to the Jewish religious law, the Halacha, while at the same time being open to the surrounding non-Jewish society. In Halberstadt, members of the Hirsch family were involved in politics and as benefactors. In the 19th century, 10 percent of the population in Halberstadt was Jewish. This meant that the municipality was proportionally larger than its neighboring municipality in Berlin, for example.