In 1906, the two brothers, comedians and actors, Anton and Donat Herrnfeld, turned their life’s vision into reality by founding their own theater. Donat crafted plays centered on themes of morality and honor within the context of Jewish family life, a subject matter that was particularly suited to their performances.  Located in the city district  previously known as Luisenstadt, the theater’s official name was “Theater in der Kommandantenstraße 57 zu Berlin”, often shortened to Gebrüder-Herrnfeld-Theater (Brothers Herrnfeld Theater). The theater rapidly gained popularity and became a prominent fixture in Berlin’s entertainment landscape. Its familial atmosphere was a key to its charm and success. Women of the family managed the box office, siblings and children performed on stage, and mothers prepared meals in the theater kitchen.

The Herrnfeld brothers authored over 100 plays, mainly burlesques, and frequently took on the leading male roles themselves. In the early years of their careers, the brothers’ wives, Therese Herrnfeld-Horn and Klara Herrnfeld-Birkholz, also performed in their productions. The plays, composed in a Yiddish-influenced dialect, centered on the themes of Jewish life and customs. The success of these productions can largely be attributed to the use of stereotypical characterizations: Anton Herrnfeld often played a character with a Slavic name, usually a stubborn, simple-minded, yet astute servant, while Donat Herrnfeld normally portrayed a Jewish main character, choleric yet tender-hearted.

The First World War marked a decline for the theater, and after Donat’s death in 1916, Anton sold it in 1921. The theater continued to operate, with the Kulturbund Deutscher Juden (Cultural Association of German Jews) taking over the place in 1935. The organization, established in 1933 following the expulsion of Jewish artists from state theaters, became a symbol of resistance and self-assertion. In the face of Nazi oppression and the horrors of the November 1938 pogrom, the Berlin Kulturbund continued its performances, despite the strict surveillance to which it was subjected. In 1941, the Kulturbund was completely banned. Many of its members, including Donat’s daughter Monica Herrnfeld, either fled the country or went into hiding; others were arrested and murdered. The theater was damaged during the war and was demolished in 1953. Today, a residential building stands on the site where the theater once flourished.