The late 19th century saw a considerable rise in the Jewish population, largely as a consequence of the processes of industrialization and the 1871 unification of Germany. By 1896, the first Jewish community, the Israelitische Vereinigung Friedrichsberg und Umgebung e.V. (Israelite Association of Friedrichsberg and Surroundings) was established. It served as the general coordinating body for the organization of Jewish religious services and the provision of education in the area. As a result, the district became home to numerous Jewish businesses and professionals, including notable figures such as psychiatrist Alfred Döblin and Dr. Franz Josef Kallmann. Many Jewish families took up residence along Frankfurter Allee, which was designated the Boulevard des Ostens (Boulevard of the East). One of the entrepreneurs instrumental in the development of this vivid Jewish commercial center in Friedrichshain was Theodor Kabaker. Kabaker owned a timber shop and factory located in close proximity to other Jewish businesses. 

In 1935, he was classified as non-Aryan by the Nazi regime, which resulted in the revocation of his access to goods. He sought to overturn this decision, on the grounds that it constituted an unwarranted insult. He argued that he had fought on the front lines in the First World War for Germany, sustaining severe injuries. His store had become his lifeline, and taking it away meant extinguishing his last hope. Perplexed, he could not comprehend the rationale behind this classification, given that he did not identify as Jewish. He had long since dissociated himself from that identity, having been absent from the Jewish community for over a decade. His marriage to a Christian woman and the upbringing of his son in the Evangelical faith led him to question why he was labeled as Jewish. He found himself in a tragic dilemma. He faced the paradox of being regarded as antisemitic by Jews for rejecting his Jewish origins, a phenomenon commonly observed during this historical period, while the Nazi regime condemned him as a Jew.