Born in Magdeburg,[1] then part of the Prussian Province of Saxony, Hirsch earned his Abitur in Halle.

[2] Hirsch left the Bundestag in 1975 to become Minister of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia, serving as vice minister-president from 1979.

[1] Hirsch gained a reputation as one of the most vocal advocates for civil liberties in Germany, which earned him the Arnold-Freymuth-Preis [de] in 1998 and the Fritz Bauer Prize in 2006.

[1] Hirsch was also awarded an honorary doctorate by the Goethe University Frankfurt in 2006,[1] and was praised in a speech by Peter-Alexis Albrecht [de] as "a nonpartisan, relentless, and aggressive advocate of the rigorous rule of law".

[4] (He was, as it were, a bridge-builder between people and nations – practical and constructive in his logical argumentation and always humane and benevolent in his actions and influence.)