After completing primary school in Lehrte, Hirschfeld transferred in 1914 to the Realgymnasium on Aegidientorplatz in Hannover, where he composed poetry and essays.

He studied philosophy, sociology, German, and art history in Heidelberg, Frankfurt am Main, and Göttingen.

He received a job offer from Ferdinand Rieser, director of the Pfauenbühne in Zurich and emigrated to Switzerland, where he transformed the provincial stage into one of the most important German-language theaters outside Germany.

In 1935, he traveled to Moscow as a correspondent for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, where he also worked briefly as a directorial assistant for Vsevolod Meyerhold.

Hirschfeld was one of the discoverers and early supporters of the Swiss playwrights Max Frisch and Friedrich Dürrenmatt.