• Herrlingen Forced Retirement Home for Elderly Jews
In 1939, probably at request of the Gestapo, a forced retirement home for elderly Jews was established in a former state boarding school. The home was shut down in 1942, and all of its residents and staff deported to Theresienstadt. In 2000, a memorial plaque in honour of those who were deported was set up on the building of the former retirement home on the initiative of the »House under the Rainbow« association.
Image: Herrlingen, before 1933, Postcard view of the state boarding school, Ruth Fichtner
Herrlingen, before 1933, Postcard view of the state boarding school, Ruth Fichtner

Image: Herrlingen, 2007, The former state Jewish boarding school and retirement home, Gemeinde Blaustein, Alb-Donau-Kreis, Manfred Kindl
Herrlingen, 2007, The former state Jewish boarding school and retirement home, Gemeinde Blaustein, Alb-Donau-Kreis, Manfred Kindl
Located in Herrlingen until 1939 was a Jewish state boarding school. At the time, it was a centre of Jewish life in the region of Southern Germany. At times, the school had over a hundred pupils. At the beginning of 1939, the boarding school was shut down following repressive measures by the National Socialists. On February 3, 1939, the Israelite High Council asked for permission from the Gestapo to establish a Jewish retirement home on the premises of the former boarding school. This most probably occurred under pressure exerted by the Gestapo, which wanted to force Jewish residents out of the towns and villages of the Württemberg region and gather them in one place. Most of the people who moved into the retirement home were forced to do so. The authorities pressurized the Jewish pensioners to leave their homes and move to the Herrlingen retirement home. From the end of 1940 on, the conditions there dramatically worsened, and the home residents were not permitted to purchase their own supplies. Several of the home's residents were admitted into hospitals, which were part of the »Euthanasia« campaign, and murdered there. A total of 151 people lived in the Herrlingen retirement home from its establishment until it was closed down. In August 1942, the residents and eight staff members were transferred to Oberstotzingen. Shortly afterwards they were deported to Theresienstadt and on to extermination camps in occupied Poland. Previously, nine elderly Jews and members of staff had been deported directly from the retirement home to extermination camps.
Image: Herrlingen, before 1933, Postcard view of the state boarding school, Ruth Fichtner
Herrlingen, before 1933, Postcard view of the state boarding school, Ruth Fichtner

Image: Herrlingen, 2007, The former state Jewish boarding school and retirement home, Gemeinde Blaustein, Alb-Donau-Kreis, Manfred Kindl
Herrlingen, 2007, The former state Jewish boarding school and retirement home, Gemeinde Blaustein, Alb-Donau-Kreis, Manfred Kindl
120 residents of the Jewish retirement home fell victim to National Socialist persecution. Most of the home's residents and personnel were deported to Theresienstadt. Many died there of malnourishment and due to a lack of medical care. Some were deported from Theresienstadt on to extermination camps and murdered there. Of the 96 who were deported to Theresienstadt, only four lived to see the end of the war. At least 15 students of the state boarding school perished under National Socialist persecution.
Image: No place given, undated, Josef Staropolski died on September 18, 1942, at the age of 87 in Theresienstadt, Kreisarchiv Alb-Donau-Kreis Ulm
No place given, undated, Josef Staropolski died on September 18, 1942, at the age of 87 in Theresienstadt, Kreisarchiv Alb-Donau-Kreis Ulm

Image: Herrlingen, 2007, Memorial plaque at the former retirement home, Gemeinde Blaustein, Alb-Donau-Kreis, Manfred Kindl
Herrlingen, 2007, Memorial plaque at the former retirement home, Gemeinde Blaustein, Alb-Donau-Kreis, Manfred Kindl
In 1985, the »House under the Rainbow« association was founded with its seat in the former boarding school building. The association's »state boarding school« workgroup deals with uncovering the history of the building. In the 1990s, they planted a »Tree of remembrance« on the premises of the former school and retirement home. In 2000, a memorial plaque to commemorate the Herrlingen Jewish retirement home was unveiled.
Image: Herrlingen, 2007, The former state Jewish boarding school and retirement home, Gemeinde Blaustein, Alb-Donau-Kreis, Manfred Kindl
Herrlingen, 2007, The former state Jewish boarding school and retirement home, Gemeinde Blaustein, Alb-Donau-Kreis, Manfred Kindl

Name
Jüdisches Zwangsaltersheim Herrlingen
Address
Erwin-Rommel-Steige 50
89134 Herrlingen
Phone
+49 (0)7304 588 1
Fax
+49 (0)7304 426 66
Web
http://www.haus-unterm-regenbogen.de
E-Mail
kgiebeler@aol.com
Possibilities
Lectures series, concerts and readings, guided tours for school groups