The history of the Jews in Laupheim began in the first half of the 18th century. Until the second half of the 19th century, the Jewish community in Laupheim, expanded continuously to become the largest of its kind in Württemberg. During this period, the Jewish community gradually assimilated to its Christian surroundings and its members prospered until the beginning of the Nazi-period in 1933. With the deportation of the last remaining Jews in 1942, more than 200 years of Jewish history in Laupheim forcibly came to an end. Prelude At the beginning of the 18th century, Laupheim was a small market town in Upper Swabia and politically part of Further Austria. Jews were allowed to enter the town as pedlars but permanent residence was refused. Since the 15th century, Jews were not allowed to settle within the territories of the surrounding free imperial cities, nor in the Duchy of Württemberg. The settlement of Jews in the territories of Imperial Knights, however, was often welcomed. These rulers were often highly in debt due to the fragmentation of their territories, as was the case with Laupheim being separated into two independent states, Großlaupheim and Kleinlaupheim, as well as frequent wars. The income generated by taxation of the Jews helped to sustain the life-style of the nobility and also to stimulate the local economy. Hans Pankraz von Freyberg, the ruler of Laupheim between 1570 and 1582, explicitly forbade his subjects any contact with Jews and another early local law from 1622 threatened any inhabitant of Laupheim, who got involved with Jews with a fine of 25 fl. However, by then several Jewish communities had already been established in Upper Swabia. The local ruler of the nearby village of Baltringen allowed Jews to settle there in 1572. In the villages of Schwendi and Orsenhausen, the last of which still has a Judengasse ("Jews' Lane"), Jewish communities seem to have existed well before the 18th century. In Laupheim, the presence of Jewish traders on market days in the 17th century is documented. Yet, permanent Jewish presence in Laupheim was not permitted until the 18th century. From the beginnings until the Jews' Act of 1828 In 1724, Abraham Kissendorfer from Illeraichheim petitioned the owner of Großlaupheim, Constantin Adolf von Welden, and the owner of Kleinlaupheim, Damian Carl von Welden, to allow three Jewish families, later extended to twenty, to settle in Laupheim. After some negotiation, an