Altdorf (Ettenheim)

Altdorf is the ancestral home of our Dreifuss family. Our great grandfather Leopold Dreifuss emigrated from there in September 1868 and was followed by his two brothers, Aaron and Henry, and a sister, Rosa. There are several villages in Germany and Europe which share the same name so it is important to understand its correct location.

It is located in present day Baden-Wuerttemberg, the southwest German state bordering France and Switzerland. Altdorf is today incorporated into Ettenheim (see map below) and is located close to the southern stretch of the Rhine river (known as the Upper Rhine), just east of the border with France. It is one of the most studied ancestral towns of our family and we have authored the Altdorf web site dedicated to it and its former Jewish community on Jewishgen -The Home of Jewish Genealogy. For more detailed information, including history, methods of genealogical research and the holocaust please visit our site on JewishGen.

Unlike today, small and rural villages, such as Altdorf in 18th and 19th century Germany provided advantages for Jews.  Agricultural jobs were the basis for the economy, but Jews were restricted from owning agricultural land. Farmers who were largely Catholic in Altdorf, did not like to expose themselves to the risk involved in cattle trading, raised cattle on their farms but were not involved in trading. Therefore cattle trading, which appeared to include butchering, was commonly practiced by the Jews, including our Dreifuss ancestors. By the mid-nineteenth century, the Altdorf Jews were providing the entire area surrounding Altdorf with meat. Therefore the Jews served a specific and integral function of the Altdorf economy.