The Home of My Ancestors

Altdorf was a small town nestled among other thriving Jewish communities in the Schwarzwald (Black Forest). These towns and others in today's State of Baden-Wuerttemberg, were part of an important chapter in the history of the Jewish Diaspora.

The Jews of Altdorf were small in number but were part of a larger Jewish community from nearby villages with Jewish populations including Schmieheim, Ettenheim and Kippenheim. These towns and others shared resources including schools, kosher butchers, cemeteries and more. Neighboring villages were also a frequently source for meeting and marrying among the Jewish community. When Abraham died on January 24, 1821, he was buried in the nearby Schmieheim Cemetery. Information on Altdorf and other small Jewish communities can be found in several reference materials. Information is available on the Jewish history in this area of Germany and on the Schmieheim Cemetery (in German). Also see information on this cemetery at the International Jewish Cemetery Project.

Dreifuss Genealogy

An old prayer book found in in the Altdorf Synagogue just before Kristalnacht, contains the oldest surviving written genealogy of Abraham's family written by his oldest son. It is inscribed with this hand written entry,

"This book belongs to Ahron, son of Abraham in Altdorf"

Ahron (Aaron), the oldest of all of Abraham's children, wrote the following genealogy which is the foundation on which this genealogy is constructed.

DREIFUSS genealogy now has information on over 3000 family members and 2100 families going back to the 17th century. There are hundreds of photographs, like the early 1870's photo of Leopold Dreifuss at the Fulton Meat Market (the photo at the right shows my great grandfather at work - he's the one on the left with the butcher's coat). The names and families are fully searchable! Search your families and photos in the Surname or Name Index. The DREIFUSS family history is only one of the family histories covered on these pages. If you are interested in another surnarame, try to find that family name in the Surname index.

Viewing Dreifuss and Other Family Records

If you wish to view the detailed genealogy records complete with photographs, you will need a user name and password. Why? ... because of our need to maintain family security. ALSO, genealogy services have obtained records from these pages and now charge you for information I never provided them with and give you for free. I also like to be in touch with people like you with similar interests. If you would like a password, please check the link, Information on Viewing Records, and email me, Pete at dreifuss1@comcast.net, or Jeff at jsgran@erols.com to request access. In general, access is limited to family, potential family members and other researchers with similar interests, who agree to maintain security. Email us with information on names, places and dates that tell us who you are interested in. We will then determine what information can be released to help you.

ALL of the top menus are fully active for visitors, including BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES and MISCELLANEOUS. These may be helpful to see if you're might be related.

If you think you might be family or you have questions or comments, e-mail us. Let us hear your comments.   

Please leave a note that you were here with any comments or suggestions. This helps us make improvements.

       

Other Genealogy web sites published, authored or coordinated by us include:

The Karolina Hess Story (written by Leonard Dreifuss), Chana Sora Czarnolaski, the Immigration of Wolf Kaminsky, Danville Pensylvania: the Selinsgrove Connection, the Rozwadow Torah Restoration,

the JewishGen Shtetlinks web page on Rozwadów, Poland, the Rozwadów Yizkor Book Translation and the Schmieheim Jewish Cemetery.

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These pages are dedicated to Leonard and Ruth Dreifuss, Sidney Garfinkel and Jack and Revelyn Eisenstadt, who among many, many other things, instilled in us the love for family. Without their efforts, teaching and guidance this would not be possible.

Leonard Dreifuss (20 Sep 1916 - 3 Apr 1997)

Ruth Dreifuss (11 Sep 1918 - 27 Nov 2005)

Sidney Garfinkel (19 Mar 1916 - 3 Sep 2005)

Jack Eisenstadt (14 Oct 1915 - 30 Sep 2005)

Revelyn Eisenstadt (1 Feb 1917 - 24 Mar 2008)

These pages are also dedicted to all of those who perished in the Shoah. Please visit The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names and keep their memories alive.

"Most people in the world don't know quite what to do with the holocaust. But I think we genealogists have found out what to do with the Holocaust. We remember names. When the Nazis rounded us up, they took away our names and they gave us numbers. What we are involved with doing is taking away the numbers and giving them back their names." Arthur Kurzweil June 28, 1995 banquet speech at the International Seminar on Jewish Genealogy, Washington, DC

Contact Pete at dreifuss1@comcast.net or Jeff at jsgran@erols.com  

Copyright Peter A. and Jeffrey M. Dreifuss February 2003