Heidenheim

Heidenheim was a mid-size, predominantly Jewish DP camp in the American zone of occupation in the Stuttgart district. The U.S. Army carved the camp out of part of a German village by requisitioning private housing. Though the camp was designed to accommodate 2,000 Jews, the population frequently exceeded that figure, as it did on July 25, 1949, when 2,328 Jewish DPs still populated the camp. Nevertheless, Heidenheim closed shortly after that census, officially ceasing operations on August 5, 1949. During its four years of DP life, Heidenheim residents created a Talmud Torah (religious elementary school), a yeshiva (religious academy) of the Klausenburger chasidim with 45 students, a rabbinical school that had 40 students in October 1947, and a kosher kitchen that served 250 people.