Lampertheim

Lampertheim was a small Jewish DP camp that opened on December 15, 1945, primarily to provide additional space for refugees from the over-crowded Zeilsheim DP camp. Situated between Mannheim and Darmstadt in the Frankfurt district of the American zone of occupation, Lampertheim boasted a library of approximately 500 Yiddish, German, and Hebrew books, all of which were donated by American Jewish organizations and the Jewish Agency in Palestine. Lampertheim also maintained an elementary school, a Talmud Torah (religious elementary school), a kindergarten, a synagogue, and a kosher kitchen. In December 1947, religious residents of the camp protested against a theater performance on the Jewish Sabbath. The camp's newspaper was entitled Frayhayt (Freedom) and was printed until May 24, 1949, when Lampertheim closed. At its peak in 1946-47, the camp housed over 1,200 DPs.