Abstract

The rural areas of southern Germany abound in agricultural businesses, including the cattle and horse trade, and the related fairs at strategic times of the year. The cattle trade was popular among Christians and Jews, and until 1933 both conducted their business jointly. By 1937 discrimination against Jews had not only driven a wedge between the two groups, but eliminated Jews from the cattle business and fairs altogether. The Langs' business permit was revoked in 1938, and during Kristallnacht, Louis and Leopold Lang along with many other Jewish men were arrested and sent to Dachau concentration camp, where they were held and mistreated for several weeks. Upon their release, Louis was encouraged to sell his property to the municipality of Süssen. The Lang property was aryanized in Spring of 1939, and Louis and Leopold were forced to rent their own home from the municipality until their deportation in 1941. After World War II began, one of the buildings on the Lang property was used as a prisoner-of-war camp for French POWs who were employed in the local economy. Local residents likewise applied to rent parts of the Lang property for various uses even while the family was still living there.

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