The village of Wankheim came into the possession of the barons of Saint-André in the years 1760 and 1765 and thus did not belong to the Duchy of Württemberg. The basic prerequisite for the admission of Jews was thus created. In the surrounding Württemberg, on the other hand, there was a ban on settlement. In 1776, the local rulers decided to initially admit four Jews: David Dessauer, Samuel Levi, Jakob Herz and David Alexander. The new residents were housed in a house completed in 1784, a former barn that was converted by the barons.