Among the Wertheim family, who were Jewish, stories were known that spoke of help they received from some of their neighbors. Food was rationed at the beginning of World War II. Jews received smaller rations and were only allowed to shop in designated stores and at specific times. Emma Wertheim needed fresh sourdough to be able to bake bread, but due to the laws imposed by the Nazis, she couldn't ask the neighbors directly. She placed a small dish with five pennies in the hallway of a house, and the neighbor took detours to secretly give her a bowl with some sourdough. A miller who provided Leopold Wertheim's family with a sack of flour at night was reported and arrested for it. Another neighbor repeatedly left food for the family in a niche of the alley.