In late December 1938, Simon Fröhlich was released from Dachau concentration camp. The Family had to move into the poorhouse of Wiesenbronn, which for years was used as a sheepfold.

Jacob's parents had decided to join the Shavei Zion cooperative in the British Mandate of Palestine. The settlement had been founded in April 1938 on the initiative of Rexingen Jews. Julius Fröhlich, Simon's older brother, had already fled to Palestine with his family and was one of the founders of Shavei Zion.