In 1935 the family moved to Rottenburg. With the grandparents Rosa and Albert Horkheimer, they had built a two-family house at Mechtildstraße 32. The house included a garden with fruit trees, vegetable patches and a large sandbox.

Lila, as everyone called her, had her own room with lots of toys. The sandbox was an attraction for the children in the neighborhood.
Only a few Jewish families lived in Rottenburg and there was no Jewish community.