Primarily because of his age (he was in his mid-80s) he did not want to go abroad, as did most of his family, and remained in Germany. When the persecution and expropriation of the Jewish population began, one of many antisemitic pieces of Nazi legislation, the Namensänderungsverordnung which came into effect 1 January 1938, forced him to legally change his name into Alfred Israel Pringsheim at age 87. At first, he was not allowed to leave the country.