Höchstädt an der Donau Höchstädt an der Donau Höchstädt an der Donau is a town in the district of Dillingen, Bavaria, Germany. It is situated near the banks of the Danube River. It consists of the following suburbs: Höchstädt an der Donau, Deisenhofen, Oberglauheim, Schwennenbach and Sonderheim. The town is the seat of the municipal association Höchstädt an der Donau, which includes the towns Blindheim, Finningen, Lutzingen and Schwenningen. In the fifteenth and sixteenth century, the wealthy mercantile family Höchstetter, which came from the town, was part of the mercantile patriciate of Augsburg. In the early 18th century, the town was the site of
SS Donau (1929) SS Donau (1929) SS "Donau" was a Norddeutscher Lloyd refrigerated cargo ship. In the Second World War the Kriegsmarine used it as a transport ship between Germany and Norway. She became known as the "slave ship" after the SS and Gestapo transported 540 Jews from Norway to Stettin, from where they were taken by train to Auschwitz. Only nine of those deported on the "Donau" survived. "Donau" was built in Hamburg for Norddeutscher Lloyd of Bremen and completed in 1929. At gross she was large for her time, and she was unusual amongst cargo ships for being powered by both