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. Winifred Wagner was not able to help the elderly Wagner devotee under this respect. Through the intervention of the then-rector of Munich University (LMU), his former neighbor Karl Haushofer, who was a friend of Rudolf Hess, and the professor of mathematics Oskar Perron, one of Alfred Pringsheim's former students, as well as through the initiative of a courageous member of the SS who arranged for passports at the last minute, he and his wife were able to leave for Zurich, Switzerland on 31 October 1939 after suffering further grave humiliations. With the proceeds remaining after the Nazi-initiated forced auction at short notice of his majolica collection he was even able to pay the so-called “desertion tax” ("Reichsfluchtsteuer").