William Hechler

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William Henry Hechler (born October 1, 1845 in Benares , India ; † January 30, 1931 in Islington near London ) was an Anglican clergyman and is best known today for his support for Theodor Herzl's Zionist endeavors and his mediating role between Herzl and the German Politics.

William Hechler with his children

Life and meaning

Hechler worked as the British embassy chaplain in Vienna when he read Theodor Herzl's work in 1896 and was impressed by his vision of founding a “ Jewish state ”, primarily in Palestine . Until Herzl's death, Hechler was one of the most loyal of his assistants, and because of his acquaintance with Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden, he had the merit of establishing contact between the Zionist leader and Kaiser Wilhelm II . At the meetings between Herzl and the German Kaiser on the occasion of Kaiser Wilhelm II's Palestine trip in 1898, Hechler acted as the courier between the Zionist delegation and the imperial camp in Jerusalem .

literature

In the spring of 2018, an exhibition on William Hechler was shown in an outbuilding of the Christ Church in Jerusalem
  • Claude Duvernoy: The Prince and his Prophet: Theodor Herzl and William Hechler, the pioneers of the Zionist movement. Hänssler, Neuhausen-Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-7751-2958-8 .
  • Gerhard Gronauer:  Hechler, William Henry. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 26, Bautz, Nordhausen 2006, ISBN 3-88309-354-8 , Sp. 614-627.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
  • Gerhard Gronauer: "To Love the Jews": William H. Hechler (1845-1931), the Christian promoter of political Zionism. In: Berthold Schwarz / Helge Stadelmann (editor): Christians, Jews and the future of Israel. Frankfurt am Main 2009, 185–210, ISBN 978-3-631-58138-4 .
  • Enzo Maaß: Forgotten Prophet: William Henry Hechler and the Rise of Political Zionism. In: Nordisk Judaistik / Scandinavian Journal for Jewish Studies 23, 2 (2002) pp. 157–193.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Hechler, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hechler, William Henry (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Anglican clergyman and supporter of Theodor Herzl and political Zionism
DATE OF BIRTH October 1, 1845
PLACE OF BIRTH Benares , India
DATE OF DEATH January 30, 1931
Place of death Islington near London