The German Colony Haifa

[Peter H]

From The Great War Forum,michaeldr

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forum ... opic=66037

With our Army in Palestine" by Anthony Bluett, Late of 'A' Battery, HAC & Egyptian Camel Transport Corps

"I wonder how many people are aware of the extent to which the Germans carried their policy of "peaceful penetration" in Palestine and Syria? Whenever in our wanderings we came across a neat, modern town or village, be sure that the inhabitants were mainly German.....The language of all was German, and their extraordinary thoroughness in devising means to overcome the climatic and other difficulties of the country was also German, with the result that they waxed fat and prosperous, while the people indigenous to the soil scraped a precarious living by tending the flocks and tilling the land of the interlopers. All through the country from Gaza, where there was actually a German school, to Haifa, of which the largest and wealthiest portion of the population was German, you will find these colonies occupying almost invariably the most commanding sites and situated in the midst of the most fertile tracts of land.

It was, I think, by contrast with these prosperous places that the ruins of Palestine and Syria took on an added desolation and loneliness: you could with difficulty visualise the past splendours of a crumbling mass of mighty pillars when on the hill opposite stood a town of bijou villas with modern appurtenances.
A mournful example of this was at Athlit, the remains of whose greatness lay half-buried almost at the foot of Mt. Carmel. For a brief moment you could capture the spirit of a bygone age; the massive walls seemed to ring again with the clash of arms and the shouts of that little band of Crusaders who were fighting their last fight in their last stronghold on holy soil. Then your eyes lit on the great barrack of a German hotel on the top of Carmel, and the great fortress dissolved into a crumbling, shapeless pile at your feet."

The German Templar Colony:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Colony_of_Haifa

At its height, the Templer community in Palestine was 2,200 people strong

[Peter H]

On 25th October 1898 the Kaiser and Kaiserin landed at Haifa for their visit to the Holy Land. They took a great interest in the German colonists and were taken by them up Mount Carmel for a view over their settlement and across the bay. An obelisk was raised to commemorate the imperial visit and it is said to be near this spot that the Turks had dug-in their last gun defending Haifa in 1918. [From the Australian OH Vol.VII, Ch.XLI, "...Chauvel ordered Macandrew to capture Haifa with the 5th Cavalry Division, and the horsemen, after being held up for a few hours by shells and machine-gun fire, galloped into the town. Several Turks were killed by the Indians in the streets, and 135 prisoners and a few guns, including two naval pieces on (Mount) Carmel, were captured."] Locally, it is also said that after the battle here, 'In anger, the British inflicted damaged on the obelisk.' If they did, then it was also later restored by them and an old Turkish cannon added to the site to mark their victory over the Ottoman-German forces here on 23rd September 1918.

''Wilhelm's obelisk'' and the Turkish cannon on Mount Carmel overlooking the German Templer Colony. The cannon is dated 1857, but the manufacturer's name appears to have been ground off. It is numbered '38' and has inscribed the further detail '3092 KIL'.

[Peter H]

To return to the Templer settlers; they retained their German nationality, spoke German with a distinctive Schwarbisch accent, welcomed the visit of the Kaiser, and generally supported Germany in World War One. Following the occupation of Palestine by the allies they were interned as enemy aliens. After the war however, they were allowed to return to their settlements and the Haifa Templer community raised its own Memorial to the First World War.

The central avenue of the Templerfriedhof [Templer Cemetery] and its memorial to the First World War. The inscription reads;

"Iheren im Weltkrieg +1914-1918+ Gefallen Mit Burgern, Die Deutsche Kolonie Haifa"

[Peter H]

From: http://www.gameo.org/index.asp?content= ... /T460.html

During both World Wars the Templers were interned as German citizens. During World War II the young families were deported to Australia. When the state of Israel was established the remainder had to leave. Of these, 49 persons were sent to Germany, while early in 1949 223 persons landed in Melbourne, Australia, the remainder later going to Germany. In 1953 1,230 Templers were in Australia, living in Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia. Templers of Mennonite background now livec scattered in Germany, Austria, and Canada. Among the latter were particularly those who left Russia before World War I.