Max Bodenheimer

Max Isidor Bodenheimer ( born March 12, 1865 in Stuttgart, † July 19, 1940 in Jerusalem) was a German jurist of Jewish religion, forerunner of the Zionist movement in Germany and subsequently influential official of the World Zionist Organization. Herzl's nickname for Bodenheimer was occasionally Hajoll (Hebrew chajal = soldier, - also code designation in telegrams, etc.).

Life

Bodenheimer studied law in Berlin until 1889, Strasbourg, Freiburg and Tübingen, 1890 settled in Cologne, where he opened a law office in 1893, which he ran until 1933.

1896 married Max Bodenheimer Pink Dalberg (* December 7, 1876, † March 24, 1938, she beat on the Zionist Congress at The Hague in 1907 the establishment of the "Federation of Jewish Women for Cultural Work in Palestine " before, the precursor of the WIZO ). The marriage produced three children Fritz Simon (1897-1959, professor of zoology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Henrietta Hannah (1898-1992, biographer of her father ) and Ruth (1900-1941, lawyer ).

The seizure of power by the National Socialists forced Bodenheimer 1933 to emigrate to Amsterdam. After his retirement from the Zionist movement in 1934, the family moved to Jerusalem in 1935, where Bodenheimer, among others, his biography devoted, but was otherwise active in journalism.

On March 24, 1938, died wife Rosa, on July 20, 1940 Max Bodenheimer in Jerusalem.

Political career

Long Bodenheimer had dealt with the situation of the Jews. From 1889 matured in him the realization that the Jews constituted a nation, and he began to get involved in the Zionist movement. In 1891 he published his first article Are Russian Jews a nation? in the Hamburg weekly Die Menorah was followed by others, especially ( also 1891), his booklet What to do with the Jews of Russia and Syria, a haven of Russian Jews (some of the former administrative unit Syria Palestine).

Gradually, he got in touch with various Zionist organizations and worked, since its first meeting in February 1892 to work closely with David Wolff son together. Together with him founded Bodenheimer 1893 the Cologne Association for the promotion of agriculture and crafts in Palestine. In 1894 he participated with Gustav cloth in Hamburg in the founding of the Free Jewish Association. Also in 1894 came under Bodenheimer's leadership, the first national - Jewish Association in Cologne (later " ZVfD "), whose President Bodenheimer was ( he remained there until 1910).

As of May 1896 stood Bodenheimer in a lively correspondence with Theodor Herzl. Before the two met for the first time, which was " National Jewish unification of Germany " founded and elected Bodenheimer to its president on July 11, 1897 in Bingen. Herzl and Bodenheimer met on the first World Zionist Congress, which began on August 29, 1897 in Basel each other, participated in the Bodenheimer as a delegate of the German movement. There he was elected to the Great Action Committee ( and remained a member of the Great Action Committee until 1921 ). From 1901 to 1922 Bodenheimer was the lawyer of the World Zionist Congress Congress.

In Herzl travels to Constantinople and Jerusalem Opel Bodenheimer accompanied him in October and November 1898, when Herzl himself. In to talks with Kaiser Wilhelm II and Sultan Abdulhamid II to sought the establishment of an independent state "Israel"

In May 1899 Bodenheimer initiated in collaboration with the other Jewish National Fund. In addition to his involvement in the German Zionist movement, he was primarily responsible for a concept on the organization of the World Association Statutes. This concept was adopted at the 5th World Congress, in 1901 and the establishment of an International Fund, the Jewish National Fund ( JNF ), decided its second president - was Bodenheimer 1907 to 1914 - after Kremenetzky.

Bodenheimer was also a member of the organizing committee, 1910 he became Chairman with the goal of reform of organizational structures. This was necessary due to the reform of the emerging parties formed within the organization, which Bodenheimer had initially been critical. Reforms should regulate the positions of these parties within the World Federation and implemented at the 10th Congress in August 1911 in Basel.

As a result, Bodenheimer took influence internationally, while he, with the change of the headquarters of the German Zionists from Cologne to Berlin, took off in Germany. Above all, 1912-1914 was opposed Bodenheimer openly against the radical expectant attitude of the German movement, which has now been dominated by Kurt Blumenfeld. This meant that Bodenheimer 1912 for the first time did not take part in the German Zionist Congress. The March and April of the year spent Bodenheimer on behalf of the JNF in Palestine.

At the start of the First World War, in 1914, moved to the initiative Bodenheimer, the headquarters of the JNF from Cologne to The Hague. He then initiated ( together with Franz Oppenheimer, Adolf Friedemann and other Zionists ) the "Committee for the Liberation of the Russian Jews ," later renamed the "Committee for the East ", which aims to improve the situation of Jews in Germany and Austria - Hungary occupied Russian territories was. In order not to undermine the neutrality of the World Federation of the question, Bodenheimer has not been appointed Chairman of the Committee. The chair took over instead Franz Oppenheimer. In November of that year he resigned from the chairmanship of JNF back, but remained a member of the Board.

In 1921, the fateful year for Bodenheimer: In April, he agreed with the majority of the directors of the JNF, for trying to buy up land in Palestine, and defended this decision passionate in 12th World Congress in September 1922 in Karlovy Vary. This performance was to be his last intervention on a World Zionist Congress at the same time. The new leaders of the World Federation, among them the 1920 newly elected president, Chaim Weizmann, slowly dissolved from the era of Theodor Herzl. This led in December to many companions Herzl in the Executive Board of the JNF were not re-elected, among them Bodenheimer.

A recent major appearance in Germany had Bodenheimer 1928, when the Cologne Jewish community gave him the organization and presentation of the Jewish exhibition at the International Press Exhibition " Pressa ".

1929 broke Bodenheimer finally with the policy Weizmann's and joined the Revisionist Zeev Jabotinsky to. As the delegate he took in 1931 in Basel on his last World Congress in part. With its exit from the Revisionist Party, 1934, to Bodenheimer withdrew into private life.

Little known is that he had in 1933 written a drama about the life of Jesus ( In terms of Jesus, under the pseudonym M. Bodmer ).

Writings

• So was Israel. From the history of the Zionist movement. Memories of Dr. Max Isidor Bodenheimer ( ed. Henriette Hannah Bodenheimer based on the Hebrew unfinished biography of 1952 ), European publishing house, Frankfurt aM, 1958