Brought from Germany by the Templers.

Donated by Ami Katz and Yair Mish.

 

This potato planter was brought to the country by the Templers from the American Colony between Jaffa and Tel Aviv. It was used for planting in the Bassa area (today the site of Bloomfield Stadium). The planter was horse-drawn and had a planting capacity of about two dunams per day.

 

The seed used was either a small potato or a larger one cut into pieces. A lower furrow-opener cut the soil, the machine was powered by the motion of its wheels, and another furrow-opener covered the seeds.

 

Who were the Templers?

The Templers (Tempelgesellschaft in German) were members of a Protestant religious movement founded in Württemberg, southern Germany, in the mid-19th century. They had split from the Evangelical (Lutheran) Church of Württemberg. The founder and spiritual leader, Christoph Hoffmann, believed in preparing the ground for the Second Coming of Christ and hastening redemption according to Christian faith.

 

In their view, redemption could be achieved only by living and working in the Holy Land. They aspired to establish model villages of productive life in Jerusalem and throughout the country. During the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, hundreds of Templers settled in colonies across the Land of Israel, engaging in agriculture, crafts, and trade, while maintaining rich community life and good neighborly relations with Arabs and Jews.

 

With the rise of the Nazis in Germany, some members of the Templer communities in Palestine became politically active on behalf of the Nazi Party, with some even joining the Wehrmacht. When World War II broke out, the British Mandate authorities classified them as “enemy nationals” and placed them in detention camps. Agricultural colonies such as Sarona, Waldheim, Wilhelma, and Bethlehem of Galilee were converted into internment camps. The detentions were carried out out of fear that they might serve as a fifth column. Most of the Templers were deported to Australia, while some were exchanged for Jews holding Palestinian citizenship who had been trapped in Nazi concentration camps. Their property, including valuable lands, was transferred to the Custodian of Enemy Property.

 

On April 17, 1948, Haganah forces captured the colonies of Waldheim and Bethlehem of Galilee. The last Templer settlers were expelled - first to Cyprus, and later many rejoined relatives in Australia.

 

With the establishment of the State of Israel, lands that had been under the control of the British High Commissioner passed to state ownership under the Israel Land Administration. As part of the Reparations Agreement between Israel and Germany in 1952, Israel agreed in principle to compensate the Templers for their former property.

 

Exchange of Templers for Jews

At the same time, Jews who had left Palestine before the war were trapped in Nazi concentration camps. Families in Palestine pressured the Jewish Agency to work for their release, while Templers and Germans pressed the German government for the release of their relatives detained in Palestine.

 

Himmler’s Directive of December 1942 stated:

“Jews still in France, as well as Hungarian and Romanian Jews who have influential relatives in America, are to be concentrated in a special camp. They are to be employed in work but kept under conditions that guarantee their health and survival. Such Jews are valuable hostages for us.”

 

In March 1943, a special camp was set up in Bergen-Belsen for Jews with such connections. Later, 551 Jews were exchanged for 455 Germans.