Hermann Kallenbach (1 March 1871 – 25 March 1945) was a Lithuanian-born Jewish South African architect who was one of the foremost friends and associates of
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
. Kallenbach was introduced to the young Mohandas Gandhi while they were both working in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
and, after a series of discussions, they developed a long-lasting association.
Early life
Kallenbach was born in 1871 in
Žemaičių Naumiestis,
Lithuania (then part of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
) as the third eldest out of seven children.
His father, Kalman Leib Kallenbach, was a
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
teacher and, later, a timber merchant. Hermann's childhood centered on education, sports and friendships with the village youth. He would later study architecture in
Stuttgart and
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
. In 1896, he went to South Africa to join his uncles in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...
, where he practiced as an architect and became a South African citizen. A skilled ice-skater, swimmer, cyclist, and gymnast, and successful architect, Kallenbach acquired considerable property in South Africa. Yet a major transformation in his life took place after he met Mahatma Gandhi.
With Gandhi in South Africa
In 1904 he met Gandhi, who was then working in South Africa. They had long discussions on religious and other issues. He was highly influenced by Gandhi's ideas of ''
Satyagraha'' and equality among human beings and became his friend and a dedicated devotee. In Gandhi's words, they became "soulmates" and, for a time, shared what is now called
Satyagraha House. This was a house designed by Kallenbach for them both to live together.
In 1910 Kallenbach, then a rich man, donated to Gandhi a thousand-
acre (4 km²) farm belonging to him near
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...
. The farm was used to run Gandhi's famous
Tolstoy Farm
Tolstoy Farm was an ashram initiated and organized by Mohandas Gandhi during his South African movement. At its creation in 1910 the ashram served as the headquarters of the campaign of satyagraha against discrimination against Indians in Transv ...
that housed the families of ''satyagrahis''. Kallenbach himself named this farm after
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
as he was deeply influenced by Tolstoy's writings and philosophy. On this farm, Kallenbach abandoned the life of a wealthy, sport-loving bachelor, adopting the
simple lifestyle,
vegetarian diet Vegetarian diet may refer to:
*Vegetarianism
*Vegetarian cuisine
*Plant-based diet (i.e., not necessarily stemming from vegetarian beliefs)
*Veganism
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet ...
and equality politics of Gandhi. Henry Polak was another close friend and follower of Gandhi. Kallenbach was associated with Gandhi throughout the
Satyagraha (non-violent resistance) struggle, which lasted in South Africa until 1914.
Kallenbach also accompanied Gandhi in his first penitential fast at
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
in 1913 over the 'moral lapse' of two inmates. Also, Kallenbach acted as a manager during Gandhi's 'The Epic March — Satyagraha' movement in South Africa.
He also accompanied Gandhi and
his wife on their final voyage from South Africa to London in 1914. Gandhi and Kallenbach used to call each other "Upper House" and "Lower House" respectively, the Lower House being a metaphor for preparing the budget, and the Upper House for vetoing it.
As a Zionist
Kallenbach planned to accompany Gandhi to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
in 1914, but with the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he was interned as an '
enemy alien
In customary international law, an enemy alien is any native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and ...
' at detention camps and shifted to the
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
as a
Prisoner of War
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
from 1915 until 1917.
After the war he returned to South Africa, where he resumed his work as an architect and continued to correspond with Gandhi. The rise of
Nazism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...
and
Hitler's
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
anti-Semitic propaganda shocked Kallenbach into a rediscovery of his Jewish roots. He became a
Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
and served on the Executive Board of the South African Zionist Federation and planned to settle in Palestine ("
Ereẓ Israel" in
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
). He wanted society there to involve no state, military, or industry, in order to avoid colonialism through Zionist settlements. At the request of
Moshe Shertok
Moshe Sharett ( he, משה שרת, born Moshe Chertok (Hebrew: ) 15 October 1894 – 7 July 1965) was a Russian-born Israeli politician who served as Israel's second prime minister from 1954 to 1955. A member of Mapai, Sharett's term was b ...
(Sharett), Kallenbach visited Gandhi in May 1937 to enlist his sympathy and support for Zionism. The architect once again became a simple man, participating in all the activities of Gandhi's ashram life. Kallenbach wrote, "I join the whole programme. ... It is 'almost' as the old joint life, as if the 23 years, with all the events that affected millions of people, had disappeared." Kallenbach disagreed with Gandhi over Zionism and the need to violently resist Hitler. Nevertheless, Kallenbach continued his deep friendship with Gandhi, visiting him again in 1939.
Death and legacy
Kallenbach died in 1945. He left a portion of his considerable estate for
South African Indians, but the bulk was left for the benefit of Zionism. His large collection of books went to the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and his cremated remains were buried at
Kibbutz Degania in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
Kallenbach was one of the foremost associates and friends of Gandhi, devoting a major part of his life to following his principles and ideals. Gandhi has frequently mentioned him in his
autobiography, where he explains how Kallenbach was his 'soulmate' in the early days of the development of his personality and ideology.
A biography of Hermann Kallenbach, written by
Isa Sarid, the daughter of his niece Hanna Lazar and Christian Bartolf, depicts Kallenbach's personality and his friendship with Gandhi very deeply. In his book, ''
Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India'',
Joseph Lelyveld
Joseph Salem Lelyveld (born April 5, 1937 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American journalist. He was executive editor of ''The New York Times'' from 1994 to 2001, and interim executive editor in 2003 after the resignation of Howell Raines. He is a ...
quotes
Tridip Suhrud
Tridip Suhrud (born 19 December 1965) is an Indian writer, political scientist, cultural historian and translator from Gujarat, India.
Life
Suhrud was born in 1965 in Anand, Gujarat. He completed a Master of Arts in Economics and Political Scien ...
, a cultural historian, as claiming: "They were a couple." This statement has proven controversial. Nevertheless, Gandhi's correspondence with Kallenbach shows the deep mutual respect they had for each other, and how they had affected each other's ideas. The Indian Government purchased the Gandhi-Kallenbach Archives to prevent their auction by
Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
in July 2012. The Indian government' has stated that the purchase of the private correspondence of their cultural and socio-philosophical leader was to prevent it from being auctioned for profit, though there is speculation that this purchase was made due to a concern that these letters would reveal that Gandhi may have been homosexual.
A recent book by the writer and photographer
Shimon Lev, "Soulmates: The Story of Mahatma Gandhi and Hermann Kallenbach," (Orient BlakSwan, 2012) depicts the relationships between the two idealists, and Gandhi's attitude towards Zionism.
In
Richard Attenborough's film, ''
Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
'', Kallenbach was played by .
On 2 October 2015, Gandhi's 146th birth anniversary, Lithuanian Prime Minister
Algirdas Butkevičius and Indian Minister of State for Agriculture
Mohanbhai Kundariya unveiled a statue of Kallenbach and Gandhi in Rusnė.
See also
*
Charles Freer (Charlie) Andrews
*
''Gandhi'' (film)
*
Totaram Sanadhya
*
Hirangaon
Hirangaon is a hamlet in the Firozabad Tehsil of Firozabad district of Uttar Pradesh in India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-la ...
References
Further reading
* Surendra Bhana,
Tolstoy Farm, A Satyagrahi's Battle Ground ''Journal of Indian History,'' 1979, Vol. 57 Issue 2/3, pp. 431–440.
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kallenbach, Hermann
1871 births
1945 deaths
Lithuanian Jews
Art Deco architects
Jewish architects
19th-century German architects
South African architects
German emigrants to South Africa
Lithuanian emigrants to South Africa
Gandhians
20th-century German architects
Burials in Israel
South African Zionists