Adolf Böhm (, ; 20 January 1873 – 4 April 1941) was a

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

-born

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and leader. He was murdered in the Nazi euthanasia programme at the

Hartheim Euthanasia Centre The Hartheim killing centre (, sometimes translated as "Hartheim killing facility" or "Hartheim euthanasia centre") was a killing facility involved in the German Nazi programme known as ''Aktion T4'', in which German citizens deemed mentally o ...

in 1941.

Biography

Adolf Böhm was born to an assimilated

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in Teplitz,

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. He moved at a young age with his family to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where his father established a successful textile factory and put his son to work in the family business. Böhm was an active member of the

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

Austrian Fabian Society, but turned to Zionism in 1905. Böhm participated in the Conference of Austrian Zionists in Krakow in 1906, and the

Zionist Congress The Zionist Congress was established in 1897 by Theodor Herzl as the supreme organ of the Zionist Organization (ZO) and its legislative authority. In 1960 the names were changed to World Zionist Congress ( ''HaKongres HaTsioni HaOlami'') and Wor ...

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the following year. Following a visit to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

in 1907, Böhm became a leader of the Practical Zionist faction of the

Zionist movement Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the Jewish people, pursued through the colonization of Palestine, a region roughly co ...

, serving as board member of the

Zionist General Council Zionist General Council (ZGC) () (HaVa'ad HaPoel HaTzioni) is the supreme institution of the Zionist movement. The ZGC was established in 1921 following a decision reached at the 11th World Zionist Congress. It is composed of members elected a ...

, the

Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien The Jewish Community of Vienna ( or IKG) is the body that represents Vienna's Orthodox Jewish community. Today, the IKG has around 10,000 members. Throughout history, it has represented almost all of Austria's Jews, whose numbers are sufficient ...

and the

Jewish National Fund The Jewish National Fund (JNF; , ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael''; previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') is a non-profit organizationProfessor Alon Tal, The Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion ...

. Böhm published ''Die Zionistische Bewegung'' (1922, enlarged two-volume edition 1935–37), an exhaustive history of the Zionist movement up to 1925, and edited the

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monthly ''Palästina'' from 1910 until the

annexation of Austria The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany") arose after the 1871 unifica ...

into

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in 1938. He was murdered by the

on 4 April 1941. His wife, Olga Böhm () was deported to

Theresienstadt Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...

in 1942 and murdered at the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

in 1944. Their two children escaped to

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and

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Böhm, Adolf 1873 births 1941 deaths Aktion T4 victims Austrian Jews who died in the Holocaust Austrian Zionists Czech Jews who died in the Holocaust Czech Zionists Jewish historians Jewish socialists People from Teplice