Wilhelma (), originally Wilhelma-Hamîdije, was German Templer Colony in Palestine, located southwest of al-'Abbasiyyah near

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

History

Wilhelma was established by German settlers in 1902 in Palestine then under Ottoman rule. Wilhelma-Hamîdije was named in honour of King William II of Württemberg, Emperor

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

and Sultan

Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...

, however, only the first half of the name prevailed. In July 1918 the German residents of Wilhelma were interned at Helouan, near

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

in Egypt. They were returned to Palestine in January 1921. During the inter-war years the colony produced dairy goods and wine in collaboration with the German colony at Sarona. At the time of the

1922 census of Palestine The 1922 census of Palestine was the first census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine, on 23 October 1922. The reported population was 757,182, including the military and persons of foreign nationality. The divis ...

, Wilhelma had a population of 186 Christians, 36 Muslims and 1 Jew. By the 1931 census, there were 319 residents in 65 occupied houses, the population consisted of 231 Christians, 84 Muslims, and 4 Jews. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Wilhelma was transformed into an internment camp by the British Mandatory authorities where German settlers from Wilhelma and other localities such as Sarona as well as other enemy aliens (such as Hungarians and Italians) were concentrated and held.Glenk et al., 2005, pp. 218 - 222. In World War II, guarded by Jewish police, the camp was under an early night curfew. Detainees were held there until April 1948 when the last of them were moved out to Germany or resettled in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. File:Al-Tira 1942.jpg, Wilhelma 1942 1:20,000 File:Beit Nabala 1945.jpg, Wilhelma 1945 1:250,000 File:Lydda and Ramla area - 9 July 1948.PNG, Depopulated villages in the Ramle Subdistrict Three

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

ish

moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...

im were established on the village's land in 1948. The first was abandoned on 15 May 1948, after being overrun by the

Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army, of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of the Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, an independent state, with a final Ar ...

. The second was established by a

Hapoel HaMizrachi File:Pre-State_Zionist_Workers'_Parties_chart.png, chart of zionist workers parties, 360px, right rect 167 83 445 250 Hapoel Hatzair rect 450 88 717 265 Non Partisans rect 721 86 995 243 Poalei Zion rect 152 316 373 502 HaPoel HaMizrachi rec ...

group. The third was established by the Tehiya group of Hapoel HaMizrachi. Wilhelma is now the site of the Israeli locality of

Bnei Atarot Bnei Atarot () is a moshav in the Central District of Israel. Located near Yehud, around 15 kilometres east of Tel Aviv, it is situated in fertile plains at the eastern rim of Tel Aviv metropolitan area next to Ben Gurion Airport and falls un ...

Ben Gurion International Airport Ben Gurion International Airport , commonly known by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on outskirts north of the city of Lod and directly south of the city of Or Yehuda, it is the busies ...

was originally named "Lydda Airport" when it was built in 1934 near the Templar community. It was renamed RAF Station Lydda in 1943. During

it served as a major airfield for military air transport and aircraft ferry operations between military bases in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

(mainly Iraq and Persia) and South/Southeast Asia.

References

Bibliography

* {{coord, 32, 1, 24, N, 34, 54, 49, E, type:city, display=title Populated places established in 1902 Templer settlements Hevel Modi'in Regional Council Geography of Central District (Israel) 1902 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 1948 disestablishments in Mandatory Palestine