Adin Talbar
Encyclopedia
Adin Talbar, also Adin Theilhaber-Talbar, (born October 8, 1921 in Berlin
) was Deputy Director of the Israel Ministry for Commerce and Industry, furthered German-Israeli cooperation and is the founder of the Israel Academic Sports Association (A.S.A.).
, his father came to Berlin, where he married Stefanie Czapinska, who came from a highly-educated Jewish household in Włocławek, Poland.
, which was the only Zionist school in Berlin. His father was arrested and deported to the concentration camp Plötzensee
for two months in 1933. After his release, his doctor’s license was cancelled, and in 1935 the family immigrated to the British Mandate Palestine. Without his parents, Talbar joined the Kibbutz
Mishmar Haemek
, where he studied and worked in agriculture. Individualistically disposed, he left the Kibbutz in 1938 to follow his brother Tola Theilhaber to London. There he studied for his matriculation at the Regent Street Polytechnic
.
In 1942 he became an officer in the Palestine Regiment
of the British Army. There he became friends with Hazim el-Khalidi, who later was the commander of the Syrian Yarmouk Regiment in the Israel-Arab War 1948–149, and Jordanian tourism director in Jerusalem until 1967. Despite the Arab-Israeli conflict Talbar and Khalidi stayed life-long friends, advocating a peaceful two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine question.
As an assault pioneer he saw combat in northern Italy in 1944–1945, after the Jewish Brigade had been posted to Egypt in 1943.
After the end of the war Talbar helped Jewish Holocaust survivors escape from northern Italy in order to facilitate their emigration to Palestine. During a motorcycle trip to Munich a month after the war Talbar met the man who later became the Prison Psychologist of the Nuremberg Trials
Gustave Gilbert in Salzburg, where Gilbert handed him photographs of the Dachau concentration camp. The post-war period Talbar spent in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France. During the demobilization of the Jewish Brigade Talbar began studies at the Institut Paris des Hautes Études Cinématographiques
In 1946 he became aware of the situation in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
and began to shoot a film there about the living conditions of the 15.000 Jewish survivors under British administration. Due to the politically charged situation – the future of the Holocaust-Survivors was unclear and immigration restrictions to the British Palestine Mandate remained – Talbar was arrested. According to the British Undersecretary State of War Michael Stewart
the film constituted “anti-British propaganda”, was “subversive and could have severe effects on the security of (British troops), in Germany and also in Palestine.” Talbar spent four months in the British military prison of Bielefeld until he was released after the intercession of his Colonel in the Jewish Brigade. During his time in prison Talbar exchanged letters with Arthur Koestler
, whom he had already gotten to know in his father’s household. After his release, Talbar recovered for a few weeks in Koestler’s house in Wales. Through Koestler Talbar established contact with the pro-Jewish British Member of Parliament Richard Crossman
. Even Crossman could only find out that the film material had been destroyed.
Talbar studied Economics at the London School of Economics
At the outbreak of the Independence War of Israel in 1948 he had to discontinue his studies, because of a shortage of officers in the Israeli army. After two years in the army he continued his studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
, where he completed his bachelor's degree.
agreement.
As Deputy Director General of the Commerce and Industry Ministry he was the Israeli negotiator at the Kennedy Round
of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT) between from 1965 to 1967. He negotiated the economic agreement with the Federal Republic of Germany (1965–6), and he was the representative of the Commerce Ministry for the negotiations with the European Community to reach a free trade agreement between 1965 and 1975. Thereafter he entered private business, became a consultant to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) and referee at GATT.
Since 1985 Adin Talbar has served as the Danish Honorary Consul in Jerusalem.
Berlin, Talbar was national 800 meter champion in 1942 and medium distance champion of the 8th British Army in 1945. In 1953 he founded the Israeli Academic Sports Association (A.S.A.) and was A.S.A.’s representative to Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire
(FISU) from 1954 to 1977. Furthermore, he was chief auditor of the FISU executive from 1967 to 1971. In light of Talbar’s success to convince the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to join FISU and due to his efforts to reconcile the eastern and western blocks in sports, Adin Talbar was made honorary member of FISU in 2001. Moreover, the American State Department awarded him a medal for his assistance to the US in their preparations for the FISU Universiade 1967.
. For the first time a German sports team – the team of the University of Heidelberg – participated in a competition against an Israeli team in Israel. The games were opened by FISU president Primo Nebiolo
. Accompanied by demonstrations and under the protection of 200 policemen the Israeli and German team leaders exchanged crests. The German flag was guarded by police throughout the tournament. However, this broke the taboo of sports and by extension cultural contacts between Germany and Israel. In 1978 he founded the German-Israeli Association in Jerusalem.
and in 2011 he became honorary citizen of Jerusalem.
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
) was Deputy Director of the Israel Ministry for Commerce and Industry, furthered German-Israeli cooperation and is the founder of the Israel Academic Sports Association (A.S.A.).
Family
Adin Talbar is a grandson of Adolph Theilhaber, who was an advisor to the Bavarian court, and the son of Felix Aaron Theilhaber, a renowned dermatologist and author in the early 20th century. Originally from BambergBamberg
Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
, his father came to Berlin, where he married Stefanie Czapinska, who came from a highly-educated Jewish household in Włocławek, Poland.
Early life
After having gone to the Theodor-Herzl elementary school, Talbar was a pupil at the Goethe-Gymnasium for one year until 1933. When antisemitic discrimination increased he re-joined the Theodor-Herzl School run by Paula FürstPaula Fürst
Paula Fürst was a German reform educator of Jewish descent.- Education and early development :Paula Fürst was born in Głogów to Otto Fürst, a Jewish merchant and Malvine Fürst, née Rosenberg. Following the untimely and early death of her father, Paula moved to Berlin together with her mother and...
, which was the only Zionist school in Berlin. His father was arrested and deported to the concentration camp Plötzensee
Plötzensee Prison
Plötzensee Prison was a Prussian institution built in Berlin between 1869 and 1879 near the lake Plötzensee, but in the neighbouring borough of Charlottenburg, on Hüttigpfad off Saatwinkler Damm. During Adolf Hitler's time in power from 1933 to 1945, more than 2,500 people were executed at...
for two months in 1933. After his release, his doctor’s license was cancelled, and in 1935 the family immigrated to the British Mandate Palestine. Without his parents, Talbar joined the Kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
Mishmar Haemek
Mishmar HaEmek
Mishmar HaEmek is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the western Jezreel Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 964....
, where he studied and worked in agriculture. Individualistically disposed, he left the Kibbutz in 1938 to follow his brother Tola Theilhaber to London. There he studied for his matriculation at the Regent Street Polytechnic
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. Its origins go back to the foundation of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1838, and it was awarded university status in 1992.The university's headquarters and original campus are based on Regent...
.
World War and post-war years
After having returned to Palestine at the outbreak of World War II for several months he joined the Trans-Jordan Frontier Force in 1940.In 1942 he became an officer in the Palestine Regiment
Palestine Regiment
The Palestine Regiment was a regiment of the British Army that was formed in 1942. During World War II, the regiment was deployed to Egypt and Cyrenaica, but most of their work consisted of guard duty....
of the British Army. There he became friends with Hazim el-Khalidi, who later was the commander of the Syrian Yarmouk Regiment in the Israel-Arab War 1948–149, and Jordanian tourism director in Jerusalem until 1967. Despite the Arab-Israeli conflict Talbar and Khalidi stayed life-long friends, advocating a peaceful two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine question.
As an assault pioneer he saw combat in northern Italy in 1944–1945, after the Jewish Brigade had been posted to Egypt in 1943.
After the end of the war Talbar helped Jewish Holocaust survivors escape from northern Italy in order to facilitate their emigration to Palestine. During a motorcycle trip to Munich a month after the war Talbar met the man who later became the Prison Psychologist of the Nuremberg Trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
Gustave Gilbert in Salzburg, where Gilbert handed him photographs of the Dachau concentration camp. The post-war period Talbar spent in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France. During the demobilization of the Jewish Brigade Talbar began studies at the Institut Paris des Hautes Études Cinématographiques
Institut des hautes études cinématographiques
L'Institut des hautes études cinématographiques is a French film school, founded during World War II under the leadership of Marcel L'Herbier who was its president from 1944 to 1969. IDHEC offered training for directors and producers, cameramen, sound technicians, editors, art directors and...
In 1946 he became aware of the situation in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
Bergen-Belsen was a Nazi concentration camp in Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle...
and began to shoot a film there about the living conditions of the 15.000 Jewish survivors under British administration. Due to the politically charged situation – the future of the Holocaust-Survivors was unclear and immigration restrictions to the British Palestine Mandate remained – Talbar was arrested. According to the British Undersecretary State of War Michael Stewart
Michael Stewart, Baron Stewart of Fulham
Robert Michael Maitland Stewart, Baron Stewart of Fulham, CH, PC was a British Labour politician and Fabian Socialist who served twice as Foreign Secretary in the first cabinet of Harold Wilson.- Early life :...
the film constituted “anti-British propaganda”, was “subversive and could have severe effects on the security of (British troops), in Germany and also in Palestine.” Talbar spent four months in the British military prison of Bielefeld until he was released after the intercession of his Colonel in the Jewish Brigade. During his time in prison Talbar exchanged letters with Arthur Koestler
Arthur Koestler
Arthur Koestler CBE was a Hungarian author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest and, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria...
, whom he had already gotten to know in his father’s household. After his release, Talbar recovered for a few weeks in Koestler’s house in Wales. Through Koestler Talbar established contact with the pro-Jewish British Member of Parliament Richard Crossman
Richard Crossman
Richard Howard Stafford Crossman OBE was a British author and Labour Party politician who was a Cabinet Minister under Harold Wilson, and was the editor of the New Statesman. A prominent socialist intellectual, he became one of the Labour Party's leading Zionists and anti-communists...
. Even Crossman could only find out that the film material had been destroyed.
Talbar studied Economics at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
At the outbreak of the Independence War of Israel in 1948 he had to discontinue his studies, because of a shortage of officers in the Israeli army. After two years in the army he continued his studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
, where he completed his bachelor's degree.
Government
After his graduation from the university he joined the Israel Finance Ministry. He served as Israeli Consul to Canada in Montreal from 1957 to 1960, and between 1961 and 1965 he was economic counselor at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. During this time he negotiated with the United States amongst others the Food for PeaceFood for Peace
Public Law 480 also known as Food for Peace is a funding avenue by which U.S. food can be used for overseas aid....
agreement.
As Deputy Director General of the Commerce and Industry Ministry he was the Israeli negotiator at the Kennedy Round
Kennedy Round
The Kennedy round was the sixth session of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade trade negotiations held in 1964-1967 in Geneva, Switzerland. Congressional passage of the US Trade Expansion Act in 1962 authorized the White House to conduct mutual tariff negotiations ultimately leading to the...
of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was negotiated during the UN Conference on Trade and Employment and was the outcome of the failure of negotiating governments to create the International Trade Organization . GATT was signed in 1947 and lasted until 1993, when it was replaced by the World...
(GATT) between from 1965 to 1967. He negotiated the economic agreement with the Federal Republic of Germany (1965–6), and he was the representative of the Commerce Ministry for the negotiations with the European Community to reach a free trade agreement between 1965 and 1975. Thereafter he entered private business, became a consultant to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues....
(UNCTAD) and referee at GATT.
Since 1985 Adin Talbar has served as the Danish Honorary Consul in Jerusalem.
Sports
As a child active in Bar Kochba und MakkabiTuS Makkabi Berlin
TuS Makkabi Berlin is a German association football club based in Berlin. Established in 1970, the club lays claim to the traditions of predecessor Bar-Kochba Berlin.-History:...
Berlin, Talbar was national 800 meter champion in 1942 and medium distance champion of the 8th British Army in 1945. In 1953 he founded the Israeli Academic Sports Association (A.S.A.) and was A.S.A.’s representative to Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire
International University Sports Federation
The Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire , based in Brussels, Belgium is responsible for the organisation and governance of worldwide competitions for student-athletes between the ages of 17 and 28...
(FISU) from 1954 to 1977. Furthermore, he was chief auditor of the FISU executive from 1967 to 1971. In light of Talbar’s success to convince the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to join FISU and due to his efforts to reconcile the eastern and western blocks in sports, Adin Talbar was made honorary member of FISU in 2001. Moreover, the American State Department awarded him a medal for his assistance to the US in their preparations for the FISU Universiade 1967.
German-Israeli relations
Following the successful negotiations about economic aid to Israel, Talbar was co-founder of the German-Israeli Chamber of Commerce in Tel Aviv in 1966. In 1966 Talbar organized an international university basketball tournament at the Tel Aviv UniversityTel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
. For the first time a German sports team – the team of the University of Heidelberg – participated in a competition against an Israeli team in Israel. The games were opened by FISU president Primo Nebiolo
Primo Nebiolo
Primo Nebiolo was an Italian sports official, best known as president of the worldwide athletics federation International Association of Athletics Federations....
. Accompanied by demonstrations and under the protection of 200 policemen the Israeli and German team leaders exchanged crests. The German flag was guarded by police throughout the tournament. However, this broke the taboo of sports and by extension cultural contacts between Germany and Israel. In 1978 he founded the German-Israeli Association in Jerusalem.
Distinctions
In 1985 Adin Talbar was awarded the German first class Federal Cross of Merit, in 1993 he received the Danish Knight’s Cross DannebrogOrder of the Dannebrog
The Order of the Dannebrog is an Order of Denmark, instituted in 1671 by Christian V. It resulted from a move in 1660 to break the absolutism of the nobility. The Order was only to comprise 50 noble Knights in one class plus the Master of the Order, i.e. the Danish monarch, and his sons...
and in 2011 he became honorary citizen of Jerusalem.
Filmography
- In Our Own Hands. The Hidden Story of the Jewish Brigade in World War II (1998) as himself
- Helden ohne Heimat. (2003) as himself
- Das Wiedersehen. (2007) director and as himself
Publications
- “Erinnerungen an die Theodor Herzl Schule in Berlin.” Ed. of the German Version. Jerusalem, 1998.
- "Foreign Trade." Economy. Israel Pocket Library. Jerusalem, 1973.
- "Trade Shows Need Planning." Going into Trade Fairs. International Trade Centre UNCTAD/GATT. Genf 1982.
- "Sports in the Jewish Brigade." in Georg Eisen, Haim Kaufman und Manfred Lämmer (Hrsg.) Sport and Physical Education in Jewish History. Wingate Institute Israel, 2003.
- Felix A. Theilhaber. Hrsg. von Adin Theilhaber-Talbar und Günther Keller. "Jüdische Flieger im Weltkrieg." Faksimilie der Erstausgabe von 1924. Verlag Der Schild, Berlin 2009.
- "The Last One of the Second Aliya. Ziva" “האחרונה מהעלייה השנייה. זיוה.” Jerusalem, 2011.