Autograph Letter Signed, in German, ruminating whether Nordau should succeed Herzl as leader of the Zionist Movement

NORDAU, MAX

Paris

30th July, 1904

This letter was written in the immediate aftermath of Theodor Herzl’s untimely death on 3rd July 1904. Herzl’s dying wish had been that Nordau, co-founder of the World Zionist Organization, should succeed him as president. However, Nordau, declined the position of authority, preferring instead to remain outside the organizational hierarchy. Nordau writes, “it is well known that the cause of Herzl’s death was due to the stress that resulted from infighting and strife. Max Nordau (1849-1923), whose original name was Simon Maximillian Suedfeld, was born in Pest, Hungary, the son of Rabbi Gabriel Suedfeld. Though Nordau received a traditional Jewish education and remained observant until age eighteen, he later became a militant evolutionist. Initially he practised medicine but later took up journalism, a profession he shared in common with Herzl. Both were Paris correspondents for German-language newspapers when they met in 1892. See EJ, Vol. XII, cols. 1211-1214 Max Nordau (1849-1923), whose original name was Simon Maximillian Suedfeld, was born in Pest, Hungary, the son of Rabbi Gabriel Suedfeld. Though Nordau received a traditional Jewish education and remained observant until age eighteen, he later became a militant evolutionist. Initially he practised medicine but later took up journalism, a profession he shared in common with Herzl. Both were Paris correspondents for German-language newspapers when they met in 1892. When Herzl lay dying in 1904, he expressed the wish that Nordau, co-founder of the World Zionist Organization, succeed him as president. However, Nordau declined the position of authority, preferring instead to remain outside the organizational hierarchy. See JE, Vol. IX, pp. 330-332; EJ, Vol. XII, cols. 1211-1214.