(Chaplain to the British Embassy, Vienna 1845-1931). Autograph Postcard Signed in German to Dr. Fabian Jolles of Vienna

HECHLER, WILLIAM HENRY.

10th May

Vienna,

1900

In this personal note, Hechler confides that he finds himself in bed with influenza

Christian Zionist William Henry Hechler played a pivotal, if forgotten, role in the history of modern Zionism. Born in Benares, India, to Christian missionaries, by dint of his mixed parentage Hechler was equally adept in the English and German languages. His position of private tutor to the children of Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden the uncle to Kaiser Wilhelm II, gave him unusual access to the centers of power. It was through Hechler's intermediacy that there was arranged the historic meeting between Theodor Herzl and the Kaiser during the latter's visit to the Holy Land in 1898. Though Hechler's motivation was deeply religious, he nonetheless strongly advocated for political Zionism and remained a supporter and close friend of Herzl. See EJ vol. IIX cols 237-9.