German Passport – Haifa 1938 – Arab Revolt – WOW

I chanced upon this lot and made an instant purchase. It narrates the tale of a German couple in British Mandate Palestine. Included are a German passport from the Haifa consulate and a photo album featuring around 180 captivating images, primarily showcasing Haifa and its environs, capturing moments during the Arab Revolt of 1936-1939.

British policemen searching Arab men, harbor work, tanks, armed vehicles in front of a police station, prominent visitors and military figures, family outings, visits to Lebanon, Sabbath pacifists, Damascus, etc.

Included is a certificate from the Advent Mission Society for the passport holder, Lina Piorr. A letter of 1957 confirming her stay in Haifa from 1933 to 1937.

The passport of Lina Piorr (issued by the German Consulate in Haifa in 1938) and Alfred Piorr’s German identity card (issued in 1980). German Passport Haifa

Dombrowsky and Piorr met at the Mission School Neanderthal of the Seventh-day Adventists; then, they trained together as nurses at the Waldfriede Hospital in Berlin-Zehlendorf. They married and worked as nurses in Haifa in the 1930s, where they lived with their two children. German Passport Haifa

The British Mandate for Palestine (1918-1948)

The British occupied former Ottoman territories, reshaping borders. Peace treaties post-World War I influenced changes. The Self-determination principle guided new state formations. German Passport Haifa

By the time Britain conquered Palestine at the end of 1917, it had made several conflicting agreements to support various groups in the Middle East.

These included: the Husayn-McMahon Correspondence (1915-1916), a series of letters exchanged during World War I in which the British government agreed to recognize Arab independence after the war in exchange for Husayn ibn Ali, King of Hejaz (c. 1853-1931), launching the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire.

The Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916), which divided the Middle East into British and French spheres of influence, and the Balfour Declaration (1917), in which the British government committed itself to a “national home” for the Jewish people.

Before the British occupation, Palestine was part of Ottoman Syria. The British army ruled Palestine until a civil administration was established on 1 July 1920. Britain received the Palestine Mandate on April 25, 1920, at San Remo. The League of Nations approved it on July 24, 1922.

The Pictures

Here are some more pictures (on readers’ requests) of the photo album (1933-1937). Unfortunately, there are rarely any descriptions of the photos, but many seem to be from the Arab Revolt.

British policemen searching Arab men, harbor work, tanks, armed vehicles in front of a police station, prominent visitors and military figures. I’m still trying to figure out the important people. If you recognize someone, please let me know!

German Passport Haifa

 

Tom Topol | Passport History Expert & Author.
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