Assassination of Gotthilf Wagner

On 22 March 1946, Gotthilf Wagner, the leader of the German Templer colonies in Palestine, was assassinated by the Haganah as part of the Jewish Resistance Movement.[1]

The British Criminal Investigation Department concluded that the assassination was influenced by Wagner's decision to instruct the population of Sarona not to sell any land to Jews.[2] Wagner had previously been a member of the Nazi Party; this was given as a motive by some press reports at the time.[3][2]

The assassination was intended to drive the Germans out of Palestine;[4] it "sent shockwaves" through the community and was followed by two subsequent assassinations in 1948.[3]

## Events

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On March 22, 1946, five members of the Palmach, acting on the orders of Yitzhak Sadeh, ambushed Wagner and shot him while driving with a police escort from the Wilhelma Detention Camp near the Lydda airport.[5] As his car entered the outlying streets of Tel Aviv, it slowed down on account of heavy traffic. Two men darted out from each side and approached the car. One of them fired a shot which mortally wounded Wagner who then collapsed over the steering wheel of the car. Four men were seen running away through the crowd.[5]

Wagner had been heading for Sarona to pay the wages of Arabs laborers and even though he had £800 with him, none of the money was taken.[6][5]

## References

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1. ^ Wawrzyn, Heidemarie (1 August 2013). Nazis in the Holy Land 1933-1948. De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-030652-1. "On March 22, 1946, Gotthilf Wagner, the last mayor of Sarona and secretary of the Templers, was assassinated by the Hebrew Resistance Movement. A 2007 Israeli television documentary noted that the decision for this act was probably taken by the Haganah."
2. ^ a b Wawrzyn, Heidemarie (1 August 2013). Nazis in the Holy Land 1933-1948. De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-030652-1. ""In fact, Gotthilf Wagner had been a member of the Nazi party in Palestine. His membership no. 7024779 is recorded at the Public Record Office in London and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C."
3. ^ a b The Templers: German settlers who left their mark on Palestine: "...the assassination by Jewish militants of the former Templer mayor of Sarona, Gotthilf Wagner, sent shockwaves through the depleted community. Contemporary reports say Wagner was targeted because he had been a prominent Nazi."
4. ^ Wawrzyn, Heidemarie (1 August 2013). Nazis in the Holy Land 1933-1948. De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-030652-1. "The assassination was intended to make it unmistakably clear that Palestine-Germans could no longer remain in the country."
5. ^ a b c Nachman Ben-Yehuda (1993). Political Assassinations by Jews. State University of New York Press. pp. 218–222.
6. ^ "German is murdered in Tel Aviv outskirts," pg 5, The New York Times, March 23, 1946.