Exiled From the Holy Land

About the Book

Exiled from the Holy Land covers the period from 1941-1950, describing the deportation of the German Templers [not the Knights Templar] on the world’s largest ship, the Queen Elizabeth, to Australia, and the evacuation of another group of Templers to Cyprus when the State of Israel was created in 1948. The book concludes with the last Templers being expelled from the Holy Land in 1950. It is a collection of letters, diaries, reports and newspaper clippings by more than twenty authors, including an investigation by Dr D. Goldman into the Waldheim raid of 17 April 1948. This last event is illuminated from three sides: the German Templers’ experience, the Israeli viewpoint and a rare British perspective by the Waldheim internment camp commandant, Alan Tilbury, in the service of the Mandatory Government at the time. This valuable historical record makes fascinating reading, to be treasured by all who are interested in this episode in Holy Land history, against the backdrop of modern Israel emerging. One hundred-and-fifty-four photographs illustrate the historical events and stressful times of lives, homes and property lost. The first group, deported in 1941, ended up in the internment camp of Tatura in northern Victoria. The second group landed in Famagusta, Cyprus in 1948, most of whom eventually found new homes in Australia. The last internees left the Tatura camp in January 1948 to rebuild their lives after nine years behind barbed wire.

About the Author

Horst Blaich was born 1932 in Haifa, Palestine. His parents Albert and Herta nee Katz were both born in the Templer settlements in Palestine. During WWII Horst, his mother and brother were interned in Waldheim Camp and exchanged to Germany in November 1942. After the war Horst completed an apprenticeship as a colour-photo lithographer before emigrating to Australia with his family and settling in Bayswater, Victoria in 1951. Horst furthered his education and skills by completing an Advanced Printing Technology Course and then proceeded to study management and Industrial Engineering. As a member of the Institute of Industrial Engineering he served several years in their committee. For years he was the production manager of a large Printing and Packaging Company with over 300 employees. As an Industrial Engineer, Horst successfully installed Quality Circles at W.D. & H.O. Wills (Australia), a major subsidiary of the AMATIL Group in Melbourne. Horst was one of the pioneers of the Quality Circle concept in Australia. In 1985 Horst formed his own company Horst Blaich Pty Ltd, Total Quality Management Consultants and Publishers. Horst has a keen interest in Family History and has lectured and trained people in Genealogy for over 40 years. Horst has been married to Irene nee Eppinger for over fifty years and they have five children and twelve grandchildren. A keen gardener, he is now retired and deeply involved in family history. He maintains his own 'Albert Blaich Family Archive-Australia' with a large Templer family genealogical and photographic computer database. He is a regular contributor to the TSA Templer Record Heritage Pages.