Freie Universität Berlin
A Forgotten Visionary: Zionist Ideas for the Future – Between Germany, Palestine, and the USA
In her dissertation, published in the Schriftenreihe wissenschaftlicher Abhandlungen des Leo Baeck Instituts, Lisa Sophie Gebhard examines the lifework of Davis Trietsch (1870–1935), a visionary Zionist from Berlin whose legacy has been largely forgotten in historical accounts. Gebhard’s research provides a detailed biographical overview of Trietsch and illuminates his pioneering role in transferring knowledge between the United States and Palestine for Zionist purposes, highlighting the crucial role of mediators like him in shaping the State of Israel.
Lisa Sophie Gebhard is a historian and research associate at the Moses Mendelssohn Center for European-Jewish Studies in Potsdam, where she coordinates the international publication project (Hi)stories of the German-Jewish Diaspora. She studied in Berlin, Jerusalem, Kiel, and Milan, earning her doctorate from the Free University of Berlin in 2022. She is currently researching the experiences of German-speaking Jewish refugees in the UK. Her dissertation, Davis Trietsch – Der vergessene Visionär: Zukunftsentwürfe zwischen Deutschland, Palästina und den USA (Mohr Siebeck, 2022), was presented at the 2023 Leipzig Book Fair.