Dr. Hermann Gradnauer (1894 - 1978)

Hermann Gradnauer was born in Wolfenbüttel in 1894, the son of a shoe retailer. After serving in the military as a medic until 1918, he studied dentistry and became a dentist in Hamelin in 1920. His wife Hilde Gradnauer, née Ilberg, also came from Wolfenbättel, where her parents had an important textile business. The couple had two children

The German youth movement, in which Gradnauer grew up in Wolfenbüttel, had made an early impression on him. He was a leading member of the Jung-Jüdischer Wanderbund (JJWB), founded in 1920, and was one of the co-founders of the socialist Brit Haolim in 1922. At two meetings in Wolfenbüttel on 11 and 24/25 March 1923, Gradnauer succeeded in bringing about a split from the Jüdischer Wanderbund Blau-Weiß, the Freie Jüdischer Wanderbund Blau-Weiß, to the young Brit Haolim. This also included the Emden Blue-White group under the leadership of Alfred van der Walde. The fact that the Bundestag of Brit Haolim took place on July 28 and 29, 1923 on the Ohrberg near Hamelin was probably due to Gradnauer's influence. The idea of founding a Hamelin center spread over various villages may also have originated with him.

In 1924, Gradnauer went with his wife and daughter to the socialist kibbutz Ein Charod in northern Palestine, which was founded by Russian Jews in 1921 and to which the Brit Haolim maintained early contacts. As a dentist, he was able to do this without having undergone lengthy agricultural training.

The family returned to Hamelin at the end of 1925. At this time, the Hamelin Center, a precursor to Kibbutz Cherut, was already being established and was recruiting members. In Hamelin, Gradnauer worked as a dentist again and took over the organizational management of the Hamelin Centre, later Kibbutz Cherut.

From: https://hachschara.juedische-geschichte-online.net/person/gnd/138795851