Joel Brand Eugen Band. He cabled the Jewish Agency in Istanbul to say he was on his way, and arrived by German diplomatic plane on 19 May. Paul Rose writes that Brand had no idea at this point that the deportations to Auschwitz had already begun. Brand had been told by the Jewish Agency by return cable that "Chaim" would meet him in Istanbul. Convinced of the importance of his mission, he believed this was Chaim Weizmann, president of the World Zionist Organization, later the first president of Israel. In fact the man who had arranged to meet him was Chaim Barlas,
Chaim Weizmann was breaking off the relationship with Getzowa until 1903. His behavior was seen as dishonorable, creating fractures with others in the Zionist movement. His fellow students held a mock-court proceeding and ruled that Weizmann, should uphold his commitment and marry Getzowa, even if he later divorced her. Weizmann ignored their advice. In 1904, he moved to the United Kingdom after receiving a job offer from the Chemistry Department of the University of Manchester. He was appointed senior lecturer. In 1910, he became a British citizen, and held his British nationality until 1948, when he renounced it to assume his position