Leo Baeck (; 23 May 1873 – 2 November 1956) was a 20th-century German rabbi, scholar, and theologian. He served as leader of

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...

in his native country and internationally, and later represented all German Jews during the Nazi era. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he settled in London, in the United Kingdom, where he served as the chairman of the

World Union for Progressive Judaism The World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) is the international umbrella organization for the various branches of Reform Judaism, Reform, Liberal and Progressive Judaism, as well as the separate Reconstructionist Judaism. The WUPJ is based i ...

. In 1955, the

Leo Baeck Institute The Leo Baeck Institute, established in 1955, is an international research institute with centres in New York City, London, Jerusalem and Berlin, that are devoted to the study of the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry. The institute was ...

for the study of the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry was established, and Baeck was its first international president. The Leo Baeck Medal has been awarded since 1978 to those who have helped preserve the spirit of German-speaking Jewry in culture, academia, politics, and philanthropy.

Early years

Baeck was born in Lissa (Leszno) (then in the German Province of Posen, now in Poland), the son of Rabbi Samuel Baeck and his wife Eva (née Placzek). He began his education at the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau in 1894. He also studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

in Berlin with Wilhelm Dilthey. He served as a rabbi in Oppeln (now Opole),

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, and Berlin. He also taught at the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums (Higher Institute for Jewish Studies). In 1905 Baeck published ''The Essence of Judaism'', in response to Adolf von Harnack's ''What is Christianity?''. This book, which interpreted and valorized Judaism through a prism of neo-Kantianism tempered with religious existentialism, made him a famous proponent for the Jewish people and their faith. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Baeck served as a chaplain in the German Imperial Army.

Nazi persecution and deportation

In 1933, after the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

took power, Baeck worked to defend the Jewish community as president of the Reichsvertretung der Deutschen Juden, an

umbrella organization An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and iden ...

that united German Jewry from 1933 to 1938. After the Reichsvertretung was disbanded during '' Kristallnacht'' in 1938, the Nazis reassembled the council's members under the government controlled Reichsvereinigung. Baeck headed this organization as its president until his deportation. On 27 January 1943, he was deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Baeck became the "honorary head" of the Council of Elders ('' Judenrat'') in Theresienstadt. As such, he was protected from transports and with his protection list, could also save his relatives from transports, among others his grand-niece Ruth (b. 1925). Moreover, Baeck became "prominent", which meant that he had better accommodation, better food and could receive mail more often.

Hannah Arendt Hannah Arendt (born Johanna Arendt; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a German and American historian and philosopher. She was one of the most influential political theory, political theorists of the twentieth century. Her work ...

in her 1963 book '' Eichmann in Jerusalem'' examined Jewish cooperation with the Nazi authorities during the Holocaust, and names Baeck as one of those functionaries who withheld the truth from their communities of the end awaiting them, believing it more "humane" to bear the secret since "living in the expectation of death by gassing would only be the harder". Baeck, according to Arendt, also thought the existence of a Jewish police force within the camps would render the "ordeal easier" whereas in her view they turned out to be more brutal. Auschwitz escapee Siegfried Lederer testified to Baeck about the death camp, but Baeck believed that revealing the truth to the Theresienstadt prisoners could cause "catastrophe". He gave lectures, was active in the interfaith dialogue between traditional Jews and Christians of Jewish origin, worked in the youth care sector, which he directed from November 1944 on, and was friendly with many of the functionaries. After liberation, he headed the Council of Elders; the last Elder of the Jews was the Czech communist Jiří Vogel. Baeck's lectures were credited with helping prisoners survive their confinement. Heinrich F. Liebrecht said Baeck's lectures helped him to discover wellsprings of strength and the conviction that his life had a purpose. "From here came the impulse to really endure, and the belief that we were able to do so.""Not To Hate..."
''The Times-Standard'', Eureka, California (23 June 2009). Retrieved 19 October 2011 Up until his deportation, numerous American institutions offered to help him escape the war and immigrate to the United States. Baeck refused to abandon his community and declined the offers. Nevertheless, he managed to survive

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, though three of his sisters perished in the ghetto.

Post-war life and work

After the war, Baeck relocated to London, where he accepted the Presidency of the North Western Reform Synagogue in Temple Fortune. He taught at

Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...

in the United States, and eventually became Chairman of the

. It was during this time he published his second major work, ''This People Israel'', which he partially penned during his imprisonment by the Nazis. His increased interfaith work also meant that he revised and, to an extent, reclaimed for Judaism, the founding figures of Christianity, Jesus and Paul. He died on 2 November 1956, in London, England.

The International Leo Baeck Institute

In 1955, the

for the study of the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry was established, and Baeck was the first international president of this institute. The Institute now includes branches around the world including the Leo Baeck Institute New York, and the Leo Baeck Institute London. There are institutions named after Leo Baeck, on every inhabited continent, including the Leo Baeck Centre for Progressive Judaism in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

100047 Leobaeck is named in his honour, as is Leo Baeck College, the Reform/Progressive rabbinical college in London.

Bibliography

* Baker, Leonard (1982). ''Hirt der Verfolgten: Leo Baeck im Dritten Reich''. Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta. . * Baker, Leonard (1978). ''Days of sorrow and pain: Leo Baeck and the Berlin Jews''. New York: Macmillan. . * * Friedlander, Albert H. ''Teacher of Theresienstadt'', Overlook Press; Reprint (July 1991), (10), . * Heuberger, Georg and Backhaus, Fritz (2001). ''Leo Baeck 1873–1956: Aus dem Stamme von Rabbinern'', Frankfurt: Jewish Museum. . * Homolka, Walter and Füllenbach, Elias H. (2008). ''Rabbiner Leo Baeck. Ein Lebensbild'', Teetz / Berlin (= Jüdische Miniaturen, vol. 75). . *. *

References

External links

Documents about Leo Baeck
in the collection of th
Jewish Museum Prague
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baeck, Leo 1873 births 1956 deaths 20th-century Jewish theologians German emigrants to England German Jewish military personnel of World War I German Jewish theologians German male non-fiction writers German military chaplains German Reform rabbis Jewish concentration camp survivors 20th-century German rabbis Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People associated with Leo Baeck College People from Leszno People from the Province of Posen Rabbis in the military Theresienstadt Ghetto survivors World War I chaplains 20th-century English rabbis Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums alumni