(1873–1956). “During the thousands of years of its history, Judaism has learned and experienced a good deal,” wrote Leo Baeck in his book ‘The Essence of Judaism’ (1905). The book, which stressed the dynamic nature of religion, established Baeck as a leading liberal Jewish theologian. His final work, ‘This People Israel: the Meaning of Jewish Existence’ (1955), was written while Baeck was in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II.
Leo Baeck was born in Lissa (now Leszno), Poland, on May 23, 1873. He studied for the rabbinate in Breslau and Berlin. He became a rabbi in 1897 and served Jewish communities in Silesia (1897–1907) and Düsseldorf (1907–12). He then moved to Berlin, where he remained for 30 years. As an army chaplain in World War I, he became a pacifist. Although a non-Zionist, he became president of the German Keren Hayesod (Foundation Fund for Palestine Land Purchases). During World War II he negotiated with Nazi officials regarding the fate of Germany’s 1,000-year-old Jewish community.
Baeck was arrested five times during World War II. Taken finally to the Theresienstadt (Terezin) concentration camp, he conducted philosophy classes for inmates. On May 8, 1945, the day before Baeck was to be executed, Soviet troops liberated Theresienstadt. He later taught in England and the United States. He died in London on Nov. 2, 1956.