Baeck, Leo (1873–1956)

German theologian, rabbi, and historian. An independent and profound thinker, Baeck was a leading exponent of progressive Judaism underpinned by firm tradition. He set out the principles of his faith in his major work The Essence of Judaism, 1905. In 1933 he was elected head of the Jewish community in Germany; in this role, he saved many children from Nazi persecution by arranging for them to live in England. After several periods of detention, he was imprisoned in Theresienstadt concentration camp, where he continued to teach his community. Baeck survived the Holocaust and spent his last years in London.

Baeck was born in Posen (now Poznán, Poland). He served congregations in Oppeln (1897), Düsseldorf (1907), and Berlin (1912), where he became a lecturer at the Lehranstalt. After the war, he also gave regular lectures at the Hebrew Union College in the USA. The Leo Baeck College (an institution for Jewish studies at the University of London) is named in his honour.