Rabbi Charles Berg, born Karl Rauchtenberg (1911 – 24 November 1979), was the first non-Orthodox rabbi to be ordained in England. He came to the United Kingdom in 1939 as a refugee from Nazi Germany, having been interned in Sachsenhausen concentration camp following Kristallnacht.[1][2]
Rabbi Charles Berg | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | Karl Rauchtenberg 1911 Treptow, Berlin |
| Died | 24 November 1979 |
| Nationality | German until 1939; British |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Denomination | Reform Judaism |
After assisting Rabbi Werner van der Zyl at Kitchener Camp, a camp for Jewish refugees in Sandwich, Kent,[3] he served in the British Army's Pioneer Corps and, at the end of the Second World War, was involved in the interrogation of Konrad Adenauer.[1]
Berg started his rabbinical training at the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums in Berlin[2] and continued it privately. He received his semicha in 1952 after being examined by Rabbis Leo Baeck, Arthur Lowenstamm and Dr Max Katten, becoming the first non-Orthodox rabbi to be ordained in England.[1]
He served as Rabbi at Bournemouth Reform Synagogue from 1948 to 1952.[1] In 1953 Wimbledon and District Synagogue appointed him as its first rabbi.[4] When he retired in 1974, the community had grown to 750 members.
He died on 24 November 1979 and is buried at Golders Green Jewish Cemetery.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Epstein, Jon and Jacobs, David (2006). A History in our Time: Rabbis and Teachers Buried at Hoop Lane Cemetery. Movement for Reform Judaism. p. 19.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Fackenheim, Emil L; Jospe, Raphael (eds) (1996). Jewish Philosophy and the Academy. Cranbury, New Jersey: Associated University Presses, in conjunction with the International Center for University Teaching of Jewish Civilization. p. 244. ISBN 0-8386-3643-8.
{{cite book}}:|last=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Kitchener camp". Kitchener Camp. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ "60 years of memories of Wimbledon & District Synagogue". www.jtrails.org.uk. 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2015.