William Wolff (rabbi)

William Wolff (2009 in Stralsund )

William Wolff (born on 13. February 1927 in Berlin as a Wilhelm Wolff , died 8. July 2020 in London ) was a German-British journalist and rabbis .

Life

Wolff was born in Berlin in 1927 as one of three children of German Jews. When he was six years old, his parents fled with them to Amsterdam and from there to London in 1939.

After studying economics , among others , Wolff became a journalist. He worked as a department head at the Daily Mirror . Wolff was initially responsible for domestic policy, but then switched to foreign policy with the special topic of Great Britain joining the European Community . He was responsible for company news for four years. In Germany he also appeared on the television program Der Internationale Frühschoppen in the early 1970s .

From 1979 to 1984 he received training at Leo Baeck College ; At the beginning of July 1984 he received semicha (rabbinical ordination) in London . He worked u. a. at the West London Synagogue , in Newcastle upon Tyne (1986–1990), in Milton Keynes (1990–1993), Reading and Brighton (1993–1997) and at Wimbledon (1997–2002). On April 23, 2002 he was appointed to the office of regional rabbi of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in Schwerin , where he looked after three Jewish communities. In 2005 he was elected deputy chairman of the General Rabbinical Conference of Germany . In 2014, on January 27, the day of commemoration of the victims of National Socialism , he received the honorary citizenship in Schwerin. Wolff's contract as a state rabbi ended on March 31, 2015. He retained the title of state rabbi and wanted to continue to work on a voluntary basis to a limited extent. However, he intended to spend most of his time in England in the future, where he had a home in Henley-on-Thames . His successor was Yuriy Kadnykov .

In April 2016 the documentary film Rabbi Wolff by director Britta Wauer started in German cinemas. It was one of the three most successful German documentaries in 2016.

On June 12, 2017 he was awarded honorary citizenship of the city of Rostock "in recognition of his extraordinary and lasting services to the Jewish community of Rostock, the interreligious dialogue and the common good of the citizens of the Hanseatic city of Rostock".

William Wolff died on July 8, 2020 at the age of 93 in London.

Appreciations

Siemerling Social Prize 2006
Honorary doctorate from the Theological Faculty of the University of Greifswald , October 25, 2006
Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class, October 2007
Israel Jacobson Prize , 2007
Honorary citizenship of the state capital Schwerin, January 27, 2014
Honorary Citizen of Rostock, June 12, 2017

literature

Rabbi Wolff and the things in life. Memories and insights . Autobiography, compiled by Britta Wauer . Hentrich & Hentrich, Berlin 2016, 118 pages, ISBN 978-3-95565-154-1 .
Manuela Koska-Jäger: Abraham was an optimist. Rabbi William Wolff and his congregation. Hentrich & Hentrich, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-942271-15-8 .
Thorsten Schmitz : William Wolff on soul. Interview. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung of August 10, 2013, p. V2 / 10.

Web links

Literature by and about William Wolff in the catalog of the German National Library
Literature on William Wolff (rabbi) in the state bibliography MV
William Wolff in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Ludger Joseph Heid: The Rabbi von Meck-Pomm: The life of the cosmopolitan rabbi William Wolff. In: Jüdische Rundschau . August 5, 2016, p. 32 , archived from the original on August 8, 2016 .; accessed on July 9, 2020
Mourning for Rabbi William Wolff. Central Council of Jews in Germany, July 8, 2020.; accessed on July 13, 2020

Individual evidence

↑ Axel Seitz: Birthday: "A man full of wit and wisdom". In: juedische-allgemeine.de . February 13, 2017, accessed July 9, 2020 . Manfred Riepe: The lightness of being: Caution: "Rabbi Wolff", documentary film. In: epd.de . July 20, 2018, archived from the original on July 29, 2018 ; accessed on July 9, 2020 .
↑ Christine Heuer: William Wolff on emigration and religion - home “means where you belong”: Interview with William Wolff. In: deutschlandfunk broadcast “Contemporary witnesses in conversation”. November 29, 2018, accessed on July 9, 2020 (also as mp3 audio ; 39.7 MB; 43:25 minutes).
↑ State rabbi Wolff made an honorary citizen of Schwerin. In: mecklenburg-vorpommern.eu. January 27, 2014, archived from the original on February 3, 2014 ; accessed on July 9, 2020 .
^ Christian Koepke: William Wolff: State rabbi changes to honorary office. In: SVZ.de . March 27, 2015, accessed July 9, 2020 . Germany's oldest rabbi is retiring. In: Welt.de . March 16, 2015, accessed April 1, 2015 .
↑ Rabbi Wolff: A gentleman. Retrieved July 9, 2020 .
↑ Hanseatic City of Rostock: Granting of honorary citizenship to Dr. William Wolff. In: Focus Online . June 12, 2017, archived from the original on January 16, 2018 ; accessed on July 9, 2020 .
↑ Axel Seitz: State rabbi William Wolff died at the age of 93. In: NDR 1 Radio MV . July 8, 2020, accessed July 8, 2020 .
^ Rudolf Klemke: Siemerling Social Prize. In: dreikoenigsverein.de. February 25, 2020, accessed July 9, 2020 .
↑ Thomas Willi : Laudation for the award of the Dr. theol. honoris causa to the state rabbi William Wolff, London / Schwerin on October 25, 2006 in the auditorium of the EMA University Greifswald laudation. (pdf; 159 kB) District Mecklenburg and Pomerania , October 25, 2006, accessed on July 9, 2020 .

personal data
SURNAME	Wolff, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Wolff, Wilhelm (birth name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German-British journalist and rabbi
DATE OF BIRTH	February 13, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH	Berlin
DATE OF DEATH	July 8, 2020
Place of death	London

[1] Axel Seitz: Birthday: "A man full of wit and wisdom". In: juedische-allgemeine.de . February 13, 2017, accessed July 9, 2020 . Manfred Riepe: The lightness of being: Caution: "Rabbi Wolff", documentary film. In: epd.de . July 20, 2018, archived from the original on July 29, 2018 ; accessed on July 9, 2020 .

[deutschl-434637-2] Christine Heuer: William Wolff on emigration and religion - home “means where you belong”: Interview with William Wolff. In: deutschlandfunk broadcast “Contemporary witnesses in conversation”. November 29, 2018, accessed on July 9, 2020 (also as mp3 audio ; 39.7 MB; 43:25 minutes).

[3] State rabbi Wolff made an honorary citizen of Schwerin. In: mecklenburg-vorpommern.eu. January 27, 2014, archived from the original on February 3, 2014 ; accessed on July 9, 2020 .

[4] Christian Koepke: William Wolff: State rabbi changes to honorary office. In: SVZ.de . March 27, 2015, accessed July 9, 2020 . Germany's oldest rabbi is retiring. In: Welt.de . March 16, 2015, accessed April 1, 2015 .

[5] Rabbi Wolff: A gentleman. Retrieved July 9, 2020 .

[6] Hanseatic City of Rostock: Granting of honorary citizenship to Dr. William Wolff. In: Focus Online . June 12, 2017, archived from the original on January 16, 2018 ; accessed on July 9, 2020 .

[7] Axel Seitz: State rabbi William Wolff died at the age of 93. In: NDR 1 Radio MV . July 8, 2020, accessed July 8, 2020 .

[8] Rudolf Klemke: Siemerling Social Prize. In: dreikoenigsverein.de. February 25, 2020, accessed July 9, 2020 .

[9] Thomas Willi : Laudation for the award of the Dr. theol. honoris causa to the state rabbi William Wolff, London / Schwerin on October 25, 2006 in the auditorium of the EMA University Greifswald laudation. (pdf; 159 kB) District Mecklenburg and Pomerania , October 25, 2006, accessed on July 9, 2020 .