Erwin Schild

Erwin Schild CM (March 9, 1920 – January 6, 2024) was a German-born Canadian Conservative rabbi and author.

Erwin Schild CM
Title	Rabbi, Senior Rabbi
Personal
Born	(1920-03-09)March 9, 1920 Cologne, Rhine Province, Prussia, Germany
Died	January 6, 2024(2024-01-06) (aged 103) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Religion	Judaism
Denomination	Conservative
Position	Rabbi
Synagogue	Adath Israel Congregation
Began	1947
Ended	1989

Biography

Born in Cologne, Germany, a Holocaust survivor of the Dachau concentration camp,^[1] he was the author of World Through My Window and his autobiography The very narrow bridge: a memoir of an uncertain passage. In September 1947, he became the Rabbi of Adath Israel Congregation in Toronto, Ontario and was appointed Rabbi Emeritus upon his retirement in 1989.^[2]

In 2001, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honour, for "improving dialogue between the Christian and Jewish faiths, promoting harmony at home and abroad".^[3] In 2000, he was awarded the Officer's Cross (Offizierkreuz) of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.^[4]

Schild died on January 6, 2024, at the age of 103 in Toronto.^[5][6]

References

1. "Rabbi Erwin Schild engages in interfaith dialogue". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28.
2. "Our History". Adath Israel Congregation. Archived from the original on 2006-05-04.
3. Order of Canada citation
4. "AWARDS TO CANADIANS". Canada Gazette. Archived from the original on 2009-07-19. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
5. "Holocaust-Überlebender und Osnabrücker Ehrendoktor Rabbiner Erwin Schild gestorben" (in German). 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
6. "Rabbi Erwin Schild of Toronto's Adath Israel Synagogue personally experienced nearly 104 years of Jewish history (March 9, 1920–Jan. 6, 2024)". The Canadian Jewish News. 6 January 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.