Max Dienemann (September 27, 1875 – April 10, 1939) was a German reform

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for a work such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists who ...

and

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

. He was one of the leading

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

rabbis in Germany. Together with

Leo Baeck Leo Baeck (23 May 1873 – 2 November 1956) was a 20th-century German rabbi, scholar, and theologian. He served as leader of Reform Judaism in his native country and internationally, and later represented all German Jews during the Nazi er ...

, he headed the Rabbinical Association of Germany, in which liberal and

orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

rabbis were organized. In 1935, he ordained

Regina Jonas Regina Jonas (; German: ''Regine Jonas'';As documented by ''Landesarchiv Berlin; Berlin, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Geburtsregister; Laufendenummer 892'' which reads: "''In front of the signed registrar appeared today... Wolff Jonas... a ...

, the first female rabbi in Jewish history.

Life

Max Dienemann was born in September 1875 in

Krotoszyn Krotoszyn (german: Krotoschin, yi, קראטאשין ''Krotoshin'') is a town in west-central Poland with 30,010 inhabitants . It has been part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship since 1999; it was within Kalisz Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. ...

in the Prussian province of Posen. Dienemann first attended a Jewish folk school and a high school. He then studied Oriental philology in Breslau and graduated in 1898. In the following decades, Dienemann's works were published in Jewish newspapers, as he published sermons and Liberal interpretations of the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

. His lectures, held throughout Germany, testified to his more traditional attitude towards Judaism. He warned against nationalism and racism and pleaded for

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

. From 1903 to 1919 he was a rabbi in

Racibórz Racibórz (german: Ratibor, cz, Ratiboř, szl, Racibōrz) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County. With Opole, Racibórz is one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia, being ...

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...

. In 1919, he was appointed rabbi by the Israelite community in Offenbach am Main and acted until 1938. Dienemann promoted the unity and independence of the Jews in Germany, but at the same time he also understood himself as a "German patriot". In 1935, Dienemann ordained

, the first female rabbi in the history of Judaism. During the National Socialist era, Dienemann was interned twice in concentration camps. First interned in a camp in

Osthofen Osthofen () is a town in the middle of the Wonnegau in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Since 1 July 2014 it is part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' (a kind of collective municipality) Wonnegau. Osthofen was raised to town on ...

in 1933, he was later imprisoned in

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or sus ...

in 1938. Together with his family, he was forced to emigrate after

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation fro ...

. In March 1939, the Dienemann family moved to Palestine. Dienemann died less than a month later in

Tel-Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

. Today, Dienemann is remembered by a path commemorated to him in Offenbach am Main's Büsing-Park. His path intersects one dedicated to Regina Jonas. An organization stationed in Offenbach called the Max Dienemann / Salomon Formstecher Society draws their name from Dienemann and his predecessor Salomon Formstecher.

Works

*''Judaism and Christianity'', 1914 *''Liberal Judaism'', Schocken, Berlin 1935 *''Galuth'', 1939 *''Central Association of German Citizens of Jewish Faith'', 1931-1933

Literature

* Mally Dienemann: '' Max Dienemann. A memorial book. 1875-1939 ''. Latimer, Trend & Co, Plymouth, England 1946 * Frank Surall: '' Between dogmatism and rejudaization. The (undefined) perception of Protestantism by Max Dienemann. In: Görge K. Hasselhoff (eds.), '' The Discovery of Christianity in the Science of Judaism '', Berlin; New York, 2010, pp. 279–300 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dienemann, Max 1875 births 1939 deaths Buchenwald concentration camp survivors German Reform rabbis People of the German Empire People of the Weimar Republic Reform Judaism Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine German Zionists Reform Zionists