Presented as wider Schild surname history connected to a documented German and Canadian family, not a confirmed direct ancestor.
- Years
- 1920–2024
- Role
- Rabbi & Author
- Family
- Son of Hermann and Hetti Schild; brother of Kurt and Margot Schild
Erwin Schild was born on March 9, 1920, in Cologne Mülheim, Germany. He studied at the Jewish Teachers Seminary in Würzburg, was imprisoned at Dachau at eighteen after the November 1938 pogrom, and later interned in Canada as an enemy alien after fleeing Nazi Germany.
He was ordained as a rabbi and became rabbi of Adath Israel Congregation in Toronto in September 1947, remaining its rabbi for more than forty years until his retirement in 1989. Later in life he devoted himself to Christian and Jewish dialogue, returning to Germany repeatedly as a lecturer. He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2001. Erwin Schild died in Toronto on January 6, 2024, at the age of 103.
Timeline
-
1920
Born in Cologne Mülheim
Born March 9, 1920, to businessman Hermann Schild and his wife Hetti.
-
1938
Imprisoned at Dachau
Imprisoned at Dachau from November 12 to December 13, 1938, at the age of eighteen, following the November pogrom in Würzburg.
-
1940
Interned in Canada
Classified an enemy alien by Britain and deported to Canada, where he was interned until February 1942.
-
1947
Becomes Rabbi of Adath Israel
Becomes rabbi of Adath Israel Congregation in Toronto, then numbering roughly one hundred fifty families.
-
1989
Retires as Congregational Rabbi
Retires from the pulpit after more than forty years and is named Rabbi Emeritus.
-
2001
Member of the Order of Canada
Made a Member of the Order of Canada for his decades of Christian and Jewish reconciliation work.
-
2024
Dies in Toronto
Dies in Toronto on January 6, 2024, at the age of 103.