Werner van der Zyl
| Rabbi Dr Werner van der Zyl | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Position | Director of Studies |
| Organisation | Leo Baeck College |
| Began | 1956 |
| Ended | 1968 |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Werner van der Zyl |
| Born | 11 September 1902 Schwerte, Germany |
| Died | 10 April 1984 Palma, Majorca, Spain |
| Buried | Hoop Lane Jewish Cemetery, Golders Green |
| Nationality |
German until 1939; British |
| Denomination | Reform Judaism |
| Spouse | Anneliese |
| Children | 1 daughter: Nikki |
| Semicha | Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums, Berlin |
| Position | Senior Rabbi |
|---|---|
| Synagogue | West London Synagogue |
| Began | 1958 |
| Ended | 1968 |
| Position | Minister |
|---|---|
| Synagogue | North Western Reform Synagogue, London |
| Began | 1943 |
| Ended | 1958 |
| Position | Rabbi |
|---|---|
| Synagogue | New Synagogue, Berlin |
| Began | 1935 |
| Ended | 1938/9 |
| Position | Rabbi |
|---|---|
| Synagogue | Rykestrasse Synagogue, Berlin |
| Began | 1932 |
| Ended | 1935 |
Rabbi Dr Werner van der Zyl (Schwerte, Germany, 11 September 1902 – Palma, Majorca, Spain, 10 April 1984) was a rabbi in Berlin and in London, where he came in 1939 as a refugee rabbi from Germany. He was the prime mover and first director of studies of the Jewish Theological College of London. The college was inaugurated in 1956 and was renamed Leo Baeck College shortly afterwards at his suggestion.
Van der Zyl, who was also a trained chazan, received his rabbinical training at the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums in Berlin, where he was a pupil of Leo Baeck, qualifying in 1933. The University of Giessen awarded him a doctorate in 1931. He was Rabbi at the Rykestrasse Synagogue, Berlin from 1932 to 1935 and at the New Synagogue, Berlin from 1935 to 1938/9.
Van der Zyl came to Britain in 1939. During World War II the British Government interned him at Kitchener Camp in Sandwich, Kent and then at Mooragh Internment Camp [1] on the Isle of Man as an "enemy alien". He was released from internment in 1943 and became Minister at North Western Reform Synagogue, remaining there until 1958. While serving as minister at North Western Reform Synagogue, and at the West London Synagogue, where he was Senior Rabbi from 1958 to 1968, he oversaw the creation of the Jewish Theological College of London (later Leo Baeck College), sponsored by the Reform Synagogues of Great Britain, and the College's subsequent additional sponsorship by the Liberal Judaism Movement.
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