Kiel Canal & Scandinavia
Holland America: ms Prinsendam
August 21 - September 4, 2008
14 Nights

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Copenhagen , Denmark

Tallinn , Estonia

St. Petersburg

Helsinki, Finland

Stockholm, Sweden

Warnemunde/Berlin, Germany

Arhus, Denmark

Oslo, Norway

Harwich, London

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ms Prinsendam ... elegant explorer

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JEWISH RUSSIA

In the seventh century many Jews from Greece, Babylonia, Persia, and the Middle East and Mediterranean area immigrated to the Caucasus and beyond. From the early Middle Ages, Jewish merchants (known in Hebrew as holkhei Rusyah – Russian travelers) traveled through the Slavic and Khazar lands on their way to India and China. During the first half of the eighth century, the Khazar’s converted to Judaism. The Khazar kingdom essentially became a new Jewish kingdom. Some scholars trace the origins of Ashkenazi Jews to the conversion of the Khazars. The influence of the Khazar conversions are significant enough to be a major topic of research for scholars today.

The kingdom of Jewish Khazars is referred to in ancient Russian literature as the “Land of the Jews.” There were also Jews living in Kiev at this time and ancient Russian sources mention the “Gate of the Jews” in Kiev. Historical records preserve disputations between the Jews of Kiev and Christian clergy. There are also records of communications between Jews in Kiev and Jews in Babylonia and Western Europe, including, in the 12th century, a mention of R. Moses of Kiev corresponding with Rabbenu Jacob ben Meir Tam and Gaon Samuel b. Ali of Baghdad. In 1237, however, the invasion of the Mongols brought much suffering to the Jewish communities of Russia.

Fourteenth Century

In the 14th century, the Lithuanians gained control of Western Russia and, in the late 14th century, were the first to grant privileges to Jewish communities under their control. It was during this period that many Jews emigrated to the Ukraine and portions of western Russia. In 1648-1649, the Chmielnicki pogroms devastated some of these Jews and these pogroms continued for several centuries. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Russian Jewry was connected with Polish and Lithuanian Jewry, partially due to Russia’s annexation of Poland in the late 18th century and the creation of the Soviet Union in the 20th century.

A 1791 decree confirmed the right of Russian Jews to live in the territory annexed from Poland and permitted Jews to settle there. Subsequent conquests and annexations helped ferment the area known of as “The Pale of Settlement” created in 1791 to rid Moscow of Jews. Its borders were finalized in 1812 with the annexation of Bessarabia.

Between the 16th and 18th centuries, Jews either entered Russia illegally or with Polish or Lithuanian permission due to trade business. Small Jewish communities still existed despite calls for expulsion, due to the importance Jews played in commerce. Many Jews were in the Middle Class due to their involvement in business and commerce. The economic position of the Jews deteriorated with their confinement to the Pale of Settlement. When they came under Russian control, the communities were weakened through a new and disproportionate tax burden. The previously well-off Jewish community soon led to a life of poverty.

Religious Developments

In the 1700s, the Hasidic movement was founded in Eastern Europe to reach out to the Jewish masses. During the period of transfer to Russian domination, conflicts between the Hasidim and the Mitnagdim increased. The clash even led to the arrest of one of the major Hasidic leaders, Shneur Zalman of Lyady in 1798 and transport to St. Petersburg for interrogation. Despite the disagreements, the Hasidic “courts” and Mitnaggedic yeshivot merged to create a flourishing and diverse Jewish culture.

Under Nicholas I (1825-1855)

Czar Nicholas I (reign: 1825-1855) sought to destroy all Jewish life in Russia and his reign constitutes a painful part of European Jewish history. In 1825, he ordered the conscription of Jewish youth into the Russian military beginning at age 12. Many of the youngsters were kidnapped by “snatchers” (“khapers”) in order to get them to spend their formative years in the Russian military. This had a significant effect in lowering the morale of the Russian Jewish community. The Jews that were not forced to spend decades in the military were often expelled from their towns and villages.

Some Jews escaped this persecution, however, as the government encouraged agricultural settlement among Jews. These Jews were exempt from forced conscription. Many Jewish agricultural settlements were established in southern Russia and the rest of the Pale of Settlement.

In the 1840s, a network of special schools was created for the Jews since they had not availed themselves of the opportunity established in 1804 to study in the regular schools. These schools were paid for by a special tax imposed on the Jews. In 1844, a decree was established that the teachers would be both Christians and Jews. The Jewish community viewed the government’s attempt to set up these schools as a way of secularizing and assimilating the younger generation. Their fears were not unfounded as the decree to require Christian teachers was accompanied by the declaration that "the purpose of the education of the Jews is to bring them nearer to the Christians and to uproot their harmful beliefs which are influenced by the Talmud."

In 1844, the Polish-style communities were disbanded but they were replaced by a new communal organizational structure. A law was instituted prohibiting Jews from growing pe’ot (“sidelocks”) and wearing traditional clothes. Nicholas I than divided Jews into two groups – “useful” and “not useful.” The wealthy merchants and those essential for commerce were deemed “useful,” all others “non-useful.” The order granted opposition from the Jewish communities of Western Europe and worldwide, but was instituted in 1851. The order was delayed with the Crimean War but the war only led to increased kidnappings of children and young adults into military service, often never to be seen again.

Alexander II (1855-1881)

The reign of Alexander II (1855-1881) resulted in an end to the harsh treatment of the Jews, but nevertheless new policies were implemented to ensure the assimilation of the Jews. As Jews began to move out of the Pale of Settlement, those having a Russian secondary-school education were granted greater rights, which increased Jewish enrollment in Russian schools. This led to increased assimilation. Assimilation was somewhat hindered as Jews in the military were prohibited from receiving the ranks of officers, which limited the contact between Jew and non-Jew. Emancipation of the Jews began slowly and assimilation skyrocketed. As assimilation led to increased visibility of the Jews, this led to anger among the non-Jewish community. The leading opponents to Jewish prominence included Russian luminaries such as Ivan Asakov and Fyodor Dostoyevski. The liberal and revolutionary elements were also opposed to the increased presence of the Jews. The anti-Jewish strength strengthened after the Balkan War (1877-1878).

However, between 1850 and the end of the 19th century, the Jewish population in Russia increased substantially due to a high birthrate and a low mortality rate. In 1850, the number of Jews in Russia stood at around 2,350,000 whereas it almost doubled to 5,000,000 by the late 19th century. Due to the high birthrates, competition in traditionally Jewish jobs also increased. The increased competition resulted in both the development of a Jewish proletariat and a small Jewish upper class. The increased competition led to economic diversification, such as Jews leasing alcoholic beverages (then a government monopoly) and engaging in construction and industrial development. Small groups of Jews became prominent in the banking industries and began to penetrate the intelligentsia (academia) and professional positions (lawyers, doctors, scientists, writers). The emancipation of the serfs led to a strong demand for land and therefore the government stopped encouraging Russian agricultural settlement. This land scarcity led to the Jewish communities migration throughout other parts of the Russian Empire.

Haskalah in Russia

Unlike in Western Europe, the haskalah, or Jewish enlightenment, preserved Jewish culture and values even while shifting the Jewish community away from a religious context. The majority of those affected by the haskalah operated in national or national-religious terms. The somewhat contradictory ideologies of Zionism and European Yiddish culture both increased in popularity due to the nationalistic flavor of the haskala. Yet, initially the maskilim were opposed to Yiddish, but later a secular Yiddish culture was created by the maskilim. A Jewish press also emerged in Hebrew, Yiddish, and Russian. The Hevrat Mefizei Haskalah was founded by wealthy Jews to encourage Russian Jews to learn Russian and spread the haskalah. The haskalah gradually influenced the b’tei midrashot (study halls) and yeshivot, which resulted in many students leaving them and assimilating into the secular world.

After Alexander II

In 1881, Czar Alexander II was assassinated and the situation for the Jews deteriorated. The assassins encouraged mass rebellions and the situation in Russia became anarchic and chaotic for everyone. The Jews were blamed. Pogroms broke out, consisting mostly of looting but also some murder and rape. The support of the Russian intellectuals shocked many Jews, especially the assimilated Russian maskilim. In May 1882, laws were passed blaming the Jews for the pogroms. This led to restrictions on Jewish landownership, prohibited Jews from living in villages, and the number of Jews studying in secular schools was limited to 10% in the Pale of Settlement and 3-5% everywhere else. This discrimination embittered the Jews to Russian society. In 1891, Jews were systemically expelled from Moscow. The police strictly applied the discriminatory laws and the media engaged in unbridled propaganda against the Jews.

When Nicolas II took over (1894-1918), the situation for Jews deteriorated. From the Passover pogrom of 1903 on, pogroms became government policy and reached their peak in October 1905. Russian rightists authored the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” a major anti-Semitic forgery popular in some communities to this day. In 1912, a new law passed that prohibited even the grandchildren of Jews from serving as military officers, despite the large numbers of Jews and those of Jewish heritage in the military. The census of 1897 showed that Jews of Russia (numbering 5,189,400) constituted slightly over 4% of the total Russian population (though disproportionately about 18% in the Pale of Settlement) but about one-half of world Jewry.

Politicization of the Jews - Social Radicalism & Zionism

As a consequence to the oppressive policies of the czars and increasing social freedoms of the Jews, Jews disproportionately joined the ranks of the Russian radicals. The leaders of the Social-Democrats (Socialists) included J. Martov and L. Trotsky and the leaders of the Social Revolutionary Party of Russia were also Jewish. A Jewish workers revolutionary movement was founded. Workers unions founded by Jews created the Bund. While regarding itself as part of the Social Democratic establishment for all Russians, the Bund took up exclusively Jewish causes, particularly cultural autonomy for the Jewish masses. The Bund advocated a separate system of schools, Yiddish as a national language, and the development of Yiddish press and literature. Another response to the oppression of the Jews saw its expression in the Zionist movement. The Hibbat Zion movement brought Zionism into Russia after the pogroms of 1881-1883. A few of the Jews who fled Russia escaped to Eretz Yisrael. While the central organizations of the Zionist movement (such as the World Zionist Organization) were found in Western Europe, the mass of members and supports came from Eastern Europe. The Zionist movement gained massive following among all segments of Russian Jewish society, secular and religious. Despite, or perhaps due to, the wide support of the Zionist movement, the Zionist organizations were illegal in Russia. Yet the Russian Jews made up the majorities of the Second Aliya and were the founders of the Labor Zionist movement. With the growth of the Zionist movement and the importance of self-respect and self-defense in Zionist thought, the next time pogroms hit in 1903, Jewish youths defended themselves and the Bund, Zionists, and Socialist Zionists formed self-defense organizations.

Cultural Reactions

The growth of Zionism led to the spread of Hebrew. This period saw a tremendous growth in Hebrew and Yiddish literature and it was in the late 19th and early 20th century that Russia saw great writers such as Hayim Nachman Bialik, Ahad Ha'Am, Saul Tchernichowsky, and the Yiddish writers of Shalom Aleichem and I.L. Peretz. Many great scholarly histories of the Jews were also written during this time. Yiddish and Hebrew presses also flourished. There was some conflict between the supports of Yiddish, who saw the future of Jews as being in Russia, whereas the Zionists saw the Jewish future in the Jewish homeland of Eretz Yisrael. Shortly after the Yiddishists proclaimed the superiority of the language and so the Zionists (who supported Hebrew) and the Bund fought bitterly and the Jewish intelligentsia split over this aspect of Jewish ideology.

World War I

With the advent of World War I, Russian Jewry felt that they could increase their substandard role in society if they participated in the defense of Russia. Over 400,000 Jews were mobilized and about 80,000 served in the front lines. Battles occured in the Pale of Settlement, where millions of Jews lived. Yet, when the Russian army was defeated, anti-Semitic commanders blamed the Jews and accused them of treason and spying for the Germans. Jews were even kidnaped and tried for espionage. Shortly after the trials, mass expulsions of Jews living near the front lines were organized. In June 1915, Jews were expelled from northern Lithuania and Courland.

One month later, the use of Hebrew characters in printing and writing was prohibited, making it impossible to write both Hebrew and Yiddish. Western opinion united against the discrimination against the Jews, which made the procurement of loans from Western countries difficult. Shortly after, the Russians ceased enforcing the laws relating to discrimination of the Jews and Jewish refugees from Poland and Lithuania moved towards central Russia.

Austria and Germany’s conquests in 1915 brought 2,260,000 Jews (40% of Russian Jewry) under military rule. These Jews were freed from czarist abuses but also cut off from their families and neighbors. In Russia, the Jewish presses were silenced and Jewish youth were conscripted into the army. Yet Jews from the rest of eastern Europe were torn from Russian Jewry leading to social upheavals which affected all facets of eastern European Jewry.

February Revolution

In early March 1917, Nicholas II abdicated the throne, ending 300 years of Romanov rule. A provisional government was put in place. On March 16, 1917, the provisional government abolished all restrictions on the Jews. Jews were given the change to hold every available public office and were exposed to newfound freedoms. Anti-Semitism was forced underground thanks to the newfound freedoms granted by the provisional government. Thanks to the freedoms granted the Jews, the Revolution saw tremendous support from the Jews. Jews were active in every aspect of the Revolution’s political life, obtaining leadership positions in several parties. The newfound freedoms also allowed Jews to engage in Jewish nationalist politics. The Zionist movement flourished in 1917 and Zionist youth groups were formed throughout the country. Hebrew book clubs and press were founded. In November, as news of the Balfour Declaration reached Russia, Zionist rallies were held in major cities. A self-defense organization “Union of Jewish Soldiers,” was founded. Joseph Trumpeldor led it.

Only a few months after it was formed, the provisional government was severely weakened and anarchy reigned. Anti-Semitism, previously underground, became more prominent. Sporadic pogroms occurred throughout the Russian empire. In October 1917, the Bolshevik Revolution crushed the provisional government. Shortly after, Russia was thrust into a civil war that lasted until 1921. Between October 1917 and 1921, violent anti-Semitism became widespread. While individual soldiers of the Red Army attacked Jews, the official policy of the Red Army was to clamp down on anti-Semitic attacks, resulting in Jewish sympathy for the Red Army and the Soviet Regime. The White Army, on the other hand, was filled with Cossacks and officers, the bastions of anti-Semitism. The White Army was saturated with anti-Semitism and its slogan was “Strike at the Jews and save Russia!”

Under Soviet Control

As the borders of Soviet Russia sharpened, large numbers of Jews who had previously been under Russian control found themselves outside of the Soviet Empire. Only about 2,500,000 Jews remained under Soviet control. The Bolsheviks rejected anti-Semitism and loosened civil restrictions on the Jews. Under the influence of influential assimilated Jews, the Bolsheviks began to see the assimilation of the Jews as the only solution to “the Jewish problem.” Jewish nationalist expressions, be they expressions of the Jewish religion or Zionism, were clamped down upon. While the Bolshevik leaders clamped down on Jewish separatism their fight against anti-Semitism gained them wide support among the Jewish masses. Jewish youth enthusiastically joined the Red Army (founded by a Jew, Leon Trotsky). In 1926, Jews made up 4.4% of the officers in the Red Army (more than twice their ratio in the general population). Jewish elites also took part in the administrative rebuilding of the country. While a small but influential group of Jews helped rebuild Russia, the Socialist Economic Policies weakened the masses. The Bolsheviks also set up a special “Jewish section” in government in response to the fact that millions of Jews were attached to the Jewish religion and Hebrew language (at least as a language of prayer and Judaism). The Communists put secular assimilationist Jews in charge in order to foster hatred towards the Jewish religion, Hebrew, and Zionism, though temporarily allowing its replacement with secular Yiddish culture. In August 1919, Jewish communities were dissolved and properties confiscated. Traditional institutions of Jewish education and culture, such as yeshivot and cheder, were shut down. Hebrew study was prohibited and it became forbidden to print Jewish books. In 1928, it was forbidden to even print religious books and Jewish calendars. In 1927, Rabbi J. Schneerson, the leader of Habad Hasidism, was imprisoned and expelled from Russia. Yet “underground” religious activity still continued, though after World War II, hundreds of Hasidism left Russia to Eretz Yisrael. The growing restrictions on Jewish religious life strengthened Zionism.

Yiddish was also strengthened by the forming of a “Jewish proletariat culture.” A Yiddish press and Yiddish newspapers were established, though the writing of Yiddish was phoneticized into Russian script so as to cut its ties with Hebrew print. Russians granted Yiddish official status in that tribunals were held in Yiddish and significant resources were invested in the development of Yiddish school systems. After awhile, however, Jewish parents rebelled against these schools whose only connections to Jewish culture was a few lines of Yiddish literature and which taught anti-religious sentiment. As the quality of the schools declined (weak to begin with), they began to disappear.

The disappearance of Yiddish was replaced by cultural assimilation. Jewish children spoke Russian and attended Russian schools. Mixed marriage became common. Jews began to play an important role in Russian cultural life.

During World War II, much of the attempts to persecute the Jews were halted. When World War II began, Jews played an important part of the Soviet military effort. Their role in the front lines was disproportionately higher then other national groups. While much of Soviet Jewry was decimated in the Holocaust, those living in Russia proper were mostly spared. After World War II was concluded, however, the attempts to suppress Soviet Jewry were resumed. Until Stalin’s death in 1953, Soviet Jews were placed in the gulag and were faced with significant physical oppression. In 1952, Stalin had a number of leading Russian Jewish intellectuals murdered in the “Night of the Murdered Poets.”

Even after Stalin’s death, the attempt to suppress Judaism and Jewish culture continued. Jewish books and religious articles had to be smuggled into the country and attempts to study the books and utilize the religious articles had to be clandestine. The covert nature restricted access to Jewish life to only a few individuals. The few Jews who continued participation in Jewish life were called refusniks, and were severely punished by the Soviet authorities. By 1965, only about 60 synagogues remained in all of Russia. It was not until Mikhail Gorbachev came to power and his policy of glasnost that restrictions on Soviet Jewry lessened.

After the Six Day War, Soviet discrimination against Jews increased. Despite the discrimination, the Six Day War increased Jewish national consciousness. In 1970, 11 individuals (9 Jewish) tried to hijack an airline in order to raise world attention to the plight of Soviet Jewry. The hijacking gave new prominence to the Soviet Jewry movement. One of the hijackers, Yosef Mendelevich, completely secular while in Russia, is now a rabbi in Israel.

Jews were viewed as potential enemies by the Soviet authorities, partly because many Jews had relatives in the United States.

1980 and Beyond

Even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia consists of one of the world’s largest Jewish communities. Russia houses the fourth largest Jewish community, after the United States, Israel, and France. Moscow and St. Petersburg, along with other large cities in Russia, contain thousands of Jews yet few Jews lived in urban regions in Russia until the 1800s. Most resided in the “Pale of Settlement,” which includes present-day Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Lithuania, and Poland.

During Soviet rule, the Communist government aimed to destroy all religious life in the country, which led to significant assimilation and secularization among the Jewish community. The Soviet Government did all it could to force the disappearance of Jews as a separate entity and nationality. During this time, Jews from around the world rallied to the support of Soviet Jewry. In the 1980s, with Gorbachev in charge, the restrictions gradually loosed as the Soviet Union crumbled.

Recent Developments (Post-Soviet Russia)

The population of Russian Jewry is shrinking due to immigration and aging. Around the time of the fall of the Soviet Union, millions of Jews left Russia and the former Soviet states. The Jews primarily moved to Israel and the United States. Since 2000, however, immigration has slowed down and increased effort has been devoted to revitalizing Jewish life in Russia and the former Soviet Union.

In 2003, Russia had a network of Jewish schools, which included seventeen day schools, eleven preschools, forty five elementary schools, and 81 supplementary schools with about 7,000 students. There are also several religious high schools and four Jewish universities. The schools are financed by the government, community organizations, the Jewish Agency in Russia, and international religious organizations. The major towns have a Jewish presence, with synagogues and rabbis. The Chabad-Lubavitch hasidic movement has played a significant role in rebuilding religious Jewish life in Russia. Chabad in Moscow has opened four schools and is building a seven-story Jewish Community Center. Jewish studies programs are being added to universities.

The oldest umbrella Jewish organizations are the VAAD, also known as the Federation of Jewish Organizations and Communities (FEOR), which was founded in 1992, and the Russian Jewish Congress(REK), which was founded in 1996. The Union of Jewish Religious Communities supports Orthodox institutions and religious life. The Progressive (Reform) movement and Masorti (Conservative) movements are also making significant inroads. Because the high intermarriage rate during Soviet rule led to many Russians being of Jewish descent but not halakhically Jewish (Jewish according to Jewish law), the Progressive Movement is able to gain among these people, as the Progressives recognition of patrilineal decent welcomes many who are not halakhically Jewish into the Jewish community. The Lubavitch movement, or Chabad, also has a strong presence in Russia. The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, which was formed by the VAAD and the Russian Jewish Congress, founded the World Congress of Russian Speaking Jewry in 2002 with the Federation of Jewish Communities. International Hillel, the foundation for Jewish Campus Life, also has chapters in several cities.

Many Russian cities print their own Jewish newspaper and other cultural, social, and religious institutions are expanding. Moscow has five synagogues, six day schools, yeshivas, and a kosher restaurant.

The growth of Jewish religious institutions in Russia also provides targets for anti-Semitism. Signs with anti-Semitic slogans have been posted on roadways. In 2002 and 2003, synagogues and cemeteries have also been desecrated. Some of these signs even include real and fake bombs. In Moscow, a 28-year-old student tried to remove one of these anti-Semitic signs and, as a result, an explosion went off and she sustained serious injuries.

Despite the growing presence of religious institutions in Russia, however, after years of assimilation most Russian Jews are not observant and see Jewry solely in terms of ethno-cultural behavior. According to the 2002 population census, the Jewish population in Russia was 230,000 out of a total population of 144 million. However, since many Jews do not reveal their nationality in the census, Jewish organizations estimate that there are approximately 400,000-700,000 Jews in Russia, making up approximately 0.27-0.48 percent of the Russian population.

One of the active Jewish communities in Russia is St. Petersburg. The Grand Choral Synagogue is responsible for the majority of Jewish culture in the city. St. Petersburg has two Jewish day schools and Yeshivot for both men and women. A full kosher kitchen and dining hall serve daily meals both to congregants and to poor citizens. The synagogue also began a home for poor or orphaned children in the community. Many of the members of the Grand Choral Synagogue belong to the community's charity center.

Moscow and St. Petersburg are also home to the Russian-US Center for Bible and Jewish Studies at the Russian State Humanitarian University, the Maimonides State Classical University, the S. Dubnov Higher School (former Jewish University in Moscow), the Center for Jewish Studies and Civilization at the Institute of Asian and African Countries at the Moscow State University, the 21st Century University, the St. Petersburg Institute of Jewish Studies, and the Center for Bible and Jewish Studies under the Philosophy Faculty of St. Petersburg State University. The Holocaust Foundation, established in 1992, coordinates Holocaust Studies in Russia.

Relations with Israel

The Soviet Union immediately recognized Israel in 1948. Ties between the two nations dramatically deteriorated after Israel allied itself with the West. Ideas about Jews as a nation also furthered anti-Zionist sentiment. In 1967, the Soviet Union cut diplomatic ties with Israel and were only reestablished in 1992. Shortly after the Six Day War, a massive propaganda campaign was launched in the Soviet Union denigrating Zionism and Israel, without distinguishing between Zionist and Jew. After the 1967 War, Jewish immigration to Israel was ground to a halt. The Soviet Union was a major arms supplier to the Arab states.

Between 1948 and the early 21st century, approximately 600,000-700,000 Jews have emigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union. Russian immigrants are a dominant part of Israeli society. In Israel there are several Russian-language newspapers, television stations, magazines, neighborhoods.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/russia.html

What to see

The Edmond J Safra Grand Choral Synagogue is the second largest and second most architecturally elegant synagogue in Europe, its cupola reaching a height of some 47 meters. It was built in Arabesque-Mauritanian style between 1880 and 1883 under Professor I.I. Shaposhnikov and architect Viktor Aleksandrovich Shreter and consecrated in 1893. The synagogue was shelled during WWII but not seriously damaged. The main prayer hall holds 1200 and has women's galleries on three sides. There are also smaller halls. Prayers are held daily from 10a-12:30p and from 1p-3p.
Lermontovskii Prospekt 2
St Petersburg 190068 Russia
Open Hours8a-6p M-Su

JEWISH ESTONIA

There is little information regarding the arrival of Jews in Estonia. There are, according to archive materials, individual reports of Jews in Estonia as early as the fourteenth century. This, however, should not be considered the starting point for a permanent Jewish settlement in the region. In fact, Jews were prohibited from living in Estonia.

The process of Jewish settlement in Estonia began in the nineteenth century, when an 1865 statute by Tsar Alexander II granted them the right to enter the region. This allowed the so-called ‘Nicholas soldiers’ and their descendants, kantonists, First Guild tradesmen, artisans and Jews to settle in Estonia and other parts of the empire. The Nicholas soldiers and artisans founded the first Jewish congregations in Estonia. The Tallinn congregation, the largest in Estonia, was founded in 1830. The Tartu congregation was established in 1866 when the first fifty families settled there.

A Jewish congregation does not exist without its synagogue; the largest of which was constructed in Tallinn in 1883 and in Tartu in 1901. Both of these were subsequently destroyed by fire in World War II.

As time passed, the Jewish population spread to other Estonian cities where houses of prayer and cemeteries were erected at Valga, Pärnu and Viljandi. At that time, the Jews sought to establish their own network of education. Yeshivot were established for the teaching of the Talmud, and elementary schools were organized in Tallinn in the 1880s. The majority of the Jewish population at that time consisted of small tradesmen and artisans, very few were literate and Jewish cultural life lagged.

A change was brought about at the end of the nineteenth century when Jews entered the University of Tartu. University students did much to enliven Jewish culture and education. 1917 saw the founding of the Jewish Drama Club in Tartu.

Approximately 200 Jews fought in combat for the creation of the Republic of Estonia, and 70 of these men were volunteers. The creation of the Republic of Estonia in 1918 marked the beginning of a new era for the Jews. From the very first days of her existence as a state, Estonia showed her tolerance towards all the peoples inhabiting her territories. The government sought ways to overcome national hostilities and discrimination. This set the stage for energetic growth in the political and cultural activities of Jewish society.

Between May 11–16, 1919, the first Estonian Congress of Jewish congregations was convened to discuss the new circumstances Jewish life was confronting. This is where the ideas of cultural autonomy and a Jewish Gymnasium (secondary school) in Tallinn were born. Jewish societies and associations began to grow in numbers. The largest of these new societies was the H. N. Bjalik Literature and Drama Society in Tallinn founded in 1918. Societies and clubs were established in Viljandi, Narva, and elsewhere. In 1920, the Maccabi Sports Society was founded and became well-known for its endeavors to encourage sports among Jews. Jews also took an active part in sporting events in Estonia and abroad. Sara Teitelbaum was a 17-time champion in Estonian athletics and established no less than 28 records. In the 1930s there were about 100 Jews studying at the University of Tartu. In 1934, a chair was established in the School of Philosophy for the study of Judaica. There were five Jewish student societies in Tartu Academic

Society, the Women’s Student Society Hazfiro, the Corporation Limuvia, the Society Hasmonea and the Endowment for Jewish Students. All of these had their own libraries and played important roles in Jewish culture and social life. Political organizations such as Hasomer Hazair and Beitar were also established. Many Jewish youth traveled to Palestine to establish the Jewish State. The renowned kibbutzim of Kfar Blum and Ein Gev were set up in part by Jews from Estonia.

In 1919, a Jewish elementary school was founded by the Tallinn congregation. Its first class graduated in 1923. At the request of the parents, the first gymnasium class started in the autumn of 1923 and the second class followed in 1924. In its first year, 223 pupils studied there. In 1924, a new schoolhouse was constructed at the expense of the small Jewish community and what they could not pay for themselves they borrowed. The Gymnasium played a very important roll in Jewish cultural life in Tallinn and all of Estonia until 1940. The Maccabi Sports Society operated there, lectures were read, get-togethers were organized, soirees, balls, theatrics, and song and dance showed the many facets society offered. Samuel Gurin served as director from 1925 when the gymnasium was officially established until its liquidation by the Soviet authorities in 1940.

On 12 February 1925, the dream was fulfilled. The Estonian government passed a law pertaining to the cultural autonomy of minority peoples. This was a logical step forward in the national policies of the Estonian Republic. The Jewish community quickly prepared its application for cultural autonomy. Statistics on Jewish citizens were compiled. They totaled 3,045, fulfilling the minimum requirement of 3000 for cultural autonomy. In June 1926 the Jewish Cultural Council was elected and Jewish cultural autonomy was declared. The administrative organ of this autonomy was the Board of Jewish Culture, headed by Hirsch Aisenstadt until it was disbanded in 1940. When the German troops occupied Estonia in 1941, Aisenstadt evacuated to Russia. He returned to Estonia when the Germans had left, but was arrested by the Soviet authorities in 1949.

The cultural autonomy of minority peoples is an exceptional phenomenon in European cultural history. Jewish cultural autonomy was of great interest to global Jewish community. The Jewish National Endowment presented the Estonian government with a certificate of gratitude for this achievement.

In 1936, the tenth anniversary of Jewish cultural autonomy was celebrated. The Board of Jewish Culture worked actively. Boards of trustees were established in many of the larger cities. Three schools operated: the gymnasium in Tallinn, a secondary school in Tartu and an elementary school in Valga. In the 1930s, 352 pupils were enrolled in Jewish schools, i.e., 55% of the school-age population. In cities with few Jewish children language and history lessons were organized by the local cultural boards of trustees. There were Jewish kindergartens established in Tallinn, Tartu, Narva, Viljandi and Pärnu.

In 1934, there were 4,381 Jews living in Estonia (0.4 percent of the population) and 2,203 Jews lived in Tallinn. Other cities of residence included Tartu (920), Valga (262), Pärnu (248), Narva (188) and Viljandi (121). A total of 1,688 Jews contributed to the national economy: 31% in commerce, 24% in services, 14.5% were artisans, and 14% were laborers. There was also large business: the leather factory Uzvanski and Sons in Tartu, the Ginovkeris’ Candy Factory in Tallinn, furriers Ratner and Hoff and forest improvement companies such as Seins and Judeiniks. There was a society for tradesmen and industrialists. Tallinn and Tartu boasted Jewish cooperative banks. Only 9.5% of the Jewish population worked freelance. Most of these were physicians, over 80 in all. In addition, there were 16 pharmacists and 4 veterinarians. 11% of the Jewish population had received higher education, 37% secondary education and 33% elementary education. 18% had only received home education.

This small Jewish community established its own social welfare system. The Jewish Goodwill Society of the Tallinn Congregation made it their business to oversee and execute the ambitions of this system. The Jewish Assistance Union was active in Tartu, and welfare units were set up in Narva, Valga and Pärnu.

The peaceful and active life of the small Jewish community in Estonia came to an abrupt halt in 1940 with the Soviet occupation of Estonia. Cultural autonomy in addition to all of its institutions was liquidated in July 1940. In July and August of the same year all organizations, associations, societies and corporations were closed. A large group of Jews (about 400) were deported on 14 June 1941. After the German occupation later in 1941, all Jews who had failed to flee were murdered. According to data from Israel, 1,000 Estonian Jews were executed in 1941.

After the war, a number of Jews who had previously fled to the Soviet Union returned to Soviet-occupied Estonia. There was, however, no rebirth of Jewish cultural life. Communist Party policies were hostile to Jews and were implemented as part of an anti-Zionism campaign. Hence, in addition to physical destruction, the Jews in Estonia met moral and cultural catastrophe.

Only the congregation as a religious unit was operative. One of its duties was to take care of the Rahumäe Cemetery. No synagogue was erected and services were conducted in a house of prayer which was in poor repair. Jews were not allowed to learn their own language and history, nor to practice their traditions. Some people found guilty of learning Hebrew were sentenced to time in prison camps. There were establishments and offices where Jews were not allowed to work. The Soviet authorities used two categories: citizenship (Soviet) and nationality (Jew, Estonian, Russian etc.) which were stated in the person’s passport. Some people even tried to change their nationality. Thus the Soviet Union extinguished the historical memory of the Jewish community: the young were no longer aware of their own ethnic background. Parents and grandparents were afraid of telling children of their heritage. Moral genocide of approx. 2.5 million Jews was implemented in the Soviet Union. People were not allowed to investigate the Jewish genocide which happened during the German occupation. The archives were off limits to Jewish researchers.

In addition, Jews had difficulty gaining admittance to institutions of higher education, especially in Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev. For this reason, young people striving to quench their thirst for knowledge attended the University of Tartu and the Polytechnical Institute in Tallinn (now known as the Technical University). Young Jews arrived in Estonia from Moscow, Leningrad and elsewhere. If they were unable to find jobs in their home towns, they did not have that problem in Estonia. Many of the new arrivals became professors and department heads at the University of Tartu. Some even achieved world renown such as Jury Lotman, a professor in semiotics. In the 1970s Jews also started coming to Estonia on their way to Israel or the United States. Estonia, for good reason, became known as a place from which it was easy to leave the Soviet Union.

From 1940 until 1988 the Estonian Jewish community, as elsewhere in the Soviet Union, had no organizations, associations nor even clubs.

In March 1988, the Jewish Cultural Society was established in Tallinn. It was the first of its kind in the entire Soviet Empire. There was a lack of experience in organizing the workings of a national cultural society and, of course, no rooms were available. But the enthusiasm generated enough momentum to accomplish many things despite failing resources. The Society began by organizing concerts and lectures. Jewish people, deprived of the possibility of any cultural activities for fifty years, joined in. Soon the question of founding a Jewish school surfaced. As a start, a Sunday school was established in 1989. The Tallinn Jewish Gymnasium on Karu Street was being used by a vocational school. An agreement was reached with the director which allowed the Sunday School to use the school rooms. In 1990, a Jewish School was established.

Jewish culture clubs, which remained under the wing of the Cultural Society, were started in Tartu, Narva and Kohtla-Järve. Other organizations followed; the sports society Maccabi, the Society for the Gurini Goodwill Endowment and the Jewish Veterans Union. Life returned to the Jewish congregation. Courses in Hebrew were re-established. Thanks to the Jewish communities of Israel and other countries a relatively large library was opened.

The gamut of cultural activities kept on growing. The Jewish Cultural Society is a founding member of Eestimaa Rahvuste Ühendus (Union of Estonian Peoples) which was founded at the end of 1988.

The restoration of Estonian independence in 1991 brought about numerous political, economic and social changes. The Jews living in Estonia could now defend their rights as a national minority. The Jewish Community was established in 1992, and its charter was approved on April 11, 1992.

The Jewish Community in Estonia acts as an umbrella organization for the above-mentioned organizations and societies if they so desire. As members they also retain their autonomous structures. Presently the community consists of about 1,000 Jews. Most recently, a Jewish synagogue was re-opened in Tallinn. The membership is dominated by pensioners (over 50%) and this presents some obstacles. The community is headed by the council, elected by the whole membership. The council’s activities are co-ordinated by the chair and two assistants who are chosen from the ranks of the council. The Community is active in the following areas:

The elaboration of an education system, the organization of culturally oriented activities, and the promotion of historical research.

The allocation of social welfare for families elderly, invalids, accident victims etc.

The allocation of aid to Aliya (the repatriation of Jews to Israel).

The representation of Jewish rights in governmental bodies.

A part of Jewish tradition is loyalty and support to the people and state where they live. Likewise, Estonia has traditionally regarded its Jews with friendship and accommodation. To illustrate this, a new Cultural Autonomy Act, based on the 1925 law, was passed in October 1993. This law grants minority peoples, such as Jews, a legal guarantee to preserve their national identities. In July 2005, Estonia unveiled a memorial stone in the former concentration camp in Klooga. Altogether 22 memorials honoring the Jews killed in Estonia during World War II are slated to be erected. Some 1,500 Estonian Jews died during the war, and an estimated 10,000 Jews were killed in Estonia after having been deported to camps there from elsewhere in Eastern Europe. Recently the Chabad Lubavitch Orthodox Jewish movement appointed the country's first Rabbi since the early 1940s, Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kot. On May 2007 the community celebrated the opening of its first synagogue since the country's Jewish community was destroyed in the Holocaust. The new synagogue, which can fit 180 people in the main worship area, was built at a cost of about $2 million with money from the US-based Rohr family foundation and Estonian Jews and non-Jews.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Estonia.html

JEWISH FINLAND

 

Prehistory of the Community

The territory which is now Finland was for more than half a millennium--until 1809--part of the Swedish Kingdom. Under Swedish law, Jews of that period were allowed to settle only in three major towns in the Kingdom, none of them being situated in the territory of Finland. In 1809, as a consequence of the defeat of Sweden in the Russian-Swedish war of 1808-9, part of the Napoleonic Wars, Sweden lost control of Finland and an autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland was established within the Russian Empire. The Swedish constitution and legal system was, however, maintained in the Grand Duchy, and the prohibition on Jewish settlement in Finland thus continued.

Arrival of Jews in the Czar's Army

Finnish Jewish history effectively began in the first half of the 19th century when Jewish soldiers (so-called cantonists), who served in the Russian Army in Finland, were permitted to stay in Finland by the Russian military authorities following the soldiers' discharge. Subsequently, the presence of Jews in the country was governed by the decree of 1858, under which discharged Russian soldiers and their families, without regard to their religion, were allowed to stay temporarily in Finland. The occupations open to discharged soldiers were defined in a decree of 1869 which was applied also to soldiers of Jewish origin.

In 1889 the Government issued an administrative decree expressly governing the presence of Jews in Finland. Under the decree a number of Jews mentioned by name were allowed to stay in the country only until further notice and to settle only in certain towns assigned to them. They were given temporary visit permits with a period of validity not exceeding six months. The occupations open to the Jews, being the same as under the decree of 1869, meant in practice that they were to continue supporting themselves mainly as dealers in second-hand clothes. They were forbidden to attend fairs or perform their activities outside their town of residence. The slightest violation of any of these limitations served as grounds for expulsion from Finland. Children were allowed to stay in Finland only as long as they lived with their parents or were not married. Jews conscripted to the Russian Army within Finland were not allowed to return to Finland after their discharge.

Finnish independence and the Emancipation of the Jews

The struggle for equal rights for Jews was taken up in the Finnish Diet in 1872. The press debate on Jewish emancipation that started about that time continued during the 1870s and 1880s. There was not, however, yet to be any change for the better in the status of the Jews in Finland. By the end of the 1880s there were about a thousand Jews resident in Finland. It was not until 1917, when Finland became independent, that the Jews received civil rights. On 22 December 1917, Parliament approved an Act concerning "Mosaic Confessors," and on 12 January 1918 the Act was promulgated. Under the Act, Jews could for the first time become Finnish nationals, and Jews not possessing Finnish nationality were henceforth in all respects to be treated as foreigners in general.

Interwar Period

Between the two world wars, the Jewish population increased to about 2,000 as a result of immigration mainly from Soviet Russia during the early period of the Revolution. Many young Jews studied at university, and others entered the liberal professions as physicians, lawyers, and engineers. Still others turned to industry and forestry, but the majority continued in the textile and clothing business. With a few isolated exceptions, the Jews did not take part in internal party politics or join any political movement.

The Second World War and Finnish Jewry

During the Finnish-Russian War of 1939-40 (the Winter War), Finnish Jews fought alongside their non-Jewish fellow countrymen. During the Finnish-Russian War of 1941-44, in which Finnish Jews also took part, Finland and Nazi-Germany were co-belligerents. Despite strong German pressure, the Finnish Government refused to take action against Finnish nationals of Jewish origin who thus continued to enjoy full civil rights throughout the War. There are many interesting anecdotes from this period, concerning, among others, the presence of a Jewish prayer tent on the Russian front virtually under the Nazi's noses and the food help given to Russian-Jewish POWs by the Jewish communities of Finland.

The Postwar Era

After the end of the war, the integration of Jewish population of Finland into Finnish society was completed. The War of Independence for the State of Israel brought to the new State Finnish-Jewish volunteers as well as weapons donations by the State of Finland. These Finnish volunteers represented the highest per-capita participation of any Diaspora Jewish Community. The following years saw a fairly high rate of aliyah. Today, Finnish Jewry numbers some 1,500, of whom about 1,200 live in Helsinki, about 200 in Turku, and about 50 in Tampere. There are organized Jewish communities in Helsinki and Turku with their own synagogues, both Ashkenazi-Orthodox, built respectively in 1906 and 1912. The Jewish community of Tampere discontinued its activities in 1981. The communities are members of the Central Council of Jewish Communities in Finland, a consultative body dealing with matters of general interest concerning Jews in Finland. This body is in its turn a member of the European Council of Jewish Community Services and of the World Jewish Congress Connections with communities in the other Nordic (Scandinavian) countries are also maintained.

Today, most of the Finnish Jews are corporate employees or self-employed professionals. Some are civil servants. Among Jews who have occupied important positions, Max Jakobson, former Finnish Ambassador to the United Nations, should be mentioned. In the music world, the late Dr. Simon Parmet definitely won his place as a composer and conductor. Worth mentioning also is the late painter Sam Vanni, a member of the Finnish Academy and of the European Academy of Science, Art and Literature. Rafael Wardi, another scion of the community, is also a very well-known painter. In 1979, Ben Zyskowicz became the first Finnish Jew to be elected member of Parliament, where he continues to serve today.

For more information, contact:
Dan Kantor
Jewish Community of Helsinki
Malminkatu 26, 00100
Helsinki, Finland
+358 9 586 03121
+358 9 694 8916
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Finland.html

Chabad Lubavitch of Finland

The local orthodox synagogue is located on Malminkatu 26. It is a central area, ½ km from the city center.

The synagogue is 30 meters west from the Kamppi bus terminal (one metro stop away from the central railway station), it is located just behind the Royal SAS Radisson Hotel.

Weekday prayer times:
Mon. & Thu. - 7:45 am
Tue. Wed. & Fri. - 8:00 am
Sun. - 9:00 am

Shabbat morning prayers - 9:00 am

Friday evening prayers:
Summer - 7:00 pm
Winter - 5:00 pm

While a number of Jews lived in Sweden, practicing their rituals in secret, a Jewish community was not officially established until the 1770's. Samson Efraim and his son visited Goteborg and Stockholm on business in 1702. More Jewish businessman came to Sweden because of the demands of the East Indian Company and, in 1733, Jews were allowed to visit auctions in Goteborg and a small Jewish community of eight individuals lived in Stockholm until 1734.

Aron Isak, a seal engraver from Germany, was the first Jew granted permission to live as a Jew in Sweden. He was first offered citizenship if he accepted Christianity; his response, "I would not change my religion for all the gold in the world" impressed the Lord Mayor of Stockholm, who advised Isak to make a legal protest to King Gustav III. The King subsequently granted him citizenship as the first Swedish Jew. He was allowed to bring some Jewish families, so there would be at least a 10 Jewish men (the number needed to hold prayer services).

In 1775, the island of Marstrand, off the coast of the Goteborg, all foreigners were allowed to live on the island ,including Jews. Five years later, the first Jewish family settled in Goteborg. In 1782, legislation was adopted allowing Jews to settle in Sweden without converting to Christianity.

Until 1860, Jews were only allowed to live in Stockholm, Goteborg, Norrkoping, Karlskorna and Marstrand (although only from 1775-1794). The first Jewish cemetery was consecrated in 1776. In 1782, in the designated cities of residence, Jews were given permission to build synagogues, perform communal services and engage in business and crafts that were not subject to guilds. In 1840, about 900 Jews lived in Sweden.

The process of Jewish emancipation began in 1838 when King Charles XIV removed some of the restrictions placed on Jews, which gave them many civil rights and legal protection. Until the 1840's, only wealthy Jews were allowed to intermarry. More prohibitions were removed by 1870. One of the last prohibitions was not removed until 1951, which stated that Jews could not hold political office. Once becoming full citizens, Jews were treated as peers and anti-Semitism was rare.

The Jewish population increased tremendously between 1850 and 1920 due to immigration from Russia and Poland. The population reached nearly 6,500 in 1920.


Immigration was regulated following World War I and the inter-war period. Small groups of German, Austrian, and Czech Jews were allowed to immigrate to Sweden during the 1930's. Fear of large-scale Jewish immigration led to student demonstration at Uppsala and Lund universities, in 1938. A law prohibiting the Jewish ritual slaughter of meat was introduced and is still in affect today.

From 1933-1939, only 3,000 Jews were allowed to immigrate to Sweden and another 1,000 were permitted to use Sweden as a transit stop to other locations. Once the brutalities of the Nazi regime were known, Sweden opened her doors to immigration and short-term stays.

Holocaust Period

Sweden was involved in many efforts to save Jews from Nazi brutality and murder. In 1942, Sweden allowed the immigration of 900 Norwegian Jews. In October 1943, Sweden gave asylum to more than 8,000 Danish Jews, the whole Danish Jewish community, which came to Sweden via small fishing boats. Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg saved thousands of Hungarian Jews in Budapest. Also, Count Folke Bernadotte helped bring Jews and non-Jews out of concentration camps.

Sweden also profited from the Holocaust. It is known that Wallenberg’s relatives made money converting Nazi gold into Swedish crowns and that Sweden provided iron ore and ball bearings to the Nazis. Swedish documents reveal that some Swedes actually sided with the Nazis and volunteered to fight for Hitler. Some Swedes were members of the Waffen SS and served in police batallions.

A committee was established by the Swedish government in 1997 to investigate the transfer of Nazi gold to Sweden during the war. It is reported that Sweden received 38 tons of gold from Nazi Germany (worth today US $430 million). Many Swedish companies, such as Ericsson, AGA and Hasselblad Cameras, as well as the country’s paper and wood industries traded with Nazi Germany. Swedish jewelers bought stolen diamonds, which were smuggled into Sweden by civil servants working at the German legation in Stockholm.

Post-Holocaust Period

In the post-war period, many Holocaust survivors were brought to Sweden for rehabilitation. Sweden also accepted refugees from the Baltic countries, Lithuania, Estonia and Lithuania, whom were later to be discovered as Nazi collaborators.

Due to the activities of Swedish anti-Semite, Einar Aberg, a law was passed in Sweden, in the 1950's, prohibiting the incitement against ethnic groups.

In 1956, Sweden accepted hundreds of Hungarian Jewish refugees fleeing the Communists and in 1968, Sweden accepted thousands more fleeing from Communist-led witch hunts. Jews from Czechoslovakia and Poland also immigrated to Sweden, including many intellectuals, university students and young professionals. Between 1945-1970, the Jewish population of Sweden doubled.

In 1987, Radio Islam, run by a Swedish-Moroccan, Ahmed Rami, began broadcasting anti-Semitic messages to the greater Stockholm area. Rami served time in jail for a number of years and, in 1996, he began broadcasting once again in Sweden and over the Internet.

An amendment to the criminal code was passed in 1994 making racist motivations for a crime an aggravated circumstance. In 1996, Sweden’s supreme court ruled that a person wearing Nazi symbols could be charged with incitement against an ethnic group. Also in 1996, one of the major producers of neo-Nazi music, Tomas Lindvist, was sentenced to one month imprisonment for incitement against an ethnic group. It was the first case against the White Power music scene prevalent in Sweden. In 1997 the first complaint against an internet site in Sweden, was lodged for Ahmed Rami’s website.

Sweden is considered a pioneer in Holocaust education. In November 1997, the Swedish government introduced a large-scale educational program, called the Living History Project, to educate Swedes about anti-Semitism. For this project, a free book was distributed about the Holocaust to every household in Sweden and minority communities were given the book in their own language. A website devoted to the Holocaust was designed and Uppsala University opened an institute dedicated to the study of the Holocaust and other genocides. Uppsala University also hosted an international conference on Holocaust education, in 1998. In January 2000 Sweden hosted an international gathering to promote awareness of the Holocaust, which was attended by heads of state from numerous countries throughout the world.

Today’s Swedish Jewish Community

In Sweden today there is a Jewish population of approximately 18,000 out of a population of 9 million. Stockholm, Sweden’s capital, boasts the largest Jewish community. There are also Jewish communities in Malmo, Goteborg, Boras, Helsingborg, Lund and Uppsala. The Jewish community is composed of mainly pre-war refugees and Holocaust survivors and their descendants.

All of the denominations and Jewish communities are linked to the Official Council of Jewish Communities in Sweden. Swedish Jewry is active in international Jewish welfare activities. There are branches of the WIZO, General Organization of Jewish Women, Emunah, B’nai Brith and B’nai Akiva in Sweden.

There are synagogues in Stockholm (2 Orthodox and 1 Conservative), Goteborg (1 Orthodox and 1 conservative) and in Malmo (1 Orthodox synagogue). Jewish cemeteries can be found in Goteborg, Gotand, Kalmar, Karlskrona, Karlstad, Larbro, Malmo, Norrkoeping, Stockholm and Sundsvall.

The Jewish community of Stockholm has a primary school, kindergarten, Judaica House, communal library, a bi-monthly publication (Judisk Kronika) and a weekly Jewish radio program.

For more information:
Official Council of Jewish Communities in Sweden
Wahrendorffsgatan 3 B
10391 Stockholm
Tel: 08 587 858 00
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Sweden.html

 

JEWISH DENMARK

Denmark was the first of the three Scandinavian countries where Jews were permitted to settle. Jews were first invited by King Christian IV, who sent a message on November 22, 1622, to the leaders of the Sephardi community in Amsterdam and Hamburg inviting Sephardi Jews to settle in the recently established township of Gluckstadt. Some Jews accepted this invitation and began trading and manufacturing operations there. Jews were also active in Denmark in the seventeenth century as financiers and jewelers to the royal family and members of the Danish royalty. Benjamin Mussafia, author of the Talmudic dictionary Musaf Ha-Arukh, was appointed physician to the royal family in 1646.

Jewish communities existed in Schleswig and Holstein, then under Danish rule, from the beginning of the seventeenth century. Around this time many German Jews wished to come to Denmark; however, they had to produce royal authorization before entering the country. Rabbis, teachers, and other community leaders were permitted to practice in Denmark with the permission of the leaders of the community. In 1782, there were 1,830 Jews in Denmark; 1,503 in Copenhagen.

Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century

Danish Jews were granted civic equality in 1814 and received full citizenship rights in 1849. The Jewish population increased steadily until the middle of the nineteenth century when there were approximately 4,200 Jews in Denmark. The population subsequently declined to 3,500 in 1901 due to intermarriage and a low birth rate. After the Kishinev pogrom of 1903, about 200 refugees came from Eastern Europe to permanently settle in Denmark. By 1921, the total Jewish population numbered 6,000.

The Zionist movement was introduced into Denmark in 1902 with the establishment of the Dansk Zionistforening. The World Zionist Congress moved its headquarters to Copenhagen for the duration of World War I. The Danmark Loge of B'nai B'rith was founded in 1912.

Elites

Jews in Denmark achieved great renown in all aspects of society. Some of the best known include the sculptor Kurt Harald Isenstein, the literary critic Georg Brandes, the botanist Nathanael Wallich, and the scientists Ludvig Levin Jacobson, Adolph Hannover, and Carl Julius Salomonsen. Jews were also very active in the government during the nineteenth century; Edvard Brandes served as minister of finance, Herman Trier was a member of parliament, and Georg Cohn was a state advisor on international law.

Religious Sects

Until the end of the Eighteenth Century the community remained strictly Orthodox. However, influenced by the movement in Germany, Reform Judaism was introduced into Denmark my Mendel Levin Nathanson. Although there was some tension between Reform and Orthodox Jews, when chief rabbi Abraham Alexander Wolff took office in 1829 he succeeded in reducing the friction.

Holocaust Era

For almost three and a half years, from the day of Denmark's occupation on April 9, 1940, through the end of August 1943, the Danish Jewish community was largely safe from persecution. However, mounting Danish resistance during the summer of 1943 eventually destroyed the base of the Danish-German Agreement from 1940 and subsequent agreements, which protected the Jews from Nazi deportation. In September 1943, martial law was declared in Denmark and the representative of the German Reich in Denmark, Werner Best, advocated deporting the Jews. F.G. Dukwitz, the attache for shipping affairs, maintained good relations with leading Danish Social Democrats and informed them of the impending danger for the Jews. Overnight a rescue organization was established and 7,200 Jews and 700 non-Jewish relatives were organized to flee for Sweden. This spontaneous and successful effort eventually developed into the organized group of the Danish Resistance Movement. The Danish resistance movement was very successful and secret trafficking of people, goods, and information between Sweden and Denmark remained throughout World War II and enabled the resistance movement to communicate with Allied forces. King Christian X also spoke out strongly against Nazi occupation and the oppression of the Jews; however, a popular story that the King wore a yellow star to demonstrate solidarity with the Jews is untrue. During the first night of persecution, October 1-2, 1943, the Germans seized fewer than 500 Jews. They were sent to Theresienstadt and remained there until the spring of 1945, when those who survived were brought to Sweden by the action of the Swedish Red Cross. An estimated 120 Jewish Danes were murdered in the Holocaust; however, less than two percent of the Jewish population of Denmark perished.

Nevertheless, in May 2005, Denmark apologized for sending at least 19 Jews to concentration camps. Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, told a crowd of people commemorating the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II that the actions are a “stain on Denmark’s otherwise good reputation.”

Contemporary Denmark

The Jewish Population of Denmark at the end of 1968 was about the same as before World War II, between 6,000 and 7,000, with only one percent of the Jewish population residing outside of Copenhagen. Almost all the Jews who were rescued during World War II returned to Denmark at the end of the war; however, the birth rate continues to be low. There are about 7,000 Jews in Denmark today, out of a total population of 5.25 million. The majority of Jews reside in Copenhagen, but smaller communities exist in Odense and Aarhus.

A positive relationship exists between Jews and non-Jews, and mutual goodwill has been demonstrated on numerous occasions such as the tenth and twenty-fifth anniversaries of the rescue of Danish Jewry from Nazi persecution, and in 1964 with the 150th anniversary of the granting of citizenship to Jews in Denmark.

The Jewish community is state recognized and is therefore entitled to assess all Jews in the country for taxation, allow rabbis to perform marriages and register births and deaths. Copenhagen also has the Caroline Jewish Day School, founded in 1805, with an enrollment of some 300 pupils. The Royal Library in Copenhagen houses the Bibliotheca Simonseniana, an extensive Jewish books and Judaica department.

The Mosaiske Troessamfund is Danish Jewry's central communal organization. The community supports an active Zionist Federation, WIZO (Women's International Zionist Organization), and B'nai B'rith. The B'nai Akiva movement is active in Jewish life and has inspired great support for aliyah. Many young people were also very active in aiding Soviet Jewry. The Great Synagogue in Copenhagen was completed in 1833 and is the seat of the chief rabbi. There is also another Orthodox synagogue in the city that contains a mikvah, and one reform and one unaffiliated synagogue. Outside of Copenhagen there is a Chabad in Frederiksberg and an unaffiliated synagogue in Hornbaek. Kosher food is readily available and Denmark exports kosher meat to Sweden and Norway, where shechita is not permitted. Joedisk Orientering is the leading Jewish publication in Denmark.

The royal family has remained largely supportive of the Jewish community, and in 1983, Queen Margrethe attended a service at the Copenhagen Synagogue to commemorate its 150th anniversary. In 1987, she hosted Israel's President Chaim Herzog, and in 1993 she agreed to be the patron to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the rescue operation of Danish Jews in October 1943. In 1993, a plaque was erected at a memorial service in Bispebjerg Hospital where 2,000 Danish Jews were hidden on their way to Sweden in October 1943.

In June 2004, Copenhagen will open the city's first Jewish Museum, which will present Danish-Jewish culture, art and history extending back to the first Jewish immigration around 400 years ago. The museum will be located in rooms within the oldest part of the Royal Library and is designed by architect, Daniel Libeskind, who has also designed the Jewish Museum in Berlin.

The Museum of Danish Resistance tells the story of Danish resistance during the Nazi occupation of 1940 -1945. It began as an exhibition called Fighting Denmark, arranged by the Resistance Council in the summer of 1945 and in 1957 a permanent museum was opened here. The current exhibition was inaugurated in 1995. Behind the museum in Churchill Park there is the sculpture, "Wounded Woman", which was presented by the State of Israel to the Danish people in appreciation of their support during the Jews' flight from the Nazi occupation in World War II. The sculpture, by the Israeli artist Bernard Reder (1897-1963), was unveiled in 1969. Connected to the Danish Resistance is the Memorial Park in Ryvangen. Here lie 106 members of the Resistance in a landscaped garden. Also, behind a large granite monument made by Axel Poulsen in 1949, lie the graves of 31 patriots who died in concentration camps as well as 151 commemorative plaques in honour of some of those who disappeared without trace.

On May 5, 2005, sixty years after the liberation of Denmark, Danish Prime Minister Fogh Rasmussen apologized for the extradition of innocent people, 21 of them Jews, to Nazi Germany during World War II. Rasmussen spoke at Mindelunden, which serves as a symbol of Danish resistence during World War II where the majority of freedom fighters are buried, before an audience of 5,000, including Queen Margrethe III.

Relations with Israel

The relations between Denmark and Israel have been friendly and warm. Denmark voted for the partition of Palestine in 1947. Denmark has usually supported Israel in the United Nations, and trade relations have also strengthened in the past years. In Jerusalem, a monument to the rescue of Danish Jewry was erected on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the operation, and a school is also named in Denmark's honor. King Christian X hospital in Eitonim is named after Denmark's king during World War II.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Denmark.html

JEWISH DENMARK

As far back as in the year 1000, the Norwegian king, Olav den Hellige, forbade everyone who was not Christian to live in Norway but only in the time of king Christian IV (late 16th century) do we find specific references to the Jews. The Jews in question were mainly those who in 1492 and 1498 were driven out of Spain and Portugal. These Sephardi Jews first settled in the Netherlands and in Hamburg. In Norway, these were called “Portuguese-Jews.” Some of them were given special permission to enter Norway when no other Jews could. Those who were still in Norway at the beginning of the 19th century in most cases let themselves be baptised. The king, Christian IV, thought that the Jews could be helpful to his country but because of opposition from the clergy, he had to be satisfied with letting the Jews settle in duchies of Slesvig-Holstein. Jews had been permitted to live there from 1620. They were now granted freedom of religion and in 1630 the king gave them permission to travel freely in Denmark and Norway and also do trade there. The Jews living in this area were not, as in many other countries, forced to live in ghettos or in special Jewish streets or wear clothes which would distinguish them as being Jewish. In 1641, the king extended his “protection” to include “Aschkenazi-Jews,” from Eastern-, Central- and part of Western Europe.

King Christian IV's successor, King Fredrik III, was not as liberal as his predecessor and during his time the Jews in the area once again lived under strict conditions. They were not allowed to be in the Danish-Norwegian kingdom without a form of visa . In 1687, when Norway was united with Denmark under King Christian V's law, the prohibition of Jews entering the country was reinserted. There was a fine for anyone who broke this law and a reward for the person who informed against a Jew. About 150 years later, in 1830, the attitude towards Jews was somewhat more lenient and by 1844 the Justice Department decided that “Portuguese-Jews” would be permitted to enter freely.

In 1814, Norway acquired its first constitution. This document was relatively liberal, but in §2 it stated that the official state religion was Lutheran Protestantism and that Jews and Jesuits were forbidden from entering the kingdom. The lobbying to change this paragraph was led by the national poet, Henrik Wergeland. In 1851 the ban was indeed reversed, six years after the Wergeland's death.

Establishment and Development of the First Jewish Community

Following this, Jews in small numbers started arriving to Norway, mainly from Poland and Lithuania. These were often people who did not have money to go to America. In June 1892, the first Jewish community was established in Christiania (now Oslo). The community was first given the name Det Jødiske Samfund i Christiania (The Jewish Community in Christiania) but only one year later it was changed to Det Mosaiske Trossamfund (The Mosaic Community). At this stage there were 214 Jews in Norway, 136 of them living in Christiania. When the community was established, it had about 100 members. They decided to keep to the Orthodox tradition, though most of the members were not very observant with regard to the Halachic laws.

The development of the community continued through the following years. In 1892, an immigrant from Lithuania was employed as teacher for the children, cantor, shochet and mohel. The same year, fixed times for prayers were set and a place was rented to be used as a synagogue. In 1893 the community employed a rabbi, Dr. Meyer Ashkanaze, and as the number of members increased, the synagogue was moved from place to place. During the next 30 years, the number of Jews in Norway increased from 642 persons (343 in Christiania) to 1457 (852 in Christiania) . The immigrants came from Eastern Europe and the reasons for this great immigration was The First World War, persecution of Jews and general suffering in Europe.

Between 1900 and 1910 there were four small Jewish communities in Christiania at the same time. One of them, Israels Menighet i Christiania, Adath Yeshurun (Israel's Congregation in Christiania, Adath Yeshurun), was led by the same rabbi Dr. Aschkenaze, who had been the rabbi of Det Mosaiske Trossamfund (The Mosaic Community) only a few years earlier. These communities had very small differences concerning ideology and by 1910 they had merged into one, namely Det Mosaiske Trossamfund. In 1917, yet another congregation was established as a result of dissatisfaction with the way the bigger congregation was run but by 1939 there was again only one congregation, Det Mosaiske Trossamfund. This has remained the situation until today. About 3/4 of the approximately 2000 Norwegian Jews, were affiliated to this community in Oslo, or the smaller community, which had been established in Trondheim. The Jewish population, in Norway, has never exceeded this number.

Between 1915 and 1940, Jewish cultural life in Oslo blossomed. Several competing theatrical groups, performing in Yiddish, choirs, cultural organisations (also in Yiddish) as well as academic organisations were established. In 1910 the Jewish Youth Association was established, becoming the most active and important organisation within the Jewish community. During the years 1935-1940, a number of study-circles were held, led by the community's rabbi, Isak Julius Samuel. In 1942, the rabbi was deported and killed by the Nazis.

The Second World War and the Re-establishment of the Community

In 1940, the Germans occupied Norway. Norwegian newspapers and media were full of anti-Semitic propaganda and the Norwegian government was taken over by Nazis (Quisling). Two years later, in 1942, 750 Jews were deported to Auschwitz. Of these, only 25 survived. The remainder of the Norwegian Jewry managed to escape to Sweden, where they lived as refugees until the end of the war. Over 100 Jews served in the Free Norwegian Forces, mostly stationed in Britain.

After the end of the war, in 1945, when some of the refugees returned, the Jewish community in Oslo was re-established. They found the synagogue in Oslo unharmed, miraculously. It had been used as a storage place for Nazi-literature and confiscated Jewish belongings during the war. Even the Torah Scrolls were still there, unharmed. The synagogue could, therefore, be used again as soon as it was cleaned up. The new rabbi of the community was Rabbi Zalman Aronzon. However, the level of activity, at the time, was much lower than before the war and there were long periods without a rabbi, limited teaching capability and little spiritual leadership. In 1947 the Norwegian government permitted the immigration of several hundred Jewish refugees, mostly from Hungary. In 1960, a community centre was built next to the synagogue.

In the late 1970's a serious revival of the community began, with the appointment of a new, young rabbi, Michael Melchior and a new leadership. The rabbi made many changes in the education system. Besides from intensifying the intellectual challenge of the studying, he also tried to build on the principle that “Jewish culture should not merely be learnt but also lived.” The “classroom-education” was extended to include obligatory weekend-seminars and camps, which would let the children actually experience what they were learning. Since then, many institutions have been established: kindergarten, well-attended synagogue services, Cheider (afternoon classes) for all school children, aged-home, a supply of kosher food imported from Israel and America, study-circles as well as other cultural and religious events. During the last 25-30 years organisations such as WIZO, B'nei Akiva (being the only active youth organisation, in Norway, today), Maccabi Sports Club, B'nai Brith and Keren Kayemet L'Israel have become popular among the Norwegian Jews.

Due to the small number of Jews in Norway, the leadership saw that it was essential to maintain unity and that there should therefore only be one congregation in Oslo (about 950 members) and a smaller community in Trondheim (about 100 members). The policy of the community is to follow Orthodox laws, teachings and traditions. This form is used in the synagogue, classes etc. and for all events within the community. In order for this to work in practice, there is no coercion of members as to regard their own degree of observance, as long as regulations are followed within the confines and institutions of the community.

Part of the revival of the Jewish community, during the last 20 years, has been the introduction of “cantors” from Israel, whose duties include leading synagogue services and teaching. These people come for a couple of years, with their families, and then return to Israel. This arrangement insures an infusion of latest ideas from the Jewish world, especially Israel. During the last decade this has been achieved through successful association with WUJS' (World Union of Jewish Students) project Arevim. Most of the members Jewish Community in Oslo have very strong ties with the State of Israel and the Community encourages a Zionistic ideology.