A successful integration? - The history of the Jews in Sweden

A modern overall synthesis on Swedish-Jewish history is still missing. The last one was published in 1964, was quite brief, and based largely on research done for almost a hundred years ago. I am now writing such a book, mostly based on contemporary scholarly research which has increased dramatically the last ten-fifteen years. My presentation will highlight some aspects of this work: the relationship with the surrounding majority society, internal Jewish affairs and immigration and integration.

There are many similarities with developments in other countries, but the Swedish-Jewish experience also has some distinctive features. Jews were allowed quite late (1770s) to reside in Sweden, and the number of Jews has always been comparatively small. But the Jewish population has always been growing, thanks to immigration during different periods of Jews with various geographical and socio-economic backgrounds. The interaction between different categories of Jews has been extensive and there is now a vibrant Jewish life.

Almost all the Jews of Sweden has been Ashkenazi Jews, until around 1860 mainly German. Between 1860 and 1914 almost all immigrants came from the northern parts of the Russian Empire, often in the form of chain migration. In the 1930s about 3,000 Jewish refugees arrived from Nazi Germany and occupied countries, despite the restrictive immigration policy. The immigration in 1945 of Jews saved from concentration camps had major impact on Jewish demography and Jewish life. The largest post-war immigration occurred the years around 1969 when about 2500 refugees arrived from Poland.