The Jews of Scandinavia Part I

The more recent and relatively small Jewish communities of Scandinavia serve as an interesting chapter in Jewish history. While Finland was part of the Russian Empire for a time, the other Scandinavian countries had Jewish communities as well.

This episode will primarily focus on Sweden and the central Jewish story based in Stockholm in the 19th and 20th centuries. Though it was initially quite small, the Jewish community ballooned in size in the 1930's and during the war with a stream of refugees from Germany and later from Scandinavian countries under Nazi occupation. Many more survivors subsequently arrived following liberation. Legendary figures like Rabbi and Rebbetzin Binyamin Zev Jacobson along with Rav Shlomo Wolbe, were active in rescue work and then in the operation of girls school and dormitory for survivors in the Stockholm suburb of Lidingo. One of the most interesting stories of Swedish Jewish life at this time was that of Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Zuber. A Lubavitch chassid who became the Rabbi, mohel, shochet and chazzan for the nascent Orthodox community in 1932, he'd remain the mainstay of traditional Jewish life in Sweden for 15 years. Whether it was combatting assimilation, working against the shechita ban, assisting refugees from the Holocaust or being at the forefront of the post war aguna issue, Rabbi Zuber would be the defining spirit of Jewish life in Sweden during a tumultuous time.   For sponsorship opportunities about your favorite topics of Jewish history contact Yehuda at:  yehuda@yehudageberer.com   Subscribe To Our Podcast on:    PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/  

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