Jews & Sweden

Visit the Jewish Museum’s new permanent exhibition and time-travel into Jewish heritage and Swedish history. The first part tells the story of early Jewish immigration to Sweden, the difficulties of life under the Jewish Ordinance, and the founding of the first Jewish congregation. The relaxation of the regulations and the geographical spread across Sweden is shown in the second part. The third part tells the story of what happened when the Jewish minority suddenly found themselves living as a majority. In the interim were the years when very few Jews were allowed to enter Sweden.

The exhibition weaves the history of the Jews in Sweden, finding their feet in a new country, with Jewish thinking and the practice of Judaism. Contemporary art, a reminder of the links between then and now, has a natural place in the Museum.

The Museum’s collections, which are part of the permanent exhibition, are not large. Only about 800 artefacts. This raises important questions about how to collect minority heritage, and why. In the Museum’s handling collection, objects are arranged by how they were acquired, whether from the Jewish community or from others. This way of presenting the collections puts the spotlight on minority relations with the majority.