Oslo-D2; 3 of 4 JEWISH MUSEUM

Jodisk Museum (The OSLO Jewish Museum) (in a former Synagogue from 1921) covers Norwegian Jewish History, Culture and Traditions, the Shtetl and The Jewish Year as well as the stories of how the Holocaust impacted this County.

We spoke to two young people that belong to the current active Jewish Community of Oslo which was founded in 1892. The current Rabbi is Orthodox, however, the members religious observance is variable, with many different Jewish backgrounds and their existence ensures that Jewish life continues to be vital part of Norwegian society. There is no Jewish school because they want their children to be part of day-to-day Norwegian life and not separate (which they say would be dangerous).

In 1940, there were roughly 2,100 Jews living in Norway. Most of these families originally came from the Baltic areas of Czarist Russia, and had lived here for several generations. During the 1930s, Jews fleeing from Nazism in Central Europe also began to arrive. In 1940, there were some 350 Jewish refugees living in Norway.

Deportation and flight During the German occupation, a total of 772 Jews were deported from Norway, most in connection with two blitz operations in the late autumn of 1942. Only 34 survived. About 1,200 Jews fled to Sweden during the war. The exhibition we saw focuses primarily on the family histories and traces that remain. We spent a few hours reading all of these stories.

Speaking to members of the current Congregation, there are about 750 families that belong to the Synagogue and an estimated 1300-1500 families in total in Oslo (which makes up the majority of the Jews in the Country).Read more