Judaism in Scandinavia (1682-present)

[@djvel1587]

Faroese here, I don't think I have met a single Jewish person who lives full-time in the Faroe Islands. We don't have a synagogue, and most young people immigrate when they grow up (especially young women). Also the Faroes are A LOT more conservative than the rest of the Nordics (we only legalized same-sex marriage in 2017). We are much more religious, insular, and uneasy about outsiders (and it is not like Scandinavia is known for their hospitality). All of that really means I don't think we will ever see Jewish people in here.

[@cv990a4]

"Ever" is a long time. I think Faroe is overdue for its Iceland moment, where it becomes overrun by tourism. Of course Faroe could stop that if it wants. But point being that it's not crazy to think Faroe could become more connected to the outside world.

[@rutgerius123]

Could also easily mean that if they're there already that they probably haven't told anyone for fear of antisemitism..

[@thedemongodvlogs7671]

I find it amazing that Sam has fans even in the Faroe Islands! Seriously cool!!

[@fistogirl]

I know 2 Jewish families from Færøyene currently living in Norway!

[@purpleelemental3955]

>conservative >Legalized same-sex marriages Yup. As it always is

[@handthattakes]

Hi! Danish Jew here, and how funny and surprising and exciting to see this video on my homepage! We are a very small community here and rarely is very much screen time dedicated to our history and culture, so it's always so exciting anytime someone makes the effort to learn more. For that same reason there is so much I don't know about my OWN history! Watching this was so interesting because while I know the broad strokes of this history, there are always gaps that something like this can help fill in. My great grandparents immigrated from eastern Europe and all died before my birth and my grandparents, who were children during WWII fled to Sweden. My grandparents never talked much about their family history, and when I asked my grandmother once why they never taught their children Yiddish - despite the fact that my great grandparents spoke it and taught it to their children - her answer was that it "belonged to a dark time". Last year I finally decided to take my education into my own hands and started learning Yiddish language in order to connect more to my heritage and the culture of my forebears. This was a really cool watch, thanks!

[@SamAronow]

My grandparents also didn't pass on Yiddish. They claimed not to see any point in doing so since it was a dead language in all but academic and ultra-religious circles. But I suspect they just liked being able to speak to each other in a language their children didn't understand. Unrelated: is your avatar IKB? I've seen that painting in person!

[@handthattakes]

@@SamAronow haha yes it is! but I've only ever seen pictures of it!

[@Michael-vl2fu]

​@@SamAronowToo many times I hear "my parents used to speak Yiddish if they didn't want us to understand" Became a banal statement. Boring. Nobody prevents you from studying that beautiful language ...

[@ffnovice7]

It's quite the opposite with my Korean parents, who have kept the language alive in me and not learned English ultimately due to laziness more than keeping a tradition alive, as there is no need. I feel it's the polar opposite when it comes to the Judaic languages

[@JonasVilander]

Similar situation, though immediate family is American now(or already was). My family(mixed and a complicated story) is/was Danish/Swedish, with the Danish bit only being present a few generations(originally Dutch Sephardim, and we are one of the handful, of what was already a small community, surviving families after the shoah) and Swedish only(that didn't return to Denmark for long) because of the "Bælteudvandringen/ Bältets utvandring" as my family calls it, during the war. Sadly, most of the family in Sweden has in the past ~10 years either made Aliyah, or moved to Czechia, owing to a lot of safety concerns in Malmö or Gbg(am sure you understand why).

[@Biggie420Cheese]

My grandmother (whom died before i was born) helped a jewish lady and her kids hide in Norway during the war. Apparently at some point she sat there with them and a pistol. She would later go on to have a large fosterfamily, including my father. This is what my father has told me. Though i never got to meet her, i take pride in knowing she was courageous, and a fucking badass.

[@דניאל-ש2ה]

Thank you and your heroic grandmother

[@jewishjedi]

I really enjoyed this video. Part of my family came to the US from Poland via Trondheim, Norway. We still have cousins in Norway and Sweden from this time period. Also, if you're ever in Copenhagen, the Dansk Jodisk museum, while small, is very nice.

[@AndrishhRS]

Very interesting! Trondheim has historically had the second-largest Jewish community in Norway after Oslo and has Europe's northernmost synagogue

[@feigdarfrost]

shalom from Trondheim!

[@Luredreier]

​@@feigdarfrost Are you a Trøndersk Jew? I know I have *some* Jewish blood far back in my family.

[@hanslub42]

Actually, Trondheim has its own Jødisk museum (which is also Europe's northernmost synagogue as @AndrishhRS mentions) Well worth a detour; I immensely enjoyed (and was moved by) my visit there, last year.

[@AncientAmericas]

Awesome work! Really enjoyed this one!

[@JezielProdigalSon]

Dane here. Love our jewish brothers. Shalom aleichem.

[@דניאל-ש2ה]

Thank Viking we love you too

[@FrazzP]

Thanks for making this video Sam! Its always nice to know more of this type of history. I've met 3 Finnish jews in my life and with how small the community has always been that is pretty cool. The only other jewish compatriots i know are Ben Zyskowicz (Member of Parliament since 1970) and the rapper Uniikki. Don't know where i read it, but apparently some Finnish Jewish war veterans who fought in the Arab-Israeli war of 1948 were sometimes insulted for not having 'suffered equally' and for fighting on the same side with the Germans.

[@JonasVilander]

Honestly, if I were the Finn-Jewish vets that got insulted for that, I would remind the ones insulting them that some of the leadership of the Lehi were cozying up to the Germans during the early points of WWII in a twisted boondoggle effort to fight against the British. That isn't to say I necessarily "like" the fact Finland had to fight with the Germans during the Continuation War, though I fully understand that there wasn't much in the way of alternatives given the situation with the Soviet Union. Finland was fighting for it's survival, and it's hard to make black and white criticisms and judgements in respect to that, especially in hindsight.

[@Br1cht]

That´s to be expected, if you fight half the world away from your home you cannot expect to be on the same level as those that actually fought for Finland in the eyes of Finnish people.

[@מ.מ-ה9ד]

I can't believe you didn't mention that during the 50's - 80's about hundred thoudsand of volunteers from Scandinavia came to the kibbutzim out of empathy with the socialist-democratic cause of the Jewish people. Israel was quite popular there back then.

[@SamAronow]

I just can't include everything.

[@Cythil]

Yes. There was quite a bit left out. But still think this was an interesting quick look on the topic. It is still over a half an hour long. But impressive how much could be fit in to that time even when some things were left out.

[@zdru1711]

Not any more the Scandinavian countries are among the most pro arabs and anti Israel . They hate Israel and the jews very much.

[@Luredreier]

​@@SamAronow Any chance of a video with things you left out. Like Norways role in Israel acquiring nuclear technology?

[@Br1cht]

Well, tbh it wasn´t "emphathy" it was young people wanting some adventure:)

[@edvardbenes9066]

Im happy and suprised to see you have included, my ancestor Henri Nathansen. He was my great grandfathers cousin and a wonderful artist. Upon his tragic suicide in 1944, where he jumped from The 5th floor of his hotel, my great grandfathers sister-in law joked: “not all of us are fortunate (or rich) enough to be able to jump out from the 5th floor of a luxurious hotel.” Which might be a bit dark, but still funny considering she at the time lived in a basement with 5 children.

[@Brakvash]

(KZbin didn't like my story of similar dark humour, so I'll simply reiterate the conclusion): Darkness can help us in dark times. Embrace it and laugh at the absurdity of existence.

[@bomoose]

perfect break video between shavuot and shabbat

[@henrikbraathen3096]

Great video! Just a smal correction, I believe that Norway brought back the death penalty just after the invasion in wwii, and not the end of it. The government was just so confident that it would win, so they reimposed it so the crimes of quisling would fall under the new scope.

[@SamAronow]

You're correct. The government-in-exile began formulating its postwar purge as early as 1942.

[@SIC647]

Denmark also brought the death penalty back breifly after WWII. I believe 46 people were tried and executed under that law (plus somewhere around 200-400 known traitors around the country who were simply offed without a trial in the days after the libaration).

[@axllii]

Copy of my post in the main thread (from Mars Erik Vaales and Baard Herman Borge, "Grunnlovens største prøve"): Regarding Quisling and the other executed people. The Norwegian law prohibiting the death penalty was not suspended. The political situation demanded some form of retribution, so the state used an international law which allowed execution. The justification was that international law was 'above' Norwegian law, thus having precedent. This justification was highly controversial, but was found sufficient. Some years after the war, public sentiment changed, and the prosecution and sentencing dwindled out.

[@sirushti1132]

New Idea: Judaism in the Maghreb. ( morocco, tunisia, algeria and maybe libya). One of the things i haope such a video covers is the existence of toshavim. more often than not when speaking of north african jews we only speak of sefardic jews and ignore this group.

[@ronmaximilian6953]

I hope you realize that you're asking him to cover about 2,300 years of history

[@sirushti1132]

​@@ronmaximilian6953 No need to get into the books and crannies of it really. He didi one for Persia,china,India and Ethiopia. Just the major points for a 30 minute video.

[@sirushti1132]

​@@ronmaximilian6953just the major parts. He did one for Persia. He can do for this topic as well.

[@falconeshield]

Gee I wonder why. Most still get persecuted to this day.

[@angerycamel2]

I think individual countries would be more effective for this subject. Tunisian, Egyptian, Algerian, and Morrocan jewish history diverged alot, and in many cases do not even have similar origins.

[@thealmightyyam2117]

As one of the Nordic subscribers I really enjoyed this video, especially the description of Finland during WWII, which is way too often oversimplified. The only possible correction/nitpick that I would bring up is that, as far as I’m aware, Finland was never fully annexed during Russian rule. Even during the last two decades of the Empire (when things were also at their worst in Finland and Russification policies landed here), Finland’s *official* autonomy wasn’t abolished, but you’re right in saying it was greatly reduced. As a side note on the subject of WWII, some Finns also choose to include those Soviet Jewish POWs who were handed over by the Finns to the Germans as part of the victims of the Holocaust that Finland was involved in in addition to the eight usually mentioned, but this is a question of definition. Other than that, spotless video.

[@seneca983]

I don't think his description is that far off the mark. The February Manifesto (of 1899) effectively abolished Finland's autonomy. I think Finland could still have separate laws but those would be passed entirely by the Russian government. Finland's Diet would be reduced to a mere advisory role without any actual say in the content of any laws.

[@gunterxvoices4101]

Much love, and was greatly looking forward to this video! I had to wait until today to watch it, because I had to go straight to Shabbat after work, yesterday. Know that you have love and support from Temple Beth El, Flint, Michigan.

[@sirushti1132]

Bruh ibrahim ibn yaqub straight roasting the danes lmao.

[@ffnovice7]

Interesting cyclical name too. Abraham, son of Jacob. Guttural noises lol

[@hedgehog3180]

I love reading travel accounts from Islamicate travelers in Europe because a lot of their complaints and disgusts are just incredibly relatable.

[@jorgealzate4124]

As always, magnificent Job Sam. An off topic comment, I'll try my best because I'm not a physicist: Einstein wasn't against the quantum physics principles, only against a particular kind of interpretation of it. Even more, his Nobel prize was awarded not because of his theory of Relativity, but because he proved true the quantum nature of the photoelectric effect.

[@diabolicaladrenalineguitar3708]

Sorry I know this is even more off topic, but I am a physicist and wrote a paper on this during undergrad. It was a culmination of his inability to debunk quantum mechanics as Bohr described it (infamously during their debates at the Solvay Conference 1930) and his inability to make his own interpretation (it was later proven by J. S. Bell that anything like Einstein's interpretation would be physically impossible). This dissatisfaction with Bohr's interpretation is something he shared with a lot of famous colleagues. In a letter to Erwin Schrödinger, Einstein alluded to Bohr, and his dismissal of the conceptual failings of quantum mechanics, as a "Talmudic philosopher [who] doesn't give a hoot for 'reality', which he regards as a hobgoblin of the naive" (19th June 1935)

[@quetaquenya6418]

THANK YOU + your Swedish pronounciation was good

[@johanwestin3030]

It is crazy how late som of these reforms were. In Sweden for example, jews(along with catholics and some others) couldn't be teachers until the 1950s

[@Luredreier]

Yeah, some people thinks that people thinking differently can somehow "infect" kids... Instead of realizing that it's good for kids to get as many different perspectives as possible... In Sweden that was Jews... In the US it's book burning s d firing people who have alternative sexualities... (I know of several people in the US BDSM community who have lost custody of their kids and/or lost jobs involving children, despite them not involving kids at all in any way, shape or form, I believe trans people and gay people have the same issues, although at least gay people have *some* legal protections now)

[@adamgg123]

Swedish subscriber here!

[@TheAndrewSchneider]

Huzzah! I am definitely noting all the composer names on this list for future performances!!

[@cait-eriona2631]

Skål! Great and insightful video. I live in Norrköping myself. I found it interesting that my city had the history it does, mainly since I have never met someone who refer to themselves as Jewish.

[@molnet999]

uh why are you using skål as a greeting? it's only used before drinking

[@Br1cht]

@@molnet999 He used it as the BritBong used "Cheers", don´t be so provincial.

[@molnet999]

@@Br1cht that's the problem, you don't use skål like cheers, don't be a moron

[@tippikuppi]

Little piece of trivia; I had an opportunity to see Victor Borge at the opening of Tampere Talo consert hall 1990. During the show he told, that his family escaped from Denmark via Sweden and Finland to USA. As refucees their family run out money, more or less, in Finland. His father being a violinist in Royal Danish Orchestra contacted some muscians in Helsinki. The biggest donation they got was from Jean Sibelius, Finland National Composer. After arriveing into USA, Borge's fater kept sending cicars to Jean Sibelius for several years, according to him.

[@megantaylor4189]

Excellent bit of info.

[@kuromori_san]

Excellent video, as always! A tiny corecction: both Yiddish and Hebrew are recognised minority languages in Poland as well ;)

[@feigdarfrost]

but do they have daily Yiddish programs and children documentary on Polish national TV?

[@kuromori_san]

​​@@feigdarfrostthey don't, but children are able to aquire education in public schools in both Yiddish and Hebrew. The law also states that recognized minority languages can have co-official status with Polish in those municipalities, where the minority in question constitutes at least 20% of citizens. EDIT: for a little bit of context, public tv in Poland is more of a old people thing, because even in the most rural and least developed areas, the vast majority of people use streaming platforms.

[@feigdarfrost]

@@kuromori_san oh i forgot that Poland isn't socialist anymore lol, but in Sweden they still have a strong filial of Pravd... i mean, SVT

[@vallraffs]

Kinda surprised you didn't mention the president of the Storting before the occupation of Norway was from a jewish family. I'd read he was a practicing jew but I guess he or his family had converted to christianity at some point. Either way it was something Quisling pointed to when he was trying to sell the Nazis on the idea of invading Norway.

[@KonradSeverinHilstad]

You're thinking about Hambro? He had Jewish ancestry, yes. Though his family converted to Lutheranism in the 1800s. Interestingly enough, he was a staunch opponent of the abolition of the "Jesuit clause" in the constitution when Norway signed on to the ECHR in the 1950s.

[@SamAronow]

@@KonradSeverinHilstad That doesn't surprise me. US politics in the 19th century had a similar culture of being more open to Jews than to Catholics due to the highly centralized and authoritarian nature of the Catholic Church, in contrast to Jewish religious administration being either strictly nationalized or nonexistent.

[@steffplaysmapping1104]

While Hambro has jewish ancestry, his family were Christians since the 1800s. Jo Benkow is considered the first jewish president of the Storting, as well as first jewish member of Storting (if you count out Ludvig Mariboe). Benkow was one of the most powerful Conservative Party politicians during the 1980s in Norway, together with prime minister Kåre Willoch, through his work in the Storting.

[@mister4701]

Jødeagenten Hambro

[@hyoga4345]

Been excited for this one for while now. Love from Iceland! 🇮🇸🇧🇻🇫🇮🇫🇴🇦🇽🇬🇱🇩🇰🇸🇪❤️🇮🇱🕎✡️

[@2klimpan]

THANK YOU, SAM!!! After watching your videos (all 100% gold, btw! ❤) I've been super curious about this exact topic. I'm a swede and I find the story of this people so very very gripping and inspiring. Again, big thanks for the great deep dive and I'm so sorry for the very messy soup that is "nordic history". 😂 You did good!

[@BlondPastelQueen]

Wow, amazing and very educational video! I'm a first time Danish viewer, but I will be sure to look at your other content. You may want to take another look at the The Great Dane Victor Borge. Born in Denmark as Børge Rosenbaum he became a gifted pianist, but had to flee the country due to the war. He made it to Sweden and traveled by ship to the US. He got to America, but barely spoke English, if at all. Still, he was able to make it big in the States and remained in his Connecticut home until his death, at a very old age. He was also very famous in Denmark and very much enjoyed coming home and perform his many talents. Bonus fact: According to himself, he once dates Al Capone's sister, until he realized who her brother was! 😅🇩🇰

[@KonradSeverinHilstad]

From a long-time Norwegian subscriber: Excellent video, and Skål, sam. A few notes however. I wish you would have touched a little bit more on the history of the jew clause in the Norwegian constitution, and the debate following it - culminating in the passage of the dissent er-act which officially legalised non Lutheran worship in the mid 19th century. One of the biggest proponents of the clause was Bishop Nicolai Wergeland, show later came to be one of it's biggest opponents, along with his son, Nicolai (who is considered Norways national poet). Secondly, though I absolutely understand why you may have to cut it out for brevity, and it may have been in a previous draft of the script - Quisling did not serve as minister of defense for the NS. He was a member of the farmers party at the time, and was forced to resign after he ordered the military to open fire on striking workers at a match factory. He only subsequently founded the party.

[@SamAronow]

I was aware of Wergeland but indeed was unable to include him by name for the sake of pace. So too am I aware that Quisling wasn't part of the NS while serving in government; otherwise I wouldn't have said that the NS was never elected to national office.

[@haraldbuseth1995]

Nikolai's son and one of Norways most famous poets was Henrik.

[@KonradSeverinHilstad]

As a matter of fact, he was not even an MP! He had been brought in on reccomend action of several militaries.

[@erikasell4659]

Absolutely loved this video, thank you so much for making it!

[@omnibusification]

Finally! Swede (Malmö) here who never even met a jew before I moved to Krakow a few years ago. I was always curious about the jewish community/history in my homeland.

[@rapasvi]

No way you’re in Malmö??? Me too!! 🎉

[@omnibusification]

@@rapasvi not anymore. I live in Krakow since five years. :)

[@ronmaximilian6953]

Malmo has The third largest Jewish population in Sweden after Stockholm and Gothenburg. Although I'm not sure the word large actually applies. There is an active synagogue and Jewish community Center in Malmo. And you may have met Swedish Jews without realizing it. Most intermarry.

[@omnibusification]

@@ronmaximilian6953 That population is diminishing as it is not a town were one would flaunt their jewishnes, to put i mildly. the city is lost. I felt unsafe and im not even jewish.

[@JonasVilander]

For correction/clarity video, Count Folke Bernadotte(member of the Swedish Royal family), should be noted as being one of the major negotiators for the release of Danish Jews from Theresienstadt in 1945. Not-so-funfact, he ended up being assassinated during his tenure as UN Mediator by the Lehi in Israel, with future Israeli PM Yitzak Sh-m-r(יש"ו) being one of of the leaders who approved the plan to assassinate him An (extended) part of my family owes their life to Bernadotte, we hold a personal grudge against Shm-r, Israel Eld-d(יש"ו), and N-th-n Yellin-Mor(יש"ו). (For clarity on my part, this should not be construed as hate or mistrust for Israel, just these particular people as a matter of family honor and justice)

[@SparklesBB]

Part of my family comes from Jewish Copenhagen!! Apparently I still have some distant cousins there, would love to meet them some day.

[@Thebestman-f1j]

Please talk about Jews in Sub-Saharan Africa next.

[@weevilstevil9901]

Sam. This rocked. Thank you

[@OirErpon]

The number of Jewish military personnel in the Soviet Union is lower than expected because many Jews listed themselves as Russians for safety reasons.

[@Hoodpartisan]

Safety of what exactly? The first soviet politburo’s were somewhere between 40-70% jewish

[@OirErpon]

@@Hoodpartisan Later in the war, Jews were acutely aware of the dangers of being captured by the Nazis. Additionally, antisemitism was still widespread among the general population, making it more convenient for many Jews to list themselves as Russian. Despite some members of the Politburo having Jewish origins, this did not translate into a genuine concern for Jewish people, especially in a regime ruled by Stalin.

[@nicechock]

@@Hoodpartisan persecution? you do know they have been driven out of over 100 different countries?

[@christie4568]

@@Hoodpartisan Presumably in case they were taken as POWs by the Nazis.

[@hedgehog3180]

@@Hoodpartisan Not really, most were secular Jews, and you only get numbers like that if you count people with distant Jewish ancestors, and that was merely the first Politburo back when the SRs were still included and the Bolshevieks in general were much more cosmopolitan and genuinely tried to push for more egalitarian reforms. By the time Stalin took over the Soviet Union had for a while been taking a turn towards more overt Russian chauvenism and anti-semitism became widespread, no doubt helped by Stalin's personal conflict with Trotsky. If Nazi Germany didn't exist the Soviet Union would probably be the most infamous antisemitic regime in the 20th century.

[@felixsteinauer]

Great and very interesting video! Sort of surprised to not see any mentioning of Sweden's engagement during the WWII-period, especially with the diplomatic missions that saved thousands of Jews in Budapest led by Raoul Wallenberg.

[@SamAronow]

I considered including that, but as Wallenberg wasn't operating in Scandinavia, I expect to come back to him at a later time and in a slightly different context.

[@felixsteinauer]

@@SamAronow Okay, I see that! It is interesting to note though how the Swedish government and foreign services became more aligned in the defence and rescuing of not only Scandinavians, but also Jews during the escalation of the war.

[@scottcannon4971]

Excellent work, Sam. Please make more of these long form videos!

[@kenster8270]

Thanks a lot for this thoroughly researched timeline, Sam! I even learned a few new fun facts from this, such as the existence of an Icelandic saga devoted to describing the concept of Jews and their shenanigans from a subpolar perspective.

[@misterperson3469]

This was great! Im swedish and there was a lot in here that just doesn't really get covered here. Essentially everything you are likely to get from school is surrounding ww2 and even then only in passing. Oh and I appreciate you putting the work in on the pronounciations!

[@Luredreier]

Yeah, I'm impressed with his pronounciation of letters like "å" as well as Norwegian pronounciation of letters in the latin alphabet and just correct pronunciations in general of everything Norwegian, Swedish and Danish to the best of my knowledge.

[@misterperson3469]

@@Luredreier it was by no means perfect but it was all easy to understand with no subtitles which is all that really matters.

[@R3troguy]

Faroe Islander here: we actually have three Jewish families! The most prominent one is the Blak family, best known for its contribution to Faroese music: Kristian Blak, Danish-born musician and founder of the Faroes' first record label Tutl, is married to the American flutist Sharon Weiss, and their son Mikael Blak (drummer and co-founder of our first punk band 200, also known for frequently collaborating with Eivør) identified openly as Jewish in at least one interview that I remember. Alongside them are the Shemesh and Rouah families, both of whom are half-Israeli from what I can recall. I'm Facebook friends with a Shemesh and one of the Rouahs is a pretty talented photographer, but I unfortunately don't know anything about the rest of them. There are also a few people of Faroese origin living in Tel Aviv, but I am not sure how many of them identify as Jewish or are merely married/related to them.

[@NcowAloverZI]

@@tonynilsson1928because?

[@dargon1084]

I'm a Malaysian who is following all sorts of History of " ", and you're the one and only go to for me on the 'history of jews'. I have no connection to Scandinavia, Europe, or Jewish heritage, but I love history and love your videos

[@wolfie8890]

this is so amazing that sam has this sort of reach, may I ask, how are Jews perceived in Malaysia? I know that in Indonesia there are a lot of radical islamists who's views are coloured by the IP conflict, is it similar in malaysia? - australian jew

[@drtn6206]

As a Norwegian (with a jewish grandmother), I highly appreciate your work.

[@dknapp64]

Another great video Sam! Thanks!

[@stephenandersen4625]

Another good one, Sam.

[@logicaredux5205]

Excellent work Mr. Aronow! It answers questions that are not easy to answer unless one knows well the history of Scandinavia. My maternal grandparents emigrated to the U.S. in 1912. I do know that in Sweden, I had a great, great grandmother who was Jewish. She had converted to the Swedish Lutheran Church. Beyond that unfortunately I know nothing.

[@marieschmidt5842]

Great video! So interesting!❤

[@erraticonteuse]

Ages ago you talked about the visibility of LGBTQ Jews at one point in history (I don't think you specified the exact timeframe, just that there was a while where if someone was openly gay there was also a very good chance they were Jewish). I assume that was a consequence of Magnus Hirschfeld's role in basically starting the LGBTQ rights movement, but I would definitely be interested in more of a deep-dive on that.

[@SamAronow]

I sincerely doubt Magnus Hirschfeld was having that kind of influence on working-class teenagers in 1930s Cleveland. I suspect that the main factors were a combination of (1) the comparatively early onset of secularism in the Jewish world and (2) the fact of being a minority often subject to discrimination and hostility but (3) spanning a broad socioeconomic spectrum rather than a systemic underclass.

[@erraticonteuse]

@@SamAronow Are those "working class teenagers from 1930s Cleveland" based on a specific example of an IRL community you're thinking of, or just shorthand for the sort of Jews who were more likely to be out than their Gentile counterparts? Did you base this observation on any written sources or just your own conversations with older Jews about themselves or their gay friends? Thanks!

[@SamAronow]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sascha_Brastoff

[@JH-lo9ut]

Amazing research and really informative. Well done!

[@merkel7647]

Can you do one for Mexico? Specifically Mexico City... I wanna understand better my jewish friends.

[@thefisherking78]

Your work here is, as always, top tier.

[@Eddn102]

Greetings from Denmark.

[@Pippis78]

The thing I will always tell when Einstein's accomplishments are mentioned. He did all his greatest work while working with his first wife and mathematician Mileva Maric. Maric in fact did all the hard math. She deserves the recognition and should be mentioned together with Einstein. Her career and life went to shit after Einstein deserted her and their two sons. But thank you for this very informative video! Never seen this history been discussed anywhere before!

[@luylierwilliam6331]

Yay! We are represented! Im a swedish Jew that made aliyah im so glad that we made it here ❤🎉

[@heirwolf6929]

Very interesting video! I knew very little about the Jewish presence in the Nordic countries before WW2 so this was very informative. The Gythinga saga was especially interesting.

[@sigurdhermann781]

Supplementing this video with a discussion on Zionism would be awesome to see. Great work!

[@ronmaximilian6953]

Sweden alao took in Jews after the Second World War. Many of these were Holocaust survivors brought in thanks to the efforts of Count Folke Bernadotte. My maternal grandparents and uncle were among these Jews. In 1968 and 1969, they would help some of their cousins in Poland come to Sweden. In the Sweden seems much more hospitable, at least to an American Jew who came every year. We no longer had to smuggle kosher food into Sweden. Sadly, things would change in the early 2000s. And trust me, the percentage of people with anti-semitic beliefs are far higher than 4% in Malmo.

[@stephenLarson-vs7fu]

Your treatment of Finland was fair and accurate, on both sides, good and bad. I too often see a caricature of reality, but your description was spot on. Thank you for your fairness!

[@austinmarx4783]

Another great video as always. I hope you never stop making videos

[@hansericsson7058]

As a Swede i had some Jewish classmates and and i think it is sad to hear that antisemitism even still exists. I dont hear any of it in my group of friends or in my profession and i think that most of it have been coming with migrant from the middle east, and i really hope that the gouvernment will make it clear that antisemitism is not accepted behavior in Sweden.

[@achilles7607]

🇮🇱✡️♥️🇸🇪

[@BillClinton9-11]

Det finns en anledning till varför dom är hatade

[@danielpoole2451]

Victor Borge, and his ‘Phonetic Punctuation’ is something I use with my class!

[@kiikaala]

Great video, thanks!

[@ekmalsukarno2302]

Another thing, Sam Aronow, do you know Rabbi Michael Melchior? He was born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark, but in his 30s he migrated to Israel, where he would later become leader of the Meimad political party. Whilst Melchior migrated to Israel, he maintained his title as Chief Rabbi of Norway. Did you already know any of these bits of information?

[@patrickkelmer6290]

I was converted by Michael Melchior, 8 years ago this summer.

[@SamAronow]

I've never met him personally but am aware of him. There was some rumor in Israeli news of a revived Meimad, but it never happened. I'm not sure there's an market for such a movement anymore due to the extreme salience of religious coercion; any religious person who supports market socialism will, at this point, likely also support secular governance.

[@HarvestStore]

Great video.

[@anderslennartsson1828]

This was very interesting. Thank you

[@petterbirgersson4489]

8:55 Thank you for a correct pronounciation of Norrköping.

[@זיוג-ח3ג]

Much love to our Nordic brothers and sisters and thanks to you Sam. Can you please do an episode about South America's jews?

[@TheHammerDedicated]

As a norwegian, its not at risk youth from muslim families, its their entire families, even more affluent ones. yes their kids might be more vocal, but their parents are extreme in the shadows. this has been especially exasterbated after the most recent gaza conflict. luckily the wider public is pushing harder and harder against this. but dont get it twisted, even the most moderate muslims i know have had a start shift over the last few years. its even making a comeback as a "typical" slur, much like the F word or N word is used in America.

[@viliussmproductions]

Interesting hearing about the interwar and Second World War history on this channel. The different focus is part of the reason why I love it so much, but honestly, given the quality of your documentaries, I'm really looking forward to hearing about the Interwar.

[@Cybernaut551]

Just simply brilliant.

[@Abraxium]

30:10 and 35:06 I'm surprised how vastly stereotypes vary between Europe and America in Jews in sports. Ajax are the "Superjews", aforementioned Makkabi Helsinki and such. Whereas in the United States, a stereotype (often tongue-in-cheek) exists that jews can't play sports whatsoever, like how was portrayed in South Park. I am surprised you didn't bring up the Bonnier family, their progenitor was named Gerhard Bonnier (originally Gutkind Hirschel). Bonnier Publishing came about as the same time as the strong increase of literacy throughout not only Sweden but also the Nordics. Some time along the late 1800's to the early 1900's, the Bonniers increasingly converted to lutheranism. Åke Bonnier for example, is the current bishop of Skara archdiocese.

[@SamAronow]

I did list them at least. The trouble with these types of specials is that they cover such a broad range of history that I can't go as deep as I might otherwise. They also take a lot longer to put together, but the tradeoff is that they're much more reliably popular.

[@Abraxium]

@@SamAronow Oh I am terribly sorry, I scoured the video while making this comment after watching but must have missed it. As you mentioned the antisemitic Crusenstolpe riots of 1838, you might also be interested in the Hep hep! pogrom in Bavaria in 1819 and the burschenschaften (student fraternities with liberal-nationalist members). Jewish fraternities of this kind were one of the first but as you can imagine, faced a lot of adversity.

[@SamAronow]

I mentioned them in my video on the Hamburg Temple Disputes.

[@Abraxium]

@@SamAronow Always a step ahead of me! :) Best regards and great work on the video

[@patrickrowan6001]

13:48 has enough time passed to consider this musical sting “nostalgic”? 🥲

[@rontubman6953]

It's Verdi, it can't not be nostalgic

[@sandramatzkin5366]

Fascinating!

[@princekrazie]

May I aſk why you pronounce your name Aronou and not Aronov?

[@SamAronow]

Because my family departed for the US by way of Bremen so their name was spelled the German way on the ship's manifest and they decided to pronounce it as spelled when they arrived in Chicago.

[@user-sh3cf7kd6e]

Usually, that family name is "Aharonov", sometimes it's "Aronov". But that is the only case I've seen "Aronow". It's of Russain and central-Asian origin. Rarely Eastern Iran.

[@Gagis]

The small Jewish community of Finland has also given us our longest serving member of parliament, Ben Zyskowicz, who has represented his constituens continuously since 1979.

[@BasicEndjo]

i'm sorry but using a map of scandinavia that gives so much land to the sami is blatanly false. it is much more appropriate to have it striped, because there were norse and finnic settlements all over the northernmost lands. this gives an impression that it was only samic people living there...

[@jonyprepperisrael60]

love the video, I had seen the request for that video in the comments for a long time and happy to see it finally being shown. Quick question that probably has to be made: what's with Greenland? I mean, I think there's only one Jew there but I doubt that he was also the first one there Edit: so, according to "Antisemitism in the North" by Vilhjálmur Örn Vilhjálmsson, there is a section on Jews of Greenland, idk if you had discarded the source and thus didn't use it or you weren't aware of it, but according to the book, the history of Jews in Greenland is as follows: -First Jews to arrive near Greenland were probably Jewish Dutch whalers in the 16th-17th century, but the book makes it seems like its more of a conclusion than a fact (Jews participated in Dutch whaling+ Dutch whalers hunted near Greenland=Jewish whalers near Greenland). -in 1955 a journalist named Alfred J.Fisher and his wife visited Greenland, there they found and wrote of a Jewish Danish nurse was found in the town of Aasiat who migrated from Copenhagen. her name was Rita Scheftelowitz, her parents fled Russia, the family was Orthodox and she herself was a Zionist who wanted to migrate to Israel. -There was also a family with Jewish origins in Nuuk, the Chemnitz family. but its appear to be a bit disputed since the family did not know about the Jewish origin. -in Thule airbase there was in 1954 a small all-men community of 53 Jewish servicemen, who apparently had the most geographically northen Minyan. alongside them there were 15 Jewish servicemen in Søndre Strømfjord airbase. They celebrated Jewish holydays and even managed to import Kosher food, including tinned Gefilte -One of Israel's first Naval ships, INS Eilat, was originally a patrol vessel named Northland and on 12th of September 1941 captured a Norwegian trawler (fishing vessel) used by the Nazis for weather broadcast, which, according to the book, "was the first American naval victory of the Second World War and the first action by the Americans, before they officially entered the war" -apparently, an anti-Semitic incidence in 2013 against a Jewish synagogue in Copenhagen included a drunk Greenlander who threaten to bomb it.

[@bennyklabarpan7002]

Anders Chydenius was Swedish. Russia created Finland (country) after he was born. Before that Finland was a province, still is to this day with the same name within Finland. Anders was not born there nor was his family.

[@Trava56]

Wonderful! What a great informative video. I have to see it again. So much new information about jewish life in the nordic countries. Thank you!❤

[@Emilpoika]

Takk for videoen!

[@axllii]

Regarding Quisling and the other executed people. The Norwegian law prohibiting the death penalty was not suspended. The political situation demanded some form of retribution, so the state used an international law which allowed execution. The justification was that international law was 'above' Norwegian law, thus having precedent. This justification was highly controversial, but was found sufficient.

[@ffnovice7]

My guy you're a yt star now.

[@branislavhamborsky5535]

30:50 "Stalin and company used this as an excuse to resume their attempted conquest" What a strange way to whitewash history in favor of Finland here. Finland declared war on the Soviet Union in 1941 and even after they re-conquered territory lost in the Winter War they continued the war and were a willing ally of the Nazi regime. If this is just a mistake it is pretty elementary and puts in question the quality of research for this video. And I do hope it is a mistake and not actual biased "re-thinking of history".

[@SamAronow]

You’re correct that this was a mistake. I’ll address it in my recap.

[@prkp7248]

Uhh ohh, they were willing German allies? Oh, that's just like Soviets were until 1941. They were 100% in their right to fight against invaders.

[@youknowme1475]

very good video, one thing that should be included as a Norwegian myself is the "Jødeparagrafen" or the Jew Paragraph in English.

[@OliveOilFan]

Very interesting video. I like learning about Jews from areas you wouldn’t really expect them to be from

[@moshecallen]

I'm a physicist. Einstein was also one of the founders of quantum mechanics. His paper on light quantization really established quantization as not just a de facto empirical approximation. He just thought QM could not be a fundamental theory due to nonlocality.

[@sahiblindberg]

One of the most famous squares in Helsinki, Narinkka, got its name from the clothing market that stood there and was mainly organised by Jews in the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Our Jewish community is a small one, but it has been a very succesful one, even though it is often forgotten since it has always been very small in numbers

[@JayStrategy]

There are two things that came to mind. First is a fun fact. Quisling is the only Icelandic word starting with a Q and means traitor, obviously coming from the man himself. Second. The name Jóel, that has as far as I can tell only a jewish root, is a (rare) name used in Iceland since 1830. Everybody I have meet with the name has said they are not jewish or know of any connection.

[@HordurMar]

Neither the common noun "kvislingur" nor any other Icelandic word is spelled with Q. You have the meaning and etymology right, though.

[@JayStrategy]

@@HordurMar ah, you may be right. Kvislingur is the more common/modern spelling. But I think that the spelling with a Q was once accepted. Not gonna die on this hill tho.

[@easytiger6570]

The Finland glazing is insane (appreciated)

[@ffnovice7]

Glazing?

[@lesana1191]

Very interesting and informative lecture

[@hlindema]

Thank you for the video! I have a few corrections: 24:40 and 26:30 It is true that anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent were registered. But, with some exceptions, only persons with at least three Jewish grandparents were deported from Norway and Denmark, unless they had a non-Jewish spouse. 28:30 The first Scandinavian Jews were Sephardi, but the majority of Scandinavian Jews are also of eastern European Ashkenazy descent.

[@DarinNelson-w5v]

Thanks for this history.

[@maxk1583]

One of those turkish merchants that wanted their money back from Karl XII was killed in my hometown over a girl (iirc) and there is a special stone at the spot he died on our town square

[@mjungwir]

Well done Sam! Wasn't expecting this but loved it regardless

[@Greksallad]

Great video on a very interesting topic! Greetings from Norrköping, Sweden :D

[@lyannathatcher9240]

I am literally writing the history of a fantasy setting *right now* where the culture of the main diasporic human ethnic group are Scandinavian in some of their outward cultural expression but when you look at their religion, it's very Jewish. I'm thrilled for this.

[@hedgehog3180]

You should perhaps take a look at Danish refugees from Southern Jutland after the war of 1864 if you want more inspiration.

[@lyannathatcher9240]

@@hedgehog3180 Thank you, thank you! I've found some resources for Swedish dialects of Yiddish but it's never as much as I want and I want everything for my Yiddish fantasy writing, lol

[@judithkornfeld3529]

Thank you from an American in France.

[@israelilocal]

Curious Choice I wouldn't have thought of you covering this topic at all but it seemed to me that you have been collecting some notes on this do quite some time due to random mentions of Scandinavia in some of your videos this was really interesting especially with how Heterogenous the Nordic countries seem (of course there's the Sami and Germans/Baltic merchant spread about but that's not that much numerically speaking)

[@hedgehog3180]

Do you mean homogenous? Also Scandinavian countries have a fairly long history of immigration, and minority populations, but it just didn't become a political issue until the 90s so you probably haven't heard of it. The countries being relatively small probably also makes them seem more homogenous from the outside.

[@sahiriothstill]

Swede here. Three things worth pointing out: 1. At 15:57 you list two of the Bonnier brothers, but leave out the far more famous middle brother, Albert Bonnier. He was a giant of Swedish publishing, and founded the arguably most famous Swedish publishing house in history, Albert Bonniers Förlag (commonly known just as "Bonnier"). Bonnier has grown into a media group of some 170-ish companies, and is still controlled by the Bonnier family (most of whom are no longer Jewish, but that doesn't stop the conspiracy theories). 2. At 33:06 you mention that Quisling's name *literally* became synonymous with treason. To anyone reading this comment: he does mean LITERALLY. "Quisling" is now a word in Swedish and (I think) Norwegian meaning "traitor". It's seldom used - except in crosswords, I suppose. 3. At 37:15, the number for general anti-semitic attitudes in Sweden is way off. National surveys in Sweden (including polls conducted both by academics and the Swedish Central Bureau for Statistics, SCB) show them to be quite a bit higher than 4%. In population groups originating in MENA and other Muslim countries, they are vastly higher. ADL's numberis closer to a 2022 survey by BRÅ (the Crime Prevention Council) which shows that 4% of all hate crimes reported in that year had anti-semitic motives. That's 4% of *reported* hate crimes, not 4% of the total population showing general anti-semitic attitudes. (Whether the comparison between countries still holds - that anti-semitic attitudes in the other Nordic countries are higher than in Sweden - I don't know. But considering the ethnic milieus in Sweden where anti-semitism is more prevalent, and that we have accepted more refugees per capita than the other countries, one would expect the inverse to be true.)

[@CapCorse69]

swedish jew here! wow, great great video!

[@gilbipp8558]

So much here I didn't know. ThanQ for the insight! (Danish guy).