Pontus Rudberg – författare

"We will be judged in our own time and in the future by measuring the aid that we, inhabitants of a free and fortunate country, gave to our brethren in this time of greatest disaster." This declaration, made shortly after the pogroms of November 1938 by the Jewish communities in Sweden, was truer than anyone could have forecast at the time. Pontus Rudberg focuses on this sensitive issue – Jewish responses to the Nazi persecutions and mass murder of Jews. What actions did Swedish Jews take to aid the Jews in Europe during the years 1933–45 and what determined their policies and actions?Specific attention is given to the aid efforts of the Jewish Community of Stockholm, including the range of activities in which the community engaged and the challenges and opportunities presented by official refugee policy in Sweden.

"We will be judged in our own time and in the future by measuring the aid that we, inhabitants of a free and fortunate country, gave to our brethren in this time of greatest disaster." This declaration, made shortly after the pogroms of November 1938 by the Jewish communities in Sweden, was truer than anyone could have forecast at the time. Pontus Rudberg focuses on this sensitive issue – Jewish responses to the Nazi persecutions and mass murder of Jews. What actions did Swedish Jews take to aid the Jews in Europe during the years 1933–45 and what determined their policies and actions?Specific attention is given to the aid efforts of the Jewish Community of Stockholm, including the range of activities in which the community engaged and the challenges and opportunities presented by official refugee policy in Sweden.

This book investigates the memory of the Holocaust in Sweden and concentrates on early initiatives to document and disseminate information about the genocide during the late 1940s until the early 1960s. As the first collection of testimonies and efforts to acknowledge the Holocaust contributed to historical research, judicial processes, public discussion, and commemorations in the universalistic Swedish welfare state, the chapters analyse how and in what ways the memory of the Holocaust began to take shape, showing the challenges and opportunities that were faced in addressing the traumatic experiences of a minority. In Sweden, the Jewish trauma could be linked to positive rescue actions instead of disturbing politics of collaboration, suggesting that the Holocaust memory was less controversial than in several European nations following the war. This book seeks to understand how and in what ways the memory of the Holocaust began to take shape in the developing Swedish welfare state andemphasises the role of transnational Jewish networks for the developing Holocaust memory in Sweden.

This book investigates the memory of the Holocaust in Sweden and concentrates on early initiatives to document and disseminate information about the genocide during the late 1940s until the early 1960s. As the first collection of testimonies and efforts to acknowledge the Holocaust contributed to historical research, judicial processes, public discussion, and commemorations in the universalistic Swedish welfare state, the chapters analyse how and in what ways the memory of the Holocaust began to take shape, showing the challenges and opportunities that were faced in addressing the traumatic experiences of a minority. In Sweden, the Jewish trauma could be linked to positive rescue actions instead of disturbing politics of collaboration, suggesting that the Holocaust memory was less controversial than in several European nations following the war. This book seeks to understand how and in what ways the memory of the Holocaust began to take shape in the developing Swedish welfare state andemphasises the role of transnational Jewish networks for the developing Holocaust memory in Sweden.

This book investigates the memory of the Holocaust in Sweden and concentrates on early initiatives to document and disseminate information about the genocide during the late 1940s until the early 1960s. As the first collection of testimonies and efforts to acknowledge the Holocaust contributed to historical research, judicial processes, public discussion, and commemorations in the universalistic Swedish welfare state, the chapters analyse how and in what ways the memory of the Holocaust began to take shape, showing the challenges and opportunities that were faced in addressing the traumatic experiences of a minority. In Sweden, the Jewish trauma could be linked to positive rescue actions instead of disturbing politics of collaboration, suggesting that the Holocaust memory was less controversial than in several European nations following the war. This book seeks to understand how and in what ways the memory of the Holocaust began to take shape in the developing Swedish welfare state andemphasises the role of transnational Jewish networks for the developing Holocaust memory in Sweden.

This book, in tribute to the late Paul A Levine, a pioneer in the field of Holocaust history, focuses on themes identified in international research as particularly important for advances in Holocaust history and education, such as the role of 'bystanders', foreign policy and diplomacy, the role of individual actors, and Holocaust education. It aims to re-evaluate previous findings in light of new research in these areas, which were also the focal points of Levine’s research.Recent decades have shown further advances in Holocaust research in terms of new perspectives and methodologies, which have enriched and broadened our understanding. For instance, the term 'bystander' has been refined into sub-categories and has increased our understanding of how roles changed over time and in different contexts. Furthermore, local studies have nuanced our understanding, and insights about the role of distance in time and space have deepened our knowledge of rescue opportunities. In bystander countries, research has primarily focused on refugee policy and the shift from a restrictive attitude in the 1930s and the first war years to a more generous policy towards the war's end. Scholars have placed the Jewish experience at the center, and recent research has explored the formation of Holocaust memory. This volume brings together contributors to produce new research in these areas and to articulate future directions for the field.

This dissertation aims to provide new knowledge about Jewish responses to the Nazi persecutions and the Holocaust. This has been done through a study of the actions of the Jewish minority in Sweden during the Nazi era. The study focuses on the Jewish Community of Stockholm (Mosaiska församlingen i Stockholm, or MFST) but also looks at other Jewish organizations as well as Jewish individuals in Sweden and their differing responses, here conceptualized as political actions (like protesting and lobbying), refugee assistance and relief. This study seeks to contextualize the response of Swedish Jews through an evaluation of their room for maneuver and incitements to act. It has identified a number of factors that, to a varying degree, enhanced or limited Swedish Jews’ ability to aid the victims of Nazi terror, including Swedish immigration legislation and refugee policy, the availability of information about the extent of Nazi atrocities, the relative effectiveness of Jewish organizations, and the financial resources available to the various Jewish relief committees. The ‘liberal imagination’ of the Jewish elite, and a system of refugee aid based on traditional philanthropy also shaped the Swedish Jewish response – and neither was adequate to the scope and enormity of Nazi violence against the Jews. Nevertheless Swedish Jews engaged in a wide range of aid efforts. They raised a large amount of money for relief aid, and supported many refugees financially. They protested against German persecution, as well as Swedish and international indifference to the plight of the Jews. Swedish Jewish representatives repeatedly tried to influence the Swedish and US governments to adopt a more generous policy towards Jewish refugees. They negotiated with Swedish officials in order to raise the immigration quotas for Jewish refugees and introduce new categories of persons who might be eligible for entry. At the time there were two major international networks of Jewish organizations, one mainly Liberal and one predominantly Zionist. This dissertation also shows that the MFST not only was influenced by both of these networks, but also that it took an active role in them. Although previously described as divided, the study shows that the Swedish Jews acted for the most part in concert and that there was broad support among them for the aid policies of the MFST.

Stockholm har alltid lockat till sig människor som bara stannat tillfälligt i staden. Många har kommit som turister, eller för att arbeta eller studera en begränsad period. Andra, inte minst i senare tid, har kommit till Stockholm som flyktingar, och för en del av dem blir huvudstaden första anhalten på en resa mot ett nytt hem. Tillfälliga stockholmare handlar om några av dessa människor. Tidsperspektivet sträcker sig från 1400-talet till i dag, och vi får möta alltifrån diplomater och identitetsbytare till internationella konferensdeltagare, gästarbetare och flyktingbarn. Den kortvariga vistelsen kan se ut på många olika sätt, men ett har de tillfälliga stockholmarna gemensamt. De har fått möta en ny stad och dess invånare. Hur har de uppfattat staden och hur har staden uppfattat och bemött dem? Frågorna är tidlösa men också brännande aktuella i vår tids globala och mångkulturella värld där människors rörlighet är större än någonsin förr.

"Beslutet att sälja den befintliga synagogan i Gamla stan fattades redan på 1860-talet. Istället skulle man låta uppföra en ny och ståtlig gudstjänstlokal i stadens nya centrum. Detta blir upptakten till ett helt nytt kapitel i svenskjudisk historia. Den nya synagogan skulle ligga inom broarna eller "strax i början av Malmarna", på en fri plats och inte emellan boningshus. Den skulle ligga i en "fridfull trakt" och inte vid ett handelstorg eller nära bullersam trafik och vara stor nog att rymma en byggnad i väst-östlig längdriktning - allt i enighet med den judiska religionens krav. Detta delikata uppdrag leddes av "Hasselbackskungen" Wilhelm Davidson, David Hirsch och Edvard Josephson. De hade fått vetskap om den "Wahrendorffska tomten", som låg mellan Kungsträdgården och nyanlagda Berzelii park, mitt emot splitternya Berns salonger, som Wilhelm Davidsons bror, konditorn August Davidson låtit uppföra. Församlingen tvekade. Nämnda tomt låg ju så långt borta från stadens centrum! Men Wilhelm Davidson och David Hirsch led inte av beslutsångest. Här gällde det att handla snabbt och beslutsamt innan priset for upp i höjden. Sagt och gjort - på eget bevåg köpte Davidson och Hirsch den Wahrendorffska tomten. Först därefter erbjöds församlingen att utan vinning köpa ut dem. Och så blev det!"