Prior to The 19th Century, the only way Jews could enter Norway was with a "Letter of Protection", because Danish control limited the amount of Jewish entry. In The 1840's, the situation changed when a Norwegian liberal poet, Henrik Wergelang, argued for the admission of Jews into the country, and The Parliament eventually agreed. After emancipation in 1891, there were only some 650 Jews in the country, mainly in Oslo and Trondheim. By 1920, there were 1,457 Jews in in the country, and when Norway was invaded by Germany in 1940, 1,800 Jews were living in Norway. All but 200 of them were Norwegian citizens. When the army surrendered and the state was taken over by the collaborationist government led by Vidkun Quisling, Nazi demands for Anti-Jewish legislation were accepted and implemented quickly. In 1942, when The Germans requested that Norwegian Jews be sent to Nazi concentration camps, the government complied by sending 770 Jews. 760 of them were killed in death camps. The Norwegian underground succeeded in smuggling 930 Jews across The Swedish Border to safety. After the war, 800 Jewish survivors were joined by Displaced Persons, especially invited by The Norwegian Government. In 1996, after revelations in the media and public pressure, The Ministry of Justice appointed a commission to examine the issue of restitution of Jewish property confiscated by the Quisling regime.
Today, The Mosaiske Trossamfund (Mosaic Community) represents The Jews of Norway. There is one rabbi in Norway, who officiates at the synagogue in Oslo and who also supervises the kosher food shop in the capital. Shechita in Norway is prohibited so kosher meat is imported from Denmark. Besides for the prohibition of shechita, there are no other restrictions on Jewish life. B'nai B'rith and WIZO are present, and there is also a Jewish magazine. An old age home was built in 1988. In The Ostre Gravlund Cemetary, there is a Jewish war memorial. There is a second synagogue in Trondheim. It is the most Northern synagogue in The World and houses a museum.
Topic: Norwegian Jewish History (Read 2458 times)