The Norwegian Righteous Among the Nations – a POLIN Museum Study Tour to Oslo
Before the War, Norway's Jewish community was one of the smallest in Europe, numbering around 2,100 individuals. It is estimated that close to half of them had their roots in Poland, emigrating in the period 1880-1920, during which many left central and eastern Europe due to a wave of antisemitic pogroms and economic crisis. Around 350-400 were refugees from Germany who arrived in Norway during the 1930's.
In 1940, following Germany's unexpected invasion of Norway, the Jewish community was subjected to an escalating repression at the hands of the invader and the collaborationist government. Around 1,100 Norwegian Jews found safety in Sweden. Many went into hiding with the help of their Norwegian neighbours (to date, sixty four individuals have been recognised as Righteous). However, between 26th November 1942 and 3rd March 1943, the remaining 772 individuals were deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. Of those, only thirty four survived the War.
So, in order to better understand the history of Norwegian Jewry, our staff embarked on the study tour to Oslo. They visited important museums such as the Norwegian Resistance Movement Museum, the 22nd July Centre and the Jewish Museum, which enabled them to see how the historical-cultural legacy of Jews in Norway is commemorated in practice.
The most important museum, telling the story of the five years of German occupation of Norway, is the Norwegian Resistance Movement Museum (Norges Hjemmefrontmuseum) established in 1966 and located in Oslo's Akershus Fortress. The permanent exhibition there was opened in 1970 by Norway's Prince Harald (now King of Norway), on the 25th anniversary of the country's liberation. It was established at the initiative of former members of the resistance who became actively involved in the museum's preparation. It presents, in chronological order, many aspects of the German occupation (invasion, arrests and deportations, everyday life, civil and armed resistance and liberation), and also includes the fate of the local Jewish minority.
From its very beginnings, the museum utilised modern exhibition technology, arranged throughout the vaults of the fortress's 19th century building – illuminated presentations, a rich collection of exhibition items, many interactive models depicting the situation at the front and the activities of the underground, as well as models of Norway's wartime naval vessels which took part in Norway's 1940 campaign.
Even though the exhibition's narrative currently lacks an actual research perspective as well as new technologies, the museum remains as important institution in educating and documenting the history of the "Home Front" (Hjemmefronten). It is an interesting example of an exhibition, close to half a century old, which is still unusually attractive and which enjoys continuing popularity, especially amongst its the youngest visitors. Apart from the exhibition, the museum also contains an archive and a library with a readily accessible reading-room.
One of the newest and most frequently visited exhibitions in Oslo is housed in the 22nd July Centre (22. Juli-senteret), commemorating the terrorist attacks in Norway in 2011. This small, somewhat stark, but extremely moving exhibition is located on the site of one two attacks which took place on 22nd July – in a former government building on Regjeringskvarta Street,an area in which the results of the bomb blast are still evident.
The exhibition commemorates the seventy seven victims of the attack and presents, in detail, the tragic events of that day. It also shows the community's reaction to the tragedy and follows the ensuing trial of the culprit.
The event is described minute-by-minute utilising, among other things, extracts from social media, commercial video recording and interviews with witnesses to and participants in the events. The exhibition's texts have been sourced from court documents and items presented in evidence are also displayed. Remnants of the bomber's car are located in the main hall. The exhibition was opened on 22nd July 2015, the fourth anniversary of the tragedy.
The Jewish Museum (Jødisk Museum), opened by Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon, describes the historical-cultural heritage of the Jews. It is located in a former synagogue at Calmeyers Gate. This modern, audiovisual exhibition stands within the synagogue's main hall and is comprised of two parts - one section presents Jewish culture, while the other describes the fate of NorwegianJews during World War II. This second part was created in 2012, marking the 70th anniversary of the deportation of Jews from Norway.
Oral history plays an important role within both sections – within the first, members of today's Norwegian Jewish community speak about Jewish tradition, while in the second section, Holocaust survivors tell of the repressions, the arrests and of their strategies to survive the war, either in hiding or outside the country. We learn of the fate of Norwegian Jews through individual stories, specifically of the Benkowitz, Sachnowitz and Sakolski families, whose family artifacts (photos, documents, clothes) are presented within the scenario of an apartment. A specific exhibition narrative is that of the "Carl Fredriksens Transport” – organised help for the persecuted Jews and the life of Jewish refugees in Sweden.
The courtyard of the synagogue is the site for temporary exhibitions. To date, these have included Hebrew and Yiddish books from the museum's collection and another showed the role of sport in the assimilation process. A mobile exhibition has been created which has travelled to museums, libraries and cultural centres. It presents the life of Jews in Norway from 1851 (when laws against their settlement were abolished) until the end of World War II.
The POLIN Museum study tour to Oslo was organised as part of the "Jewish Cultural Heritage" program.
It is supported by funding from Norway and the EOG through Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
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