Abstract

The overall aim is to study first, how a very small ethnic group has coped socio-economically within the Swedish society during a period of rapid economic change and modernisation and second, how this has affected Jewish self-identity and the degree of assimilation. On one hand the Jewish minority in Sweden was bound to its history and traditions, but on the other hand every generation has made its own decisions, which have led partly to a redefinition of the self. The purpose is to show that economic experiences determine modern Jewish identity just as much as religious and cultural factors. Since the end of the 18th century Jews have been permitted to settle down in Sweden. The arguments to allow this have mainly been economic: Swedes wanted Jewish know-how, capital and access to their financial networks.