Abstract

The Jews in Scandinavia have always been a small minority, where the own identity and the collective belonging have been important. During this century the Scandinavian Jews have become both secularized and assimilated, and the extreme individualism of the surrounding society has influenced them also. This essay deals with how the tension between being a member of a small Jewish minority and at the same time a loyal citizen of a secularized Christian country is reflected in two autobiographies by Scandinavian Jews: Boris Grünstein’s Jude i Finland and Jo Benkow’s Fra synagogen til løvebakken. Both authors are non-religious Jews who have a strong Jewish identity, strengthened by their experiences during World War Two and their affection to Israel At the same time they are well integrated in society and feel at home in their countries. Their feeling of affinity with the Jewish community seems to have grown after a period of distance in younger years.