Jewish Värmland: Exhibition at the Jewish Museum Stockholm

Jewish Värmland explores Jewish life in Karlstad and Värmland from the 19th century to today through photographs, archives, personal stories, and newly collected testimonies.

What remains of a Jewish life when the synagogue has been demolished and the traces in the cityscape have almost disappeared?

In the exhibition Jewish Värmland, the Jewish Museum Stockholm portrays Jewish life in Karlstad and the region of Värmland from the nineteenth century to the present day, through people, places, and memories.

The exhibition was produced in collaboration with Värmlands Museum and was previously shown in Karlstad. It is now presented in a new version in Stockholm. Photographs, archival material, and personal stories show how Jewish families established themselves in the region, how a congregation developed, and how it gradually disappeared during the twentieth century.

The earliest traces of Jewish presence in Värmland date back to the 1780s. During the nineteenth century, Jewish life in Karlstad grew to include a synagogue, a school, and a burial ground. After the Holocaust, survivors arrived in the city and the Jewish community expanded, but during the second half of the twentieth century the congregation ceased its activities. The synagogue was demolished in 1961, and today few visible traces remain.

Through family stories, archival material, and objects, the exhibition follows people who lived in Karlstad, including members of the Münnich, Pagrotsky, and Felländer families. It also presents new testimonies from individuals who grew up in Jewish Värmland.

The exhibition is based on new research and material collected from archives and private individuals and forms part of the Jewish Museum’s work to make Jewish cultural heritage in Sweden more visible.