Natalia Krzyzanowska

Landscapes of Remembrance of Post-Holocaust Humanitarian Reception in Sweden 1945-47

The newly opened Swedish Holocaust Museum (SHM) has a state mission to be of relevance for the whole nation. A frequently asked question from the public is why Sweden, a then neutral country without killing sites, should have a Holocaust Museum? The project is responding to this question by mapping and investigating reception camps for Nazi concentration camp survivors, “repatriates”, transferred to Sweden in 1945. Some survivors stayed and became citizens. Others, to week to survive, rests in Swedish cemeteries. Many also choose to leave the country or were forced to. Their presence has left behind both material and immaterial traces. These hundreds of camps from south to north might be conceived as Swedish non-killing sites, linked to Holocaust history. The aims are to 1.): map and explore traces of the repatriate camps in the landscape, their historiography as well as present day memory practices. What, and who´s stories linger? In what ways? The project problematizes borders of divisions, such as Jewish/non-Jewish survivors, newcomers/locals, men/women, adults/children. The aim is also to 2.): provide research-based knowledge and support for the task of expanding the collections of the SHM. And 3): to disseminate this knowledge to the public in form of a digital map, pop-up exhibitions, and academically in open-access articles aiming to contribute internationally with knowledge on reception practices, sorting’s, relations, and survivor´s movements.
Grant administrator
Statens historiska museer
Reference number
FX24-0032
Amount
SEK 1,577,534
Funding
RJ Flexit
Subject
Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology)
Year
2024