Abstract

The first part of this article is based upon a study of the applications for Swedish citizenship preserved in the Archives of the Department of Justice in Sweden. This section focuses on the occupational and educational patterns displayed by the immigrants and outlines the social, religious and cultural difference between the established Swedish Jews and the immigrants, who, unlike the former, where rooted in both Jewish Orthodoxy and Yiddish culture. The article is based on the records kept by the community leadership and other material drawn from the community archives. Here we can discern the Community’s policy toward Eastern European immigration. Among the papers studied are two petitions presented to the authorities asking for measures to be taken to prevent immigration. One of the author’s conclusions is that the social, religious and cultural difference existing between the Jewish groups cannot justify the Community’s restrictive policy. Indeed one of the major factors influencing the Community’s negative decisions was the pressure from the Swedish society. The leadership feared that an Orthodox influx would compel the community to support Orthodox sectarian needs. The Eastern Jewish immigration was thought to give the Swedish society a wrong idea by suggesting that the social emancipation of the Jews had been unsuccessful.