World Jewish Congress

The establishment of the Swedish section of WJC

A representative body of World Jewry had been in the works since the end of the First World War. The process accelerated with the rise of Nazism and the increase of antisemitism in Europe. In 1936 the World Jewish Congress was officially constituted at its First Plenary Assembly in Geneva. Its aim was to ensure the rights of the Jewish people, combating antisemitism, and promoting a Jewish national home in Palestine. 

Beginning in 1944, Gilel Storch, Fritz Hollander and Norbert Masur operated in Stockholm as the representatives of the WJC.  

A provisional Swedish section was founded in Stockholm in 1944, in the home of chief rabbi Marcus Ehrenpreis. Originally planned as a Nordic section, the fear of repercussions against Scandinavian Jewry under German control resulted in a Swedish section only, with Finnish representation. An official constituting meeting was held later on, in the assembly hall of the Jewish Community building (Sessionssalen). The section subsequently procured permanent premises on Grev Magnigatan 11.

What actions were taken?

In April 1944, World Jewish Congress representatives in Stockholm were instrumental in devising an initiative to rescue Hungarian Jews facing mass deportation to Auschwitz. Their efforts led to Raoul Wallenberg’s heroic mission to Budapest where he was able to save the lives of countless Jews by providing them with protective passports and shelter.

In July 1944, Gilel Storch was contacted by a WJC representative who suggested sending food parcels to Jews in Bergen-Belsen. Through negotiations with Swedish authorities, he obtained a permit that enabled him to send about 80 000 food parcels to Nazi concentration camps before liberation.

In April 1945, Nobert Masur flew to Berlin and negotiated directly with Heinrich Himmler, obtaining Himmler’s promise to release 1 000 Jewish women from the Ravensbrück concentration camp, as well as 70 Scandinavian Jews held captive in Norway. The WJC negotiations contributed to the inclusion of Jews in the ‘White Buses-operation’. 

The Swedish section welcomed survivors upon their arrival in the ports and visited them in refugee centers and hospitals. Social workers helped with registration, counseling, and tracing of surviving relatives. The section published magazines and interviewed survivors to gather testimonies for future trials. It also monitored antisemitism and Nazism in Sweden, and worked actively with Holocaust remembrance in its early stages. 

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