Jews in the Provinces - new book by Bent Blüdnikow

Bent Blüdnikow presents his new book 'Jews in the Provinces. Brush makers, bakers, rabbis, horse traders and soldiers', which sheds new light on Danish-Jewish stories outside Copenhagen. The work explores over 400 years of Danish-Jewish life in the provinces and illuminates a previously overlooked part of Denmark's shared cultural heritage.

The book takes readers on a journey through fascinating and dramatic stories from the provinces. The first comprehensive account of Jewish life across all of Denmark – including areas no longer part of the country – is filled with colourful character studies that shaped both Danish-Jewish and Danish history.

Among the people brought to life are horse trader Isaac Nathansen (known as Gale Nathansen), who was deported to Brazil where he became King Pedro's horse breeder. Isidor Henius walked from Poland to Denmark and established De Danske Spritfabrikker. In 1890, Adolph Philipsen committed a murder and hid the victim in a barrel, which he sent to the USA – but the barrel returned with the body inside. Rachel Hertz swallowed 359 sewing needles in the 1820s and became a medical miracle and world-famous.

The event takes place at the same time as Den Gamle By in Aarhus has opened Randershuset, which is inspired by a Jewish brush maker's business in Randers (Hartogsohns Brush and Broom Factory), owned by the Hartoghson family. The house hosts a new exhibition about Jewish life in the provinces, developed in collaboration with the Danish Jewish Museum. Both offerings illuminate the cultural diversity that has characterised Denmark both now and in the past.

The Hartoghson family was deported by the Nazis in 1943 to Theresienstadt. In 2023, a stumbling stone was laid in Randers to commemorate them.

Bent Blüdnikow is a historian, journalist, author, reviewer and debater.

Practical information

• Admission: 50 kr
• Location: Folkestedet