In 1622, the Danish king Christian IV formally invited Jews to settle in Denmark. In autumn 4, 2022 years of Jewish life in Denmark will be marked with a number of different measures. One of the measures is a newly developed traveling exhibition which, after being opened in connection with an official marking of the 400th anniversary in November 400, will travel around the whole of Denmark to nine different cities: Copenhagen, Randers, Nakskov, Odense, Fredericia, Helsingør, Århus, Ålborg and Horsens, where there are also still physical testimonies of Jewish life in the form of burial grounds. In each of the nine cities, a digital city walk focusing on the city's Jewish history is also offered.

At the traveling exhibition, Jews in Denmark from all centuries are brought to life, and we learn about their living and working conditions. We salute the housewife Glikl de Meza in 1650 from the then Danish Altona, Rebekka Meyer, who runs a shop in Maribo in 1760, and the apothecary apprentice in Vejle, Meyer Hartvig Meyer, from 1830. All are fictional people based on real life life.

The exhibition contains several interactive and playful elements that tell about immigration to Denmark, quizzes about where different Danes actually get their identity from and ask the audience about which products and objects Denmark might not have seen at all, had it not been for the Jewish immigration.

In addition to the more traditional 400-year timeline, the exhibition also draws a 400-year tolerance versus intolerance timeline, where the audience can read the highs and lows of tolerance towards Jews in Denmark. In four interviews with young Danish Jews, the exhibition also raises the question of anti-Semitism in today's Denmark for open debate.

Chairman of the Jewish Community in Denmark, Henri Goldstein, is happy that the agenda the Jewish community will set is now spreading throughout Denmark: "Jews have been part of Danish history for 400 years. Jewish immigration to Denmark has contributed to our society's business history, political history, cultural history, yes, in general, Denmark's history from 1622 to 2022. It is also the history of to add dynamism and the urge to create to a society. The differences between those who came from outside and those who lived here before have had a positive influence on the creation of the Denmark we know today."

Director of the Danish Jewish Museum, Janus Møller Jensen, welcomes the focus on Jewish life throughout Denmark: "That it is an important chapter of Denmark's history is emphasized by the many local aspects and angles on the story that the many collaborators have contributed. There has been a Jewish life in many Danish cities, where there are still physical traces of the Jewish life, and it is an important, if somewhat under-examined, part of general history. It has been fantastic to feel the commitment and interest there has been in focusing on history around the country."

The exhibition has also been converted into teaching material aimed at the intermediate stage of primary school and secondary education. The teaching material can also be used independently of the class's visit to the exhibition. 

The Jewish Information Center has developed teaching material for the exhibition, where you can go in depth with three different themes.

       → Theme 1: Danish Jewish History // Here you will find introductory text, timelines and a collection of profiles of Danish Jews through time as well as interviews with young Jews today.

       → Theme 2: The importance of immigration for Denmark // The history and significance of immigration in Denmark. This includes an introduction with animation videos as well as two exercises that create space for reflection on what is Danish and what role identity plays.

       → Theme 3: Holocaust and the Flight in October '43 // This material includes a background text, a dramatized audio narration of the escape in October '43 and material on antisemitism today.