Uteutstillingen "Kartet i Nerbyen"

Eirik Wicklund
mediator

To highlight this history, we have, with specially made illuminated signs and in collaboration with local businesses, lit up twelve shop windows in Nerbyen where a Jewish-owned business was once located. The signs are marked with a coat hanger icon, and contain the name and information about the shop that was once located there. Together, these signs constitute the “Map of Nerbyen”. They show some of the extent of Jewish life that existed here before the war. With the “Map of Nerbyen”, we are laying the foundation for further work to highlight the district’s unique history through on-site storytelling, digital solutions and other communication tools.

This is what we stand for

As a museum for a national minority, we strive for quality, accessibility, collaboration and continuous innovation in everything we do. We shall be relevant, timely, inclusive and respectful in all aspects of our work. These values guide us in fulfilling our mandate in a meaningful and sustainable way.

Where the light hits the glass, memories emerge – and Nerbyen regains the names, voices and shops that once brought the district forward.

The outdoor exhibition "The Map in the Neighborhood"

The new exhibition project from the Jewish Museum Trondheim illuminates

the hidden history of Nerbyen - Norway's only Jewish quarter

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The story

From the 1880s to 1940, Nerbyen was a gathering point for Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. They fled poverty and anti-Semitism and came to Norway – a country that only a few decades earlier had a ban on Jews in its constitution.

In Nerbyen, almost all Jewish families ran clothing stores of various kinds: manufacturing, men's clothing, knitwear, etc. The stores were often named after the owner, such as A. Mendelsohn, R. Isaksen, S. Paltiel or H. Klein. So far, we have found 60 different addresses in Nerbyen where one or more Jewish stores have been registered. In addition, there were several such stores elsewhere in the city. These stores became particularly popular among farmers, fishermen and other working people in Trøndelag, who received good treatment and clothing at reasonable prices. Through their business activities, the Jews helped lift Nerbyen out of poverty and into modern Norway.

World War II and the Holocaust meant the end of many of the Jewish-owned shops. Although some resumed business after the war, Jewish life in Nerbyen and Trondheim was never the same. Traces of this history are very few today.

Salomon Abrahamsen outside his shop at Krambugata 9 (Source: Jewish Museum Trondheim)

Contributors

The exhibition was developed by the Jewish Museum Trondheim and ablemagic . The illuminated signs were designed by ablemagic and executed by Plexon .

Thanks to Henriette Kahn, Ruth Paltiel, Ralph Buchmann, Catherine Kahn, Torunn Herje and Daniel Johansen.

Aron Mendelsohn's manufacturing business at Brattørgata 12B, probably taken in the 1920s. Today, the Three Lions Pub is located in this building, which is a partner in this project. The photo belongs to the Jewish Museum Trondheim

Thank you very much

The project has been carried out in collaboration with the farm and shop owners in Nerbyen who have shown great interest in highlighting this part of the district's important history. The collaboration with local actors has been crucial to realizing the project, and for that we owe them a big thank you.