Komplekse jødiske identiteter

Sammendrag

The article is founded on the cultural scientific research on some characteristics of Jewish diaspora in London. The main focus is on Jewish religion and ethnic identity and the strategies that the Jews at all times have had to preserve these. An important arena for the protection of identity and cultural representation is the museum. The fact that museums mediate the suffering of the Jews and of the human tragedy constituted by the Holocaust functions as a cultural sign of powerful symbolic value. Pain and suffering are products of events. They create wounds in the present time, but also for future generations. The article shows how difficult it is to maintain cultural identity in a migration process. Frequently, a person's former network is weakened or disintegrates as a consequence of migration. This study shows how the preservation of cultural identity is related to religious, economic and social aspects in the Jewish network. Emphasis is placed on how the Jews have defined their identity in diverse connections and from different perspectives. The article briefly discusses how Jewish museums mediate a cultural inheritance, but also how the museum represents a political factor.