Listen to the chaotic radio reports as armed terrorists storm the West German embassy in Stockholm in 1975.
The episode opens with audio from the 1975 occupation of the West German embassy in Stockholm by the Red Army Faction (RAF), a German left-wing terrorist group. Reporters describe the chaotic scene as terrorists took hostages, leading to gunfire, an explosion, and the deaths of two embassy staff and two terrorists. The episode notes this event is still relevant, as former RAF member Daniela Klette was recently arrested and faces trial in Berlin. It then transitions to Aron Isak, born in 1730 in Trojenbritzen near Berlin, who left his family to seek opportunity in Sweden. Isak arrived in Stockholm in 1774 and, with the help of Governor Karl Sparre, received permission in 1775 to settle and practice Judaism, marking the start of organized Jewish life in Sweden. He brought his family and other Jews to form a congregation, establishing a synagogue and cemetery on Kungsholmen. The episode details the political efforts behind the 1779 Riksdag decision granting religious freedom to immigrants, influenced by King Gustav III and his mother Lovisa Ulrika, who admired Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. However, the 1782 Jewish Regulation imposed restrictions, limiting Jews to living in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Norrköping, banning them from certain trades, and requiring large capital. Isak's personal life was marked by tragedy, as all twelve of his children died before him. The episode also covers the aftermath of Gustav III's assassination in 1792 and the lynching of Axel von Fersen in 1810 near Isak's home. Isak died in 1816 at age 86, leaving a legacy as a foundational figure in Swedish Jewish history, with institutions named after him. The episode is structured as an interview between host Urban Vestadius and historian Carl-Henrik Karlsson, recorded at the Jewish Museum in Stockholm.
