AEMI JOURNAL
Volume 1 • 2003 Volume 3 2005
Special Issue on
Migrants Now and Then: Connecting Contemporary Migration with the Past
Editor Hans Storhaug
Association of European Migration Institutions www.aemi.dk Association of European Migration Institutions AEMI Journal
Editor: Hans Storhaug
Editorial board: Brian Lambkin, Centre for Migration Studies at the Ulster-American Folk Park, Omagh, Northern Ireland Henning Bender, Danish Emigrant Archives, Aalborg, Denmark Layout and design: Hans Storhaug, Norwegian Emigration Center, Stavanger, Norway
The Association of European Migration Institutions - AEMI, founded in 1991, is a network of organisations in Europe concerned with the documentation, research and presentation of European migration.
AEMI board: Brian Lambkin, Chairman Henning Bender, Secretary Hans Storhaug Per Nordahl Armando Oliveira
Manuscripts and editorial correspondence regarding AEMI Journal sshouldhould bbee ssentent tto:o: Hans Storhaug, Norwegian Emigration Center, Strandkaien 31, 4005 Stavanger, Norway, or by e-mail to [email protected].
Statements of facts or opinion in AEMI Journal are solely those of the authors and do not imply endorsement by the editors or publisher.
Published in October 2005 © AEMI ISSN 1729-3561
AEMI - Secretariat, Arkivstraede 1, Box 1731, DK - 9100 Aalborg, Denmark Phone: + 45 99314230 Fax: + 45 98102248 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.aemi.dk
Printed in Norway by Omega Trykk, Stavanger
Contents
4 From the Editor 5 Protocol of the AEMI 2004 meeting in Växjö, Sweden 16 Chairman´s Report
20 Cecilie Axelsson Keeping Up? History on the Homepage of the Swedish Emigrant Institute
33 Jan Ekberg Immigration to Sweden: Success or Failure? 42 Solveig Fagerlund Internal Migration and Emigration - A Macro Historical Perspective
48 Irena Gantar Godnia When Education meets Emigration: Slovene Women Intellectuals and Students Abroad
57 Catarina Hjelm The Research Profi le AMER, Växjö University 61 Olavi Koivukangas Connecting Contemorary Migration with the Past 66 Johan Svanberg Labour Immigration and Ethnic Relations at a Swedish Industrial Plant After Second World War
76 Maria B.R-Trindade Portugal: Destination Countries for Emigrants; Immigrants´ Countries of Origin
90 Claude Wey The ‘Franck Letter Collection’: A Socio-Historical Case Study of an Indiviual Migration Trajectory Inside a European Textile Route
103 Notes on Contributors From the Editor
This is the third AEMI Journal in three years. That means that our organisation has established a new and important tradition as a complement to our annual meetings. How this tradition will develop relies solely on ourselves. It is a question of how much energy and commitment we are willing to put into our membership. The close and fruitful relationship that has developed between AEMI and the Euro- pean Institute of Cultural Routes in Luxembourg over the last years bear signs of a promising future.
The AEMI 2005 edition is based on papers delivered at the 2004 AEMI conference in Växjö, Sweden in September/ October. The theme of the conference was Con- necting Contemporary Migration with the Past. Some, but not all, of the ten articles included in this Journal have that perspective. Among the many interesting articles it might be worth mentioning the one of Olavi Koivukangas, who for a generation has studied the integration process of Finnish emigrants all over the world as well as that of recent immigrants and refugees in Finland. Illustrating the parallelism of the processes: how to fi nd work, how to learn the language, how to cope with the negative attitudes and xenophobia of the main population and other ethnic mino- rities, he warns however, that we may not be able to learn as much as some might expect from past migration movements for our purposes unless we bear in mind at the same time how different epochs in history have been.
As this article prompts us, no doubt we will continue to debate how exactly improv- ing our understanding of past and current migration (evidenced by the other arti- cles presented here) helps us to address the challenge of building a better future. As leader of Youth and Migration - a European Capital of Culture project in Stavanger in 2008, that many of AEMI members are involved in, I fi nd this a very impor- tant issue to address. We look forward to the debate continuing in Paris 2005 and reporting on it, and all the other matters that concern us, in the next issue.
Hans Storhaug, Editor Protocol of the Annual Meeting of The Association of European Migration Institutions Växjö, Sweden 29.09.03 – 03.10.03
Members of the Association of European Migration Institutions (AEMI) and other specialists in the fi eld, met for a four day conference at the The House of Emigrants in Växjö, Sweden. Photo: Hans Storhaug
Wednesday 29.09.04 his colleagues for their warm welcome. Conference members met at 17.30 at He read a message from the immediate our host institution, The House of Emi- past Chairman of the Association, Knut grants of the Swedish Emigrant Institute Djupdal, who for the fi rst time in many in Växjö, Sweden. They were welco- years had been prevented by business med by the Director, Dr Per Nordahl from attending. He then introduced and entertained to a buffet reception. Hans Storhaug, editor of the AEMI The Chairman thanked Dr Nordahl and Journal, who reported that the second 6 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 issue of the Journal was almost ready to The fi rst presentation was given by go to the printers. He circulated copies Chairman on the application to the of the cover page and contents. The Culture 2000 programme of the Euro- theme of this special issue is ‘Migrants pean Union for a ‘European Migration and Descendants: Ambivalent Lega- Heritage Route Project’, which had cies and New Border-Crossings in a been submitted in November 2003 by Changing World’ and it will contain a group of nine AEMI members, led by twelve of the papers given at last year’s the Centre for Migration Studies at the conference in Lisbon. Copies of the Ulster-American Folk Park, Northern Journal should be posted to members Ireland. The application scored highly, by the end of October. The Chairman as we heard in May 2004, but unfortu- expressed thanks on behalf of the Asso- nately not highly enough to be selected. ciation to contributors and especially to The Chairman reminded the meeting the editor. The founding of the Journal that the project consisted of four main has been a major achievement of the last elements or Activities: two years, thanks largely to the energy and commitment of Hans Storhaug. 1. Enlargement of the network of the Association of European Migration Having raised a glass or two to absent Institutions to include at least one members, as Knut Dupedal had reque- member institution of each European sted, conference members then enjoyed State the convivial opportunity to explore the 2. Development of a new on-line various fi ne exhibits on display in the ‘European Migration Heritage Resour- House of Emigrants, including a tem- ces Portal’ porary exhibition on the connections 3. Establishement of a new, annual between Sweden and South Africa. ‘European Migration Heritage Week’ 4. Establishment of the ‘European Thursday 30.09.04 Migration Heritage Route’ as a new The Annual Meeting of the Association Cultural Route of European Migration Institutions was opened formally at 9.00 in the Lec- The Chairman went on to explain ture Room of the Swedish Emigrant why the decision had been taken not to Institute, Växjö. The morning session proceed with the pilot European Migra- was divided into three parts. The fi rst tion Heritage Week in October 2004 as part was a series of short presentations planned. about a range of projects currently in He referred to the positive responses progress or in prospect. This was fol- of some institutions such as the Centre lowed by discussion. In the concluding des Documentations, Luxembourg and part an attempt was made to summa- drew attention to the excellent video rise the main features of the discussion presentation submitted by the San and identify points for future action. Marino Emigrant Museum and Study Center. This is a recording ‘The Voyage ANNUAL AEMI MEETING VÄXJÖ, SWEDEN 2004 7 of the Hero’, a 90-minute multi-media migration aspect of this programme and stage presentation of the emigrant expe- will be writing about the programme to rience, involving 12 returned emigrants AEMI members and others who may be aged 60 and over and 12 students aged interested in participating shortly. 18-25. The aim is to hold an international This innovative project aims to conference on the theme of migration ‘involve the elderly as protagonists of in 2007 that will be attended ideally by migration and the students as heirs of a two representatives from each European social context modifi ed by the work and state. It is envisaged that the commit- commitment of the former in order to tee will meet initially in Luxembourg in build a society which promotes co-exis- April 2005. The aim will be to achieve tence of different identities and cultures, a membership of about eight, including thus encouraging a sense of belonging to some AEMI members that will be repre- one’s own country’. sentative of Europe according to type of He emphasized that not all ‘events’ institution and geographical location. that might be included in a Migra- Hans Storhaug of the Norwegian Emi- tion Heritage Week programme need gration Center in Stavanger, and editor of be as elaborate as this. For example, a the AEMI Journal, reported on the inn- member institution that normally char- ovative Youth and Migration project that ged for public admission might consider his institution will be leading as part of marking one day in Migration Heritage the programme associated with Stavan- Week by offering free admission. ger being European Capital of Culture Wincie Johannsdottir of the Icelandic in 2008. Further details of this project Emigrant Center then reported on the can be found at on the AEMI website. progress of the application which her Sorina Capp of the Council of Europe’s institution is leading to the European Institute of European Cultural Routes Union’s E-Content programme for reported that the Council of Europe at a a ‘Journey’ project that will develop meeting in June 2004 approved in prin- a ‘resources portal’ on the theme of ciple the idea of the ‘European Migra- European Migration. She explained tion Heritage Route’. She explained that that the application had been given while this in itself does not make any a preliminary grading of ‘good’. Alt- new resources available to AEMI or to hough no timescale has been given for any of its member institutions, it does a fi nal decision, she remains hopeful give potentially powerful support to any that the application may be successful. further funding applications that AEMI Antoinette Reuter of the Centre des or its member institutions might make Documentations in Luxembourg repor- in order to develop this Route. ted on the role that her institution will Henning Bender of the Danish Emi- be playing in the programme leading up grant Archives and Treasurer of AEMI to Luxembourg being European Capital reported on several funding opportuni- of Culture in 2007. She plans to estab- ties. He urged that it would be particu- lish a steering committee to manage the larly appropriate for the Association to 8 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 make application to those programmes port of about €20 million had fi rst been that have the support of ‘networking’ as made. Although progress on the project a main objective. had initially been slow, it was now clear After the coffee break, the Chairman that the building was on track to open invited Dr Simone Eick from Germany in 2005 and he hoped very much that to give a presentation about her institu- his institution would have a continuing tion, the Deutsches Auswandererhaus in role in some form, perhaps as a Friends Bremerhaven, which is applying this organization. year for membership of the Associa- Dr Eick also explained that another tion. She explained that the Deutsches long-standing AEMI member, Wolf- Auswandererhaus is planned to open in gang Grams of Routes to the Roots, Bremerhaven in August 2005 as a major who played such a key role in the new facility for cultural tourism with the development of the temporary exhibi- aim of attracting over 200,000 visitors tion that AEMI members enjoyed visi- per year. Set against the authentic back- ting in Bremerhaven in 2000, will have drop of the port of Bremerhaven it will an important role in this new project. aim to give the visitor through the use It is envisaged that before leaving the of spectacular models insight into the new Deutsches Auswandererhaus, visi- experience of crossing the Atlantic and tor will be offered support in exploring the emotions of anguish and hope asso- their own family history, including gui- ciated with heart-wenching quayside dance on opportunities for visiting the farewells. The exhibit will include a 32 places from which their ancestors came, metre long ship, moving in ‘real water’ in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. at the quayside. A special feature of the Wolfgang Grams will be involved in facility will be a library of 7 million this further development of his pio- individual emigrant stories. The project, neering cultural tourism service known which is a public-private partnership, is as ‘Routes to the Roots’. Dr Eick also unusual in that the same fi rm is respon- stressed how important it was going to sible for the design, construction and be to the success of her new institution running of the building. to develop links both with AEMI insti- It was a particular pleasure that long- tutions and with Ellis Island. Plans are standing AEMI member Jürgen Rudloff already well advanced for a temporary of the Förderverein Deutsches Auswande- exhibition based on the new Bremerha- rermuseum was present to speak in sup- ven project at Ellis Island. port of this project. He reminded the As well as these presentations infor- meeting that it had been his institution mation was circulated from Wolfgang that had nurtured the idea of an Emi- Grams who unfortunately had been gration Museum in Bremerhaven over prevented by illness from attending. many years and that it had been at the As well as his continuing involvement AEMI Annual Meeting in 2000, hosted in the Bremerhaven project, members by his institution, that the breakthrough may be interested to know that he has announcement of public funding sup- been researching and documenting the ANNUAL AEMI MEETING VÄXJÖ, SWEDEN 2004 9 emigration of the family of the Danube a steering committee of about eight Swabian Johnny Weissmüller from persons, including Hans Storhaug and Temeswar, Rumania to Chicago for the Sorina Capp, to be led by Antoinette Donauschwäbische Zentral Museum, Reuter meeting twice a year (April Ulm, Germany and that following the and fall) between now and 2007 when success of the Migration Heritage Map Luxembourg is European Capital of of Northwest Germany he is working Culture with the German National Tourist 3. There should be increased visibility Board to produce a 6-page brochure on through the AEMI website in order to Roots and Heritage Travel. IIff any mem- make more impact on local govern- bers are interested in getting support for ments the scanning of archival holdings and 4. It is important to see the relevance the production of electronic indexes for of including immigration in the work of on-line publication in association with AEMI, not just emigration. www.MyFamily.com they may contact 5. The work and organization of Wolfagang for further information at AEMI should include and attract all of www.routes.de and [email protected]. Europe, from north to south and east to It may be noted here for future refe- west. rence that information from another 6. There is no objection in principle member institution that was unable to to immigrant organizations applying be represented this year, the Rozmberk to AEMI for membership. The requi- Society in the Czech Republic, was recei- rement for membership remains that ved and circulated later in the meeting. the charter of the organization should include the documentation, research Following these presentations there was and presentation of European migra- further discussion. We are grateful to tion. Gunilla Sundén of the Swedish Emi- 7. Concerning the discussion on a grant Institute for acting as rapporteur. European Migration Heritage Week, it Her summary of the main points of the was agreed that it is a good idea in prin- discussion was as follows: ciple to have local events taking place in 1. Since AEMI is a very diverse every country within the same week. As organization a secretariat is needed for a fi rst step for the coming year it was practical reasons to improve informa- agreed that Hans Storhaug should com- tion on what is going on in different pile an inventory of events being held by countries; to take good care of new member institutions. members; and to make a reality of and 8. Finally it was empha- implement good decisions between sized that migration is a long the annual meetings. More funding is process, not just a short journey. needed to strengthen the economy of the organization and there is also a need Lunch was a dine-around in Växjö. for a poster for information. The afternoon session was devoted to 2. Support was given to the idea of the Annual General Meeting of the Association. 10 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 AEMI Annual General Meeting Professor Adam Walaszek The Annual General Meeting of the The Centre for the Study of Migration Association of European Migration and Intercultural Relations, Lisbon, Por- Institutions was convened at the Swe- tugal, represented by Professor Maria- dish Emigrant Institute, Växjö and Beatriz Rocha-Trindade called to order at 13.00 by Chairman The Institute for Slovene Emigration Brian Lambkin Studies, Ljubljana, Slovenia, represented by Dr Irena Gantar Godina 1. Election of presiding offi cer for the The Swedish Emigrant Institute, Växjö, General Assembly Sweden, represented by Dr Per Nordhal The Chairman moved that Professor The Swedish Immigrant Institute, Boras, Adam Walaszek be elected presiding Sweden, represented by Dr Miguel offi cer of the business meeting. The Benito motion was agreed. The Åland Islands Emigrant Institute, Mariehamm, Finland, represented by Those present were: Ms Eva Meyer The Danish Emigration Archives, Aal- There were no personal members pre- borg, Denmark, represented by Dr sent. Henning Bender The Institute of Migration, Turku, The following member institutions Finland, represented by Professor Olavi were not represented: Koivujangas The Institute for Migration and Ethnic Génériques, Paris, France, represented Studies, Zagreb, Croatia by Laurence Canal The Danish Immigrant Museum Farum, Friends of the German Emigration Denmark Museum, Bremerhaven, Germany, The Archives Department, Merseyside represented by Jürgen Rudloff Maritime Museum, Liverpool, England, The Icelandic Emigration Center, Hofsos, UK Iceland, represented by Ms Wincie The North Frisian Emigrant Archive, Johansdottir Bredstedt, Germany The Centre for Documentation of Routes to the Routes, Oldenburg, Ger- Human Migration, Luxembourg, repre- many sented by Ms Antoinette Reuter The Research Center for German Emi- The Centre for Migration Studies at the grants in the USA, Oldenburg, Ger- Ulster-American Folk Park, Northern many Ireland, represented by Dr Brian Lamb- The John F Kennedy Trust, NewNew RRoss,oss, kin Ireland The Norwegian Emigration Center, The Centro Italiano di Studi Sull Emi- Stavanger, Norway, represented by Mr grazione, Tramonti, Italy Hans Storhaug Centro Studi Emigrazione Roma, Rome, The Institute of Diaspora and Ethnic Italy Studies, Krakow, Poland, represented by The Norwegian-American Collection, National Library of Norway ANNUAL AEMI MEETING VÄXJÖ, SWEDEN 2004 11 The County Archives, Sogn og Fjordane, cil of Europe has given approval to the Kaupanger, Norway European Migration Heritage Route The Norwegian Emigrant Museum, concept, which he hoped would pro- Ottestad, Norway gressively become a reality through the The San Marino Emigrant Museum and Association working in collaboration Study Center, San Marino with the European Institute of Cultu- The National Library of Scotland, Scots ral Routes. In conclusion he thanked abroad. Edinburgh, UK members for their support throughout The Museum of Scotland International, the year and also his colleagues on the National Museums of Scotland, Edin-Edin- Executive Board. burgh, UK In particular he thanked Professor The Slovene Ethnographic Museum, Maria-Beatriz Rocha-Trindade, repre- Ljubljana, Slovenia senting the Centre for the Study of Migration and Intercultural Relations in Lisbon, which hosted last year’s Annual The following associated members were Meeting, for the work of her colleague not present: and outgoing member of the Executive Pier 21, Halifax, Canada. Board, Professor Armando Oliveira. Ellis Island Immigration Museum, New The Chairman concluded by thanking York, USA Dr Per Nordahl for his work as new member of the Board and host of this Minutes of the last Annual Meeting, year’s Annual Meeting. held in Lisbon on 30 September 2003, The Chairman moved the adoption which had been posted previously on of the report. The meeting adopted the the AEMI website, were accepted by the motion. meeting. 3. Financial Statement and Accounts 2. Chairman´s Report for 2003 – 2004 for 2003 The Chairman spoke to his report, The Secretary and Treasurer, Hen- circulated previously on the AEMI web- ning Bender presented the Finan- site, highlighting the main achievements cial Statement and, as posted of the year: the submission of the major previously on the AEMI website. funding application to the Culture 2000 The Secretary and Treasurer moved the programme of the European Union for adoption of the Accounts. The meeting the European Migration Heritage Route adopted the motion. project, and the appearance of the second volume of the AEMI Journal, 4. Budget for 2004 and Preliminary Acco- which would be distributed to mem- unt for 2004 bers shortly. He thanked those who had The Secretary and Treasurer presented participated for the useful discussion the Budget for 2004 and Preliminary which had taken place that morning. Account for 2004 as posted previously He welcomed the news that the Coun- on the AEMI website. The Association’s 12 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 Auditor, Dr Ulf Beijbom, confi rmed memoration of the date on which the that he was satisfi ed with the Acco- Convention on Immigrant Rights was unts for 2004 and had signed them. fi rst signed. The Secretary and Treasurer moved the adoption of the Budget for 2004 7. Proposed Budget for 2005 – 07 and the Preliminary Account for 2004. The Secretary and Treasurer spoke to the The meeting adopted the motion. proposed budget for 2005-07, posted previously on the AEMI website. He 5. Admission of New Members explained how this represented the most The Secretary-Treasurer presented the prudent use of resources, given that following applicant institution for no signifi cant increase in subscriptions admission to ordinary membership: could be contemplated in the medium Deutches Auswandererhaus, Bremer- term, and warned that unless additional haven, Germany, He referred to the funding was obtained, the Association presentation given by Dr Simone Eick would be unable to maintain its cur- that morning and wished it well for its rent level of activities beyond 2007. projected opening in August 2005. The The Secretary and Treasure moved the meeting admitted the Deutsches Aus- adoption of the proposed budget and wandererhaus to ordinary membership. the meeting accepted the motion.
5. Members Projects 8. Annual Subscription Professor Maria-Beatriz Rocha-Trindade The Secretary Treasurer reported on a said that progress during the year with communication received from Dr Diana the new Museum of Emigration in Fafe, Pardue of Ellis Island to the effect that Portugal had been slower than expected the subscription for associate members but that Dr Miguel Montiero hoped was so low as to be almost equivalent to to be in attendance at the next Annual the cost of making the money transfer. Meeting to present his new institution He proposed therefore that the cost of for admission to membership. annual subscription for associate mem- Antoinette Reuter reported sad news bership should therefore be raised from of the recent death of our contact, Anto- €25 to €50. The meeting accepted the nio Perotti of the Centro Studi Emigra- motion. zione in Rome, Italy. He had been vital to the commitment of the Scalabrini 9. Appointment of Auditor Order to this work. The Secretary and Treasurer reported Dr Miguel Benito of the Immigrant that Dr Ulf Beijbom, former Director Institute in Boras, Sweden, reported that of the Swedish Emigrant Institute, who his institution’s website was currently has been the Auditor of the Association receiving more hits than the equiva- ‘since time immemorial’, had decided lent government website. He explained to resign from the post. The Secretary about how December 18 has been desig- Treasurer took the opportunity to pay nated ‘Day of the Immigrants’ in com- tribute to Dr Beijbom’s work over ANNUAL AEMI MEETING VÄXJÖ, SWEDEN 2004 13 the years, not only in his capacity as bly been prevented from attending the Auditor but also as founding member meeting in person but that he had asked of the Association. The Chairman also herself and her colleague to convey the thanked Dr Beijbom and made a small offer of Géneriques to host that next presentation of behalf of the Associa- Annual Meeting of the Association in tion as a token of its appreciation of his Paris. There being no other offers, the generous years of service. meeting warmly accepted the invitation.
The Secretary and Treasurer proposed There followed discussion of the most Ms Eva Meyer of the Alands Emi- suitable date. Taking account of repre- grantinstitut, Finland for the vacant sentation from San Marino in particular, post of Auditor. There being no other it was agreed that the dates of next year’s nominations, the meeting accepted the meeting will include Friday 7 October proposal. The Chairman thanked Ms to Sunday 9 October. Precise dates of Meyer for being willing to undertake the meeting will be confi rmed as soon as this service. possible and communicated to members.
10. Election of Offi cers of the Executive It was noted that expressions of Board interest in hosting the Association’s All members confi rmed that they were Annual Meeting in 2006 or 2007 willing to continue serving for the third have been received from the following: year of the present three-year term. Therefore no election was necessary. • Institute for Migration and Ethnic The Chairman reminded members that Studies, Zagreb, Croatia a representative of whichever institu- • Deutsches Auswanderermuseum, tion is chosen to host the next Annual Bremerhaven, Germany Meeting will automatically become a •Danish Emigration Archives, Aalborg, member of the Executive Board for Denmark the coming year. He again thanked •Institute of Migration, Finland Professor Armando Oliveira as outgo- ing member of the Board, representing A decision on the venue of the Annual last year’s host institution, and said that Meeting in 2006 will be made at the it will be necessary to hold elections at next Annual Meeting in Paris, 2005. the next Annual Meeting to elect a new Executive Board. 12. Any Other Business There was no other business. The Chair- 11. Next Meetings man thanked Professor Walaszek for The Chairman introduced Ms Laurence presiding. The Annual General Meeting Canal and Ms Delphine Folliet, represen- concluded at 16.30. Dinner at Slott tatives of Génériques, Paris, France. Ms Teleborg, hosted by Mr Åke Eriksson, Canal said that the Director of Généri- Chairman of the Muncipality of Växjö. ques, Dr Driss Al Yazami, had regretta- 14 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 Friday 1.10.04 Trinadade, ‘Recent Develop- The day was devoted to lectures in the ments in Portuguese Migration’ Swedish Emigrant Institute on the theme - Professor Olavi Koivokangas, ‘Con- of the Annual Meeting: ‘Connecting necting contemporary migration with Contemporary Migration with the Past’ the past: challenges and opportunities’ Johan Svanberg, ‘Labour immi- - Professor Lars Olsson, ‘Research and gration and the ethnic division Teaching on Migration in the Univer- of labour in a Swedish factory’ sity of Växjö: the use of oral history’ - Dr Solveig Fagerlund, ‘ ‘Trans-AtlanticTrans-Atlantic - Dr Katarina Hjelm, ‘The AMER emigration as part of a migratory cul- Research Profi le of Migration Rese- ture: a micro historical perspective on arch at the University of Växjö the community of Stensjö, Sweden’ - Professor Jan Ekberg, ‘ Immigrants -Cecilia Axelsson, ‘Keeping up? and the Welfare State in Sweden’ – an analysis of the website of - Dr Per Nordahl, ‘The‘The Local, the Swedish Emigrant Institute’ Regional and National Context of Migration Research in Sweden Dinner at the Palace of the Governor of - Dr Torbjörn Johannson, ‘The use of the County of Kronoberg in Växjö, hosted Information and Communications by Claes Sjöblom, Deputy Governor. Technology in connecting contemporary migration with the past: the work of the Sunday, 3.10.04 Interactive Institute, Umea, Sweden’ Final Plenary Session, 9.00 - 12.00 - Dr Dan Malmsten, ‘The EU EMIL Sorina Capp of the European Institute Project: Indexing Emigrant Letters’ of Cultural Routes kindly gave a detailed on-line demonstration of the Institute’s Dinner at Kosta Glass Factory, hosted by website (http://www.culture-routes.lu). Eva Lövquist on behalf of the County of This enabled members to appreciate Kronoberg. more clearly the opportunities which this facility of the Institute offers for Saturday 2.10.04 promoting the European Migration The day was devoted to lectures in the Heritage Route and how it might be Swedish Emigrant Institute on the theme used in other ways to complement the of the Annual Meeting: ‘Connecting existing AEMI website (www.aemi.dk ). Contemporary Migration with the Past’ - Dr Claude Wey, ‘“We should be very There was further discussion of issues happy to show you our dear Sweden arising from the meeting, particu- a ‘meng Hunger’”: tracing an emi- larly with regard to action points for grant trajectory between Luxembourg the coming year, including new fun- and Sweden using emigrant letters’ ding applications to promote AEMI - Dr Irena Gantar Godina, ‘Slovene networking; an inventory of AEMI women intellectuals abroad, 1860-1919’ member activities 2004-05; Luxem- Professor Maria Beatriz Rocha- bourg 2007; Stavanger 2008; the third ANNUAL AEMI MEETING VÄXJÖ, SWEDEN 2004 15 issue of the AEMI Journal, 2005.
In his concluding remarks the Chair- man commented on the impressive co-operation that is evidently underway between the Swedish Emigrant Institute and the University of Växjö, and also on the strong partnership that is evident between the Institute and the City of Växjö and the County of Kronoberg. Before saying a fi nal farewell, a small presentation was made on behalf of the Association to Per Nordahl and his colleagues for their hard work and gene- rous hospitality. The Association of European Migration Institutions Chairman´s Report 2003 - 2004 September 29 - October 3, 2004 Växjö, Sweden
AEMI board members greeting famous Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg outside The Emigrants House, Växjö, Sweden before the opening of the annual meeting. From left, Per Nordahl, Henning Bender, Secretary and Brian Lambkin, Chairman. Photo: Hans Storhaug Ladies and Gentlemen: Those of us who were fortunate enough reviewing progress, and for charting to be present at last year’s Annual our direction for the coming year. Meeting in Portugal will no doubt recall In Lisbon we welcomed several new it with pleasure. Professor Armando members, launched the fi rst issue of Oliveira and Professor Maria Beatriz our AEMI Journal, heard many inte- Rocha-Trindade and their CEMRI resting papers and engaged in discus- colleagues in the Open University in sion. We left Lisbon with an ambitious Lisbon hosted it splendidly and we programme, particularly with regard to are most grateful to them. We rely the idea of making an application to the greatly on our Annual Meeting as our European Union-funded Culture 2000 main opportunity for renewing old programme for a European Migration friendships and making new ones, for Heritage Route Project, designed to be CHAIRMAN´S REPORT 17 of benefi t to all members of the Associa- 2. Development of a new on-line ‘Euro- tion. So how did we fare? pean Migration Heritage Resources Your Board, for the second year of Portal’ the current three-year cycle, has been 3. Establishment of a new, annual Henning Bender (Denmark) as general ‘European Migration Heritage Week’ secretary, Hans Storhaug (Norway) as 4. Establishment of a the ‘European editor of the Journal, Armando OOliveiraliveira Migration Heritage Route’ as new Cul- (Portugal) as representative of last year’s tural Route host institution, Per Nordahl (Sweden) as representative of the host institu- The rules of the Culture 2000 pro- tion of 2004 and myself as chairman gramme do not permit organisations (Northern Ireland). We met face-to-face such as AEMI to apply. For an appli- only once this year, immediately before cation for a three-year project it was the Annual Meeting here in Växjö, necessary for one member institution to Sweden. This is in contrast to the pre- undertake the responsibility of making vious year when we met three times in the application as the ‘lead partner’ Luxembourg, thanks to the support of and for at least four other institutions Antoinette Reuter and her colleagues (all from different countries) to under- in Centre des Documentations, Dude- take the responsibility of ‘co-organi- lange. The effort of the Board has been sers’ of the project. In the event nine mainly directed towards three main AEMI members made a co-operation objectives: completion of an application agreement as ‘co-orgranisers’ with the for the European Migration Heritage Centre for Migration Studies, Omagh Route Project to the European Union- as the lead partner . As you may imagine funded Culture 2000 programme; pre- it was a great deal of hard work for all paration for a pilot European Migration involved to ensure that all the necessary Heritage Week programme in October materials from nine partners were put 2004; and production of the second together in time for the deadline. The issue of the AEMI Journal. proposed project Budget gives an indi- cation of the considerable scale of com- Our application for the European mitment required of co-organisers in Migration Heritage Route Project was terms of resources. As I acknowledged submitted on time in November 2003. in my letter to members in February, In Lisbon we had identifi ed four main with hindsight communication with project activities, designed to include the whole membership of the Asso- and benefi t as many AEMI members as ciation about the project could have possible: been better. We should learn from this experience in taking our project forward 1. Enlargement of the network of the by making sure that all members are as Association of European Migration Insti- well informed as possible and have the tutions to include at least one member opportunity to contribute to discussion institution in each European state and to participate at whatever level suits 18 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 them best. Having made the applica- the key to our development as we had tion in November, it was our expecta- hoped, we need to fi nd an alternative tion to receive a decision from Brussels that will. Most immediately we have in April. In the event we did not receive two main options to consider. The Cul- it until late May. As no doubt we are ture 2000 programme is making one all now aware, our application was not further call for applications for 2005, successful, coming some nine points so we might resubmit in a modifi ed short of the ‘cut’. I wrote to the mem- form our European Migration Heri- bership about this in June, emphasising tage Route Project (the deadline is 29 the importance of proceeding as plan- October 2005). Alternatively, we might ned with the pilot ‘European Migration prefer to develop a new project proposal Heritage Week’ in October. Although and apply for funding from a different some members have responded to Hans source. A third option, of course, is to Storhaug, offering events to be included do neither. At Växjö we need to talk all in the pilot programme, the response this through, exchange information and overall has been poor, so it would seem weigh up the possibilities. In the course that there is a problem with this idea. of the year at least three other projects Perhaps the proposed timing of the have been developing that have called ‘Week’ in October is not suitable or, for the support of AEMI members: more seriously, the concept does not Wincie Johannsdottir at the Icelandic meet the needs of members. We need to Emigration Center has succeeded in ste- discuss this issue further. ering the ‘Journey’ project past the fi rst stage of evaluation for European fun- As to the future of the European ding; Antoinette Reuter of the Centre Migration Heritage Route Project idea des Documentations in Luxembourg as a whole, we clearly need to give has invited members to consider partici- further consideration to the best way pating in the ‘LuxPlus’ project, associa- forward. Through the experience of ted with Luxembourg being European putting together our application we Capital of Culture in 2007 (http: have learned a great deal about ourselves //www.aemi.dk/news.php?page=101); as an Association and our capacity and and Hans Storhaug of the Norwegian appetite for delivering such an ambiti- Emigration Center has invited mem- ous programme. Our aim remains to bers to participate in a ‘Migration transform the Association by expanding and Youth’ project, associated with its membership throughout Europe and Stavanger being European Capital of raising its profi le as the leading institu- Culture in 2008 (http://www.aemi.dk/ tion of its kind. In order to do this we news.php?page=100). We look forward must develop a full-time secretariat of to discussing all this and more, and may some kind. We need to be clear about I take this opportunity to urge members, our position and play to our particular particularly those not able to be present strengths. If the Culture 2000 pro- at our meeting in Sweden, to make their gramme does not turn out to provide views known to members of the Board. After the meeting in Lisbon last year, task of preparing to host us in Växjö in a small group representing AEMI 2004. May our deliberations here prove travelled to northern Portugal to lend fruitful in the year ahead. our support to Dr Miguel Monteiro and his colleagues in the municipality of Fafe who are planning a Museum Brian Lambkin of Emigration. Fafe has a particularly Chairman strong historic connection with Brazil, evident in the architecture of the town, where the ‘Brazilian Houses’, built by returned emigrants, are a special feature. This is one splendid example of many initiatives now underway across Europe aimed at presenting different aspects of our migration heritage, which again points to the importance of the Association in promoting the exchange of information and expertise and in providing mutual support. Our strategic aim – to include in the Association all who are engaged in such initiatives – is surely the right one. Willing the most appropriate means to realise it remains our challenge.
As ever we are grateful to Henning Bender for his work as treasurer, for maintaining and updating our website which provides such an indispensable service for us and for responding to the enquiries of members and prospective new members. Hans Storhaug deserves our special appreciation for continu- ing the onerous job of founder editor of our Journal. WWee look forforwardward to the second issue being distributed to mem- bers shortly after the meeting in Växjö. We thank again Armando Oliveira and Maria Beatriz Rocha-Trindade for hos- ting the Annual Meeting in Lisbon in 2003. And we also thank Per Nordahl and his colleagues for undertaking the Keeping up? History on the Home Page of the Swedish Emigrant Institute
Cecilia Axelsson
Museums and Institutes are important mediators of history in today’s society. This article analyses the pedagogic material provided by the Swedish Emigrant Institute on their home page. Questions are raised about what aspects of migration history are included in the information, what is neglected, and if the Swedish Emigrant Institute is able to keep up with recent scholarly research on migration. The article also aims at starting a discussion on what can be expected of museums and institutions in their mediating of migration history.
It is possible to look upon the Swed- This would be facilitated by gathering ish Emigrant Institute (SEI) in Växjö, all knowledge and sources in one place Sweden as a link back both in time and and during the almost 40 years that the space. A visitor that enters the Institute Institute has been open much has hap- is reminded by archives and exhibitions pened in this area. Also, many Swedish- about past times, when all those emi- Americans have sauntered through the grants left Sweden to seek a better life exhibition halls and made use of the somewhere else. The Institute in Växjö material in the archives of SEI. But des- is furthermore situated in the middle of pite the fact that the focus has been on the emigrants’ province Småland and the emigration to North America and many people that seek knowledge of the 19th century there has always been emigration and migration on an over-all a wider awareness at the Swedish Emi- and scientifi c level come here. But also grant Institute. Right from the start the people who seek personal knowledge of connection to immigration and immi- ancestry and roots come to the Institute. grants was acknowledged and nowadays A visit here can literally be about return- when Swedish-Americans with a perso- ing to a place of origin for some people. nal experience of the mass-emigration People who seek their history and their era for natural reasons are a rare sight, identity. the focus of the Institute has to be The reason behind the founding of extended. A Swedish Emigrant Institute the Institute in 1965 was the need to that includes immigrants is beginning get a greater understanding of the mass- to take shape and a House of Emigrants emigration from Sweden to North Ame- that puts the tidal wave of the mass-emi- rica in the 19th and early 20th century. gration from Sweden (1860-1930) in a CECILIE AXELSSON 21 wider context and shows a more diffe- researchers, enthusiasts and educators rentiated face might soon be discerned. of people’.2 The permanent exhibition The present head of the Institute Per seems almost to have come about by Nordahl expresses one of the goals of chance. The head of the institute for the Institute in this manner: 36 years, Ulf Beijbom, stated that the Emigrant Institute is not a museum but Today twenty per cent of the popu- that it became necessary to arrange an lation of Sweden have roots that reach exhibition to meet the demands of the outside the country. This means that public.3 the history that these twenty per cent Exhibitions, such as the one at the of the population bring must be made Swedish Emigration Institute, are often visible and be included in what we label used as a complement to the teaching of our history. By making the history of history in the schools. At the same time the new Swedes a part of our own we they are a, so to speak, separate element also provide better opportunities for the in the education of history for the pri- immigrants to partake of our democracy. vate visitor. For those who are no longer In times of increased hostility towards in school the exhibition plays an impor- strangers a central task for the Swedish tant part in mediating a history, infl uen- Emigrant Institute must be to work for cing the individual’s concept of identity increased participation. and promoting basic social values such My ambition is therefore that we as democracy and humanism, just as it both in our exhibition and in other does for students visiting the exhibitions activities will be able to contribute to with their teachers. The history presen- bringing together these two emigrant ted at the museum could thus be seen experiences.1 as, and used as, a very pragmatic tool How is this intention carried through in promoting fundamental values and and how are other issues in focus today, views of a democratic society. such as ethnicity and gender, addressed Anyone who works with mediation in the exhibitions and material provided of history, in whichever arena of society, on the internet by SEI? has to deal with problems and decisions of a didactical nature. Sometimes, it Mediating History seems, these decisions are very consci- The exhibitions make up a big part of ously made from a certain ideological or what is the House of Emigrants. They political point of view and in the hope are important as a display case for the of obtaining a certain result. At other Institute. At the same time they have not times, it seems, the decisions, for many been seen as the most important part of different reasons, are formed by other the work. The initiator of the Institute, factors, or even, seemingly, by chance. county governor Gunnar Helén, was Anyone who is the ‘recipient’ of this very sceptical of the idea of a museum. mediation of history is infl uenced by Instead he envisioned the Institute as these decisions. The picture of history an archive and almost ‘a playground for that is presented - the product as it were 22 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 - is according to professor of history research and the history presented at Klas-Göran Karlsson infl uenced or the museum, and what are the con- shaped by economic, social, ideological, nections between the academic world, cultural and political factors.4 These are the museum and the subject taught in thus factors to take into consideration school? when trying to analyse an arena for My thesis will look at several aspects mediating history, an arena such as the of the work at the Swedish Emigrant Swedish Emigrant Institute. Institute. Here, however, I will con- The Swedish Emigrant Institute has, centrate on a critical analysis of the like most institutions of this sort, ever material provided on the home page of since the start struggled with problems the Institute. The pedagogical material of funding. The Institute receives fi nan- is intended for students, teachers and cial allowances from the state, the local anyone in the general public interested authorities, and the county council. in emigration history. The material on In 2002 the allowance from the state these pages is not very extensive. The was 440,000 SEK.5 From the county idea is to provide a background to the council they received 780,000 SEK and emigration to America and to give stu- from the local authorities 752 000. ‘The dents and teachers pointers on how they friends of the Emigrant Institute’ contri- can continue to work with the topic of buted with 177,515 SEK. Ulf Beijbom, emigration. the former head of the Institute, labels the allowance from the state almost Analysis symbolical these days.6 The fi nancial The material provided by the Institute situation is naturally a factor that infl u- on the web pages is structured as can ences and sometimes bluntly limits the be seen in Appendix 1. The pages are possibilities of putting new visions into in Swedish and in Appendix 2 I give a concrete form. more detailed description of the content My thesis will eventually thus con- of these pages. Here, however, I will cern mediation of history in society merely discuss the results of my analy- and school today, the Swedish Emi- sis and from this it should also become grant Institute being the case study. clear what the content is. Questions in focus will be: What values In the introduction to the material are promoted to the public and to there is a short discussion on why the students in the Swedish school today, subject of emigration is so interesting via the museum? How is history used for us today but the perspective is that and mediated and from what perspec- of a person from Småland. Anyone tives? In connection with this I fi nd who has an immigrant background or it interesting to see how the Swedish comes from a part of Sweden where Emigration Institute address the prin- the emigration was not so common ciples of class, ethnicity, generation and does probably not feel included in this gender. Furthermore: What is the cor- group with a common history. Perhaps respondence between recent academic this makes it more diffi cult for a student CECILIE AXELSSON 23 to connect to this history and to move wanted to get away from negative on to see parallels to emigrants and circumstances concerning economy, refugees today. Another risk run is that politics and religion. In this section the the Institute is not seen as inclusive, concepts of proletarianization, indus- despite its statements to the contrary. trialization or urbanization are not If the intention of the Institute is to brought into the discussion about causes help individuals fi nd their own place in for migration and emigration. history and fi nd a meaning in historical The increase in population, however, events these are issues that need to be plays a prominent part in the explana- thought through. At the same time the tion of what forced the pace of emigra- introduction probably does attract those tion. Why an increase in population in who actually do recognise themselves in Sweden was bad is however not so easy this group to start thinking, from a his- to understand from the text. This expla- torical perspective, on their own family nation is one-dimensional and short. It history. is pulled out of a greater context and not The concentration on the mass emi- analysed thoroughly. A contextualized gration to America in the 19th century is explanation is needed here for pedagogi- obvious on these pages. Several aspects cal reasons and lest the students should of the mass-emigration are discussed think of today’s society and conclude and in some cases parallels are drawn to that immigration leads to a population our present time. In the material itself increase that by defi nition is not good there is however virtually nothing about for Sweden. immigration to Sweden, immigration The explanation of the increase in in general or integration. Obviously population as the main cause for the the outspoken aim of the institute to emigration deserves a more thorough include immigrants and immigration in discussion and will be a case study for their work is not yet implemented fully this article. The Institute has chosen in the material provided. These aspects to use the traditional explanation of are left to the students to ponder over how it was ‘the peace, the vaccine and on their own or for the teacher to sup- the potato’ that were the causes for the plement to the discussion. If there are population increase that forced many any possibilities for teachers to further Swedes to leave their country and seek educate themselves in the subject of opportunities to support themselves immigration within the framework elsewhere. This phrase has been repeated of the Swedish Emigrant Institute is so many times that it has become almost something that remains to be explored. cut in stone. It was the taken-for-gran- The image of the Sweden the emi- ted truth for many years that these three grants left is sketched very lightly, in factors promoted the increase in popu- broad outline. The causes behind why lation in the countryside of Sweden, in people chose to emigrate are simply the fi rst half of the 19th century, that in labelled ‘unsatisfactory conditions’ and turn left very many people impoveris- ‘bad times’. Also, it is stated, people hed and pauperised. Following this 24 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 line of reasoning; at this point many, need to emigrate in order to survive.10 supposedly, had no other choice than to Magnusson sums all this up by stating uproot themselves and emigrate. that the traditional way of explaining But historical researchers have actu- the causes for emigration and that the ally for a long time now tried to change emigration was an outlet that saved the the prevailing picture of 19th century nation as a whole from major problems Sweden as a poor country with a stag- is ‘an example of a contra factory hypo- nated economy and problemize the thesis that in retrospect is impossible to above explanation. Christer Winberg get an answer to.’11 states in his dissertation Folkökning och The traditional way of explaining the proletarisering alr alreadyeady in 1975 that to causes of the emigration is clearly out- refer only to the causes of the peace, dated and unsatisfactory. The picture is the vaccine and the potato is to place more complicated and the information too much emphasis on decreased mor- on the home page has obviously not tality. He instead turns his focus to the been revised in an effort to follow recent circumstances of what age people (of results of historical research in this area, different social standing) married and or at least offer some additional explana- had children, and fertility.7 He also tions concerning this issue. challenges the theory that proletariani- Unclear, in the material provided by zation was a result of the all too rapid SEI, is also the picture of America – the population-increase in relation to the receiving country – and why so many expansion of agriculture. This, Winberg chose to move here instead of to, for states, is an all too convenient explana- example, Australia or Argentina. The tion that allows for researchers to avoid reader practically only gets to know that the economic and social aspects of the it was ‘above all the positive things in problem.8 America that attracted [people]. They Winberg and Lars Magnusson in travelled to something new and pos- Sveriges Ekonomiska Historia emphasizemphasizee sibly better.’12 There is nothing on the the Agrarian revolution, that began in trade cycles, depressions and booms that the late 18the century, with its technical infl uenced the emigrants and attracted innovations, re-organizations of produc- certain emigrants to certain areas. In tion and the introduction of new crops, connection with this there could have and foremost, increased clearing of new been a discussion on gendered pull- land, the division of homesteads and the effects. Not until the section on women emergence of a market for products and (the Swedish maids), and some in the labor, as the main cause of social diver- description of three famous (male) sifi cation and proletarianization.9 Since emigrants, do we get to know somet- Magnusson can show that industry and hing more concrete of what attracted agriculture at this time was in an expan- emigrants to the new country. No ding phase, agriculture albeit at a slower discussion is conducted here on a more pace, he means that it is not so self-evi- over-all level and there is nothing on dent that people should have felt the ethnic relations or assimilation. CECILIE AXELSSON 25 The Institute on its home page has extensive section Emigration to Other chosen to deal with gender by adding Countries.) We get to know some about a separate section concerning female Vikings and New Sweden and some emigrants to North America. The tradi- about seasonal workers and emigrants to tional (and fi ctional) emigrant-woman Denmark and Germany. There is, how- Kristina is mentioned in one of the sec- ever, no effort to discuss migration as tions but other than that the information streams or currents leading both in and is completely male dominated. It is also out of Sweden, all through history, in a only in the section Emigration to Other system connecting many countries and Countries that the InstituteInstitute endeavourendeavour regions, or to pointing out waves of emi- to explain any of the processes at hand gration as processes limited in time and in terms of class stratifi cation. The poor space in a larger pattern.13 The fact that people that could not afford a ticket the emigrants who ended up in Europe across the Atlantic emigrated to areas and are called ‘the forgotten emigrants’ closer to home, in Europe. (Here the fi nally get their place in the discussion is words ‘urbanization’ and ‘assimilation’ most welcome news. At the same time are used). In the rest of the material the it is easy to wonder whether it is not in reader is more or less presented only fact the Swedish Emigrant Institute that with success-stories. This is particularly is to blame, at least to some extent, for evident in the section Famous Swedish- contributing to the neglecting of this Americans. Only the short remark on group in the writing of history. the people who had to be rescued from The purpose of the material is in South-America at the expense of the several cases to get the students to think state gives a clue to the fact that there about how they themselves would act were indeed many people for whom the in a similar situation to the one the emigration experience was not a success emigrants were in and draw a paral- but ended in utter failure and devasta- lel to the immigrants they can meet tion. There is furthermore nothing on in Sweden today. This is an admirable why many people (approx. 200 000) effort to make students see the connec- who actually returned back home, re- tion between past, present and future migrated, after some years abroad. in historical knowledge. This method The Swedish Emigrant Institute has seems to work but there is no effort to chosen to present emigration on these move further and discuss why people pages on a concentrated and simplifi ed today move to Sweden rather than leave level. There is a line or two on migra- the country. There is no section on what tion but there is no major effort to put has actually happened in Sweden that the mass-emigration to the USA in the has turned it into a country for immi- 19th century into a larger context. (This gration rather than emigration. is true for the pages for the students. On the pages probably intended for Discussion grown-ups and teachers – The Bank of The pedagogical material that can be Knowledge - therethere is the somewhatsomewhat moremore reached via the homepage of SEI is thus 26 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 to a large extent limited in time, geo- city is addressed only in the suggestions graphical space and focus. Possible rea- for topics for discussion and tasks that sons for this could be that the space on are connected to the paragraphs of the the page is limited or that the Institute section For Grades 4-6. Ther Theree is little has not had time or funds to work more information about women, and virtu- thoroughly with this task. Another pos- ally nothing on migration as a consis- sibility is that these choices have been tent pattern or on Sweden as a country made for pedagogical reasons. In this for immigration. All of these topics are case we must ask if in fact short and sim- very much in focus in today’s society. plifi ed explanations are in fact pedago- I would argue that each of these issues gical in the sense that they make history deserves a place in the material provided easier to understand? Is it not true that by SEI. even grade-school students need more It is true that this analysis of the thorough explanations, many aspects material on the home page has been and perhaps even contrasting points of very critical in order to highlight areas views in order to understand complex of emigration research that has been processes? To simplify things too much neglected in the material provided on could turn out to have serious consequ- these pages. However, I think it is a ences for the understanding of history. great idea and an obvious task for an The Swedish Emigrant Institute, institution such as SEI to in fact provide besides providing material on the home material for students in exhibitions and page, also invites schools to visit the on the internet. It is very important House of Emigrants and it is possible to that institutions such as SEI function, choose to only visit the exhibitions or to to some extent, as extended classrooms take part in a lesson with a member of and take part in the mediation and the staff. Such a lesson ought to provide discussion of history in society in order excellent opportunities to supplement to promote the fundamental values of a the information on the web pages. There democracy. It now remains to discuss if are different alternatives to choose from these critical observations and the call depending on whether the students are for a more up-to-date revision of this in grade school or high school. There material are in fact too critical and per- are also tasks for students connected to haps unjust. What can really be asked the exhibition. of an institution such as the Swedish This analysis has shown that the Emigrant Institute? Can they be expec- material on the home page deals very ted to continuously keep up with the little with immigrants and their history latest scholarly research in their peda- in connection to the Swedish history gogical material and their exhibitions? of emigration. Today’s migration- and This would certainly cost money and emigration-historians talk a lot about SEI and similar institutions struggle proletarianization, industrialization and with funding. Is there a solution to this urbanization. None of these concepts problem? are discussed on the web pages. Ethni- Furthermore, is it possible to be CECILIE AXELSSON 27 pedagogical and at the same time offer multi-faceted explanations and a more intricate course of events? The material on the home page is partly directed to grade-school children from ages 10-12, but also to teachers and the general public. Is it justifi able to simplify things for people to quickly get an idea of what it is all about? And in that case, what does this simplifi cation involve? The Swedish Emigrant Institute has obviously chosen to present simplifi ed versions of explanations and processes at the expense, sometimes, of recent scho- larly fi ndings. How are things at other institutions? Is there a way around these diffi culties? Or is there in fact an unsol- vable confl ict between a pedagogic pre- sentation and keeping up with the many aspects of recent scholarly research? 28 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 Appendix 1. Appendix 2. Structure of pedagogical material provided Pedagogical material at SEI on the Home Page of the Swedish Emi- A forum for pedagogical activities grant Institute for SEI is the home page on the inter- net.14 Under the headline For Students For students anyone can fi nd material to work with −Bibliography either in connection to a visit to the −Reading Suggestions museum or on their own. Sub headlines −Bank of Knowledge are Bibliography, Reading Suggestions, ·The Emigration from Sweden Bank of Knowledge, For Grades 4-6 and ·The Peace, the Vaccine and the Potatoes For Teachers. ·Are Karl-Oskar and Kristina the Truth? ·Emigrant Agents Under Bibliography for students there ·Famous Swedish-Americans is a short, one page long, presentation ·The Emigration to Other Countries of the Emigration to America. As an introduction there is a presentation of For Grades 4-6 cultural imprints inspired by emigration ·What is Emigration? – the novels by Vilhelm Moberg, the ·The Emigration to America movies by Jan Troell and the musical ·How did they Travel? Kristina från Duvemåla – and the ques- ·Where did they Live? tion why we are so fascinated by this ·The America Trunk history is raised. The answer given is; ·Swedish -named Places in America perhaps because so many have a perso- ·Women´s Emigration nal connection to this history: ·The Adventure of New Sweden In almost every family there are sto- ·The Viking Era ries about those who left for America, ·Early Emigration there are America-mementoes in the ·Swedish Culture in the USA form of cards or letters. Sometimes we ·Not Only America have ‘America-company’, some distant ·America-letters relative comes to visit from the great ·Diaries country in the West.15 It becomes quite clear that the page For teachers addresses a person from this part of (translated into English by Cecilia the country, probably a person from Axelsson) Småland, and references are made to something that all people from Småland (‘Smålänningar’) supposedly have in common. It is also quite clear from the introduction that it is the mass-emigra- tion to America that is in focus. The similarities between the emi- gration to America and the immigration CECILIE AXELSSON 29 of today are briefl y touched upon in the this history as to make this summary next section where the writer (writers?) unnecessary, with the exception perhaps of the text continue to contemplate; of the section on Emigration to Other ‘One does not seize to wonder about Countries. what made the ancestors leave their lives The Bank of Knowledge, which is for an uncertain existence far away. And stated to be under construction, has the today Sweden is the receiving country following sub-headlines: The Emigration of people who for different reasons fl ee from Sweden, The Peace, the Vaccine and their own country’.16 With this remark the Potatoes, Are Karl-Oscar and Kristina the connection to immigration is left off True? Emigrant Agents, Famous Swedish- for the time being. Finally, in the last Americans and The Emigration to Other section, you can read about the 150- Countries. The fi rst section - The Emi- year anniversary of the mass-emigration gration from Sweden - talks about from to America and what the extent was of what the emigrants moved, what they this wave in time (1846-1930) and in hoped to fi nd, where they came from number of emigrants (1,3 million). The in Sweden and where in the USA they brief intro duction to the subject is con- settled. All very briefl y. The cause that cluded with the statement that much ended the wave of mass-emigration in has changed during these 150 years the 1930s was the depression. The cause both in Sweden and in the country the of the rise of the wave was the fact that emigrants travelled to, and in the way to people moved away from ‘political inca- get there. pacity’, religious intolerance and bad The text, it is stated, is intended times in Sweden that coincided with for both teachers who want to extend good times in America. their knowledge about emigration and As a main cause for the emigration others who are interested in the history the Institute brings forward the increase of emigration. It must be the Bank of of population in Sweden. In the section Knowledge that is intended here. The The Peace, the Vaccine and the Potatoes level of concept of the text and infor- a simplifi ed explanation is presented of mation in this section is so high that a the processes in the end of the 18th cen- student in for example grades 4-6 could tury and beginning of the 19th century hardly understand the content without that indeed led to a population increase a lot of help. Perhaps not even a stu- but also a structural transformation of dent in the later stages of grade school society. Sweden’s wars against Russia or junior high school. Some concepts, and Prussia in the 18th and 19th centu- like religious intolerance17, the Homestead ries are here compared to ‘adventures’. Act of 1862 and the depression after all In the next section the picture of demand some explanation, as do some Karl-Oskar and Kristina as the typical other words diffi cult for students this emigrants is problemized. The reader is age (lokalagent, dellikvid). A Att the same made aware that the novels by Vilhelm time it is possible to question if not Moberg describe a certain time of the most teachers know as much about mass-emigration era, the early part, 30 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 and a special group of the population clear here. The poor who could not that were drawn to emigrate at this afford the ticket to the USA perhaps particular time. The railroad and the chose to travel to Germany instead. steamship supplement the image of the In this section the discussion concerns horse and wagon, and the construction labor migration, seasonal labor, a high worker and the maid supplement the level of urbanization, women’s work and image of the settler. The text states: ‘To single migrants. The statistics around gain the true picture of the emigration this emigration is most uncertain. to America nothing should be removed The migration to Australia, Brazil, from the novels of Vilhelm Moberg but Canada, South Africa and St Petersburg instead many other images should be also gets some room here. This mate- added to them.’18 The section on the rial is almost clearer than the material emigrant agents shows the whole enter- on the USA in the sense that it gives prise that the emigration process turned specifi c reasons for the emigration. It into and the reader gets an idea of how is however mostly ‘pull-effects’, that several different steps of the journey had which attracted, that are brought for- to be undertaken before the emigrant ward. The reader gets to know what fi nally reached a destination. groups of people mostly went to these In the section Famous Swedish-Ame- countries, what they came to work with ricans the personal histories of men like and some about how assimilation in the Johan Olof Liedberg – the fi rst Swedish new country (or the repatriation to the gold-digger in California, Alexander homeland at the expense of the state) Samuel – the forgotten designer of the worked out. This concludes the mate- Coca-Cola bottle and Edwin ‘Buzz’ rial that is directed towards teachers. Aldrin Jr – the second man on the In Grades 4-6 the material and the moon, are presented. It is all about tasks are presented in a more easily men. comprehensible way, but also in a very The Emigration to Other Countries simplifi ed manner. Initially the word gives the reader a more diversifi ed picture migration is explained. The emigra- of the emigration from Sweden. Especi- tion to America, it is stated, is a part ally in the fi rst part about Europe the of Sweden’s history of migration just mass emigration to America is put into as today’s immigration to Sweden is a wider context. This short section deals another. The following pages are struc- with the migration to and from Sweden tured so that the reader gets a short from 1830 and on. This means that the in-depth glance into a few aspects, for era of mass migration can be seen as a example why people emigrated, how periodical intensifi cation and a turn of people travelled, where the emigrants the tide in the migration-exchange that lived in the new country etc. After each had been going on earlier in Europe and text there are a couple of questions for that was resumed later on. Also the fact discussion and some ‘research tasks’. In that different categories of people chose the questions for discussion the Institute to emigrate to different places is made has seized the opportunity to connect CECILIE AXELSSON 31 the emigration to present time and the were part of the extensive trading of students’ background. Some examples of that time and as an effect of this we questions are ‘Would you like to move can trace the fi rst visible emigrants to another country?’, ‘‘How would it from Sweden.’19 Here the difference in feel to leave relatives and friends?’, and documentation is brought up; the fact ‘How has travelling from Sweden to that the emigration to the USA is well America changed from the middle of documented while the Vikings at best the 19th century to today?’. The ‘rese- only left rune-stones, is pointed out. arch tasks’ mainly involve looking at The next section is more person- the map and drawing routes of travel or oriented and shows examples of three fi nding the states and areas where most famous emigrants – Gustav Unonius, Swedes moved. After the section on the Peter Cassel and Erik Jansson – and their ‘America-trunk’ the children are asked different reasons for leaving Sweden. to think up what they would pack in The sometimes highly colored letters such a trunk, and so on. they sent home to Sweden attracted Another connection to the present many followers. After this the next sec- is the section on Swedish place names tion deals with Swedish culture in Ame- in the USA. This means getting closer rica and the students get to know a little to the question of what imprints the about how many of Swedish ancestry emigration from Sweden made in the are estimated to live in the USA today, USA. A post-stamp from Upsala, Minn a little about the multi cultural USA illustrates the section. Several of the sec- and a little about how the Swedes tried tions on these pages have a picture for to preserve their own culture through illustration. churches, organisations, sports clubs and The women get a section of their newspapers. Today, it is stated, much of own. Here the focus is on the unmar- this culture has disappeared but it is ried women that emigrated to the still possible to visit Swedish churches, major cities to work as maids. There is read a Swedish newspaper and celebrate a comparison of the situation they left Lucia in the Swedish communities. in Sweden and the situation they met in The ‘research task’ after this section is the new society. a self-evident connection to our society The two following sections a bit today (but perhaps a diffi cult task for a unexpectedly deal with The Adventure of student in grades 4-6?): ‘How do the New Sweden and The Viking Era. There immigrants to Sweden today maintain is a leap between the maids in Chicago their culture’? at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries The section Not only America sup- and the Delaware of the 17thcentury. In plements the concentration on the the section about the Viking age the emigration to the USA. Here Canada, Institute wants to point out the fact Australia, Brazil and Argentina are that already in this era Swedes left their mentioned. The fact that the number of homes to emigrate but that the journeys emigrants to these places was so small then were to the East: ‘The Viking raids seems to be the reason why this emigra- 32 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 tion does not get more space. The great Notes emigration to Denmark and Germany is 1 Emigranten, Organ för Emigrantinstitutets Vänner och Svenska Emigrantinstitutet, Växjö mentioned as the largest one besides the 2003 (my translation)2 Beijbom, Ulf (ed) Utvan- emigration to America. Here seasonal drarnas Hus – The House of Emigrants – En kort workers and labor migrants are discer- historik om emigrationsinstitutet – A presentation of the Emigrant Institute, Växjö (1985) p 13, (my nible. These emigrants are called ‘our translation) forgotten emigrants’. In fact they were 3 Beijbom: 3. almost 400,000. 4 Karlsson, Klas-Göran ’Historiedidaktik och The material is concluded with letters historievetenskap – ett spänningsfyllt förhål- lande’ in Historiedidaktik (red) Christer Kar- from America and excerpts from diaries legärd & Klas-Göran Karlsson Studentlitteratur, whereby students can get really close to Lund (1997)p 12. the people who emigrated to the other 5 All fi nancial data from Svenska Emigrantin- stitutet Verksamheten 2002, Utvandrarnas Hus, side of the Atlantic Ocean. Växjö 6 Interview with Ulf Beijbom 2003-12-16, unpublished 7 Winberg, Christer Folkökning och prole- tarisering. Kring den sociala strukturomvan- dlingen på Sveriges landsbygd under den agrara revolutionen, Bo Cavefors Bokförlag, Lund (1977) p 268. 8 Winberg f 9 Winberg p 269, Magnusson, Lars Sveriges Ekonomiska Historia Prisma, Stockholm (1997) p 203, 209-211. 10 Magnusson:308 11 Magnusson f (my translation) 12 http://www.swemi.nu/kunskapsbanken (2004-01-13) 13 For a discussion on migration as a large pattern and streams of migration as waves limited in time and space, see Sassen, Saskia Gäster och främlingar, Daidalos, Göteborg (1996) 14 www.swemi.nu. This analysis is based on the information and material provided via this page on 2004-01-13. All citations and examples are translated by me. 15http://www.swemi.nu/bibliografi (2004-01-13) 16http://www.swemi.nu/bibliografi (2004-01-13) 17 In the text the Swedish term ’ofördragsam- het’ is used for ‘intolerance’, an archaic word 18 http://www.swemi.nu/kunskapsbanken (2004-01-13) 19 http://www.swemi.nu/for (2004-01-13) Immigration to Sweden: Success or Failure?
Jan Ekberg
How immigration affects the welfare state is often a question in political debate and among the public. Will immigration be a contribution or a burden? How the welfare system is affected depends mainly on the immigrants age structure and to what extent immigrants are integrated on the labour market. The age structure among immigrants is more favourable than among natives. The immigrants have usually a low proportion old people and a high proportion at ages where you usually are on the labour market. Between 1950 and 1980 immigration made an overall positive contribution to the welfare state, when there was high employment. Since then their labour market position has deteriorated. Therefore their use of public transfers has increased and at the same time their contribution to the tax system has decreased. So, nowadays they are a burden on the welfare system. However, the situation can change. If the employment rate among immigrants can be raised to the same level as natives then the immigrants will again be net contributors to the welfare system.
Introduction and the second generation immigrants During the post-war years the number of amounts to nearly 1.9 millions indivi- immigrants in Sweden increased rapidly. duals. This is 20 per cent of the total In 1940 the proportion of foreign-born population in Sweden. persons within the total population of Major changes can be seen in immi- the country only amounted to 1 per gration patterns. Until the mid-1970s cent. The corresponding proportion immigration was primarily a matter of in the beginning of this millennium labour force immigration mostly from is nearly 12 per cent that is somewhat Europe. There were also small groups more than 1 million individuals. About of refugees from Eastern Europe that 50 per cent of the foreign born indivi- arrived at the end of the 1950s and duals living in Sweden today have aqui- 1960s A relatively large number of red Swedish citizenship. Moreover, there these immigrants found their way to is a growing group of so-called second the manufactoring sector as blue-collar generation immigrants; that is, children workers. The manufacturing sector in born in Sweden with at least one parent Sweden was able to expand during the born abroad. This group amounts to 1950s and the 1960s with the help of more than 800,000 individuals today. immigrant labour force. According to Thus, the total number of the fi rst the 1970 census about 90 per cent of 34 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 foreign-born persons living in Sweden many ways. There may be effects on the were born in Europe. In general, it can markets. Immigration may have impacts be said that from the late 1940s to the on relative prices and on employment mid 1970s there was a strong connec- opportunities for natives. Native groups tion between annual immigration and which are substitutes to immigrant the labour market. Large number of labour force may lose and native groups immigrants arrived when there was a which are complements may benefi t great demand for labour in the Swedish due to immigration. However estima- economy and the numbers dropped tions from many countries show that when the demand decreased, see Ekberg these effects probably have been rather (1983) and Wadensjö (1973). negligible see eg Borjas (1994) and After 1975 the character of immi- Ekberg (1999). Besides there may also gration has changed. The proportion be effects through the publicly fi nanced of refugees and ‘tied movers’ (relatives redistribution of incomes. It was during of already admitted immigrants) has the post-war period that the major increased and the proportion of labour components of the Swedish welfare force immigrants has decreased. Immi- state were developed. An important task gration of labour force was basically for the welfare state is to redistribute stopped in 1972 for people born out- income among different groups in the side the Nordic countries. The door was population in order to make incomes opened to refugees and asylum-seekers and living conditions more even. How from European and non-European public expenditure as part of gross countries. The connection between national product (GNP) has changed demand for labour in Sweden and over time is an approximative measure immigration weakened. At the same of the changing importance of the wel- time a great many of the former labour- fare state. In the late 1940s public sector force immigrants have returned home. expenditure corresponded to about 25 Therefore the composition of the immi- per cent of GNP. This increased to more grant population living in Sweden has than 40 per cent in 1970 and to about changed. In 2000 about 60 per cent of 60 per cent in 1990, see Ministry of foreign-born persons living in Sweden Finance 1992. Since then the level has were born in Europe. stabilized. The overall immigration pattern has The public sector can redistribute been about the same in most other incomes between immigrants and nati- immigrant countries in Europe. Up to ves. The direction of this distribution the mid 70s most of the immigrants depends on whether the immigrants were labour force immigrants. Since make more/less use of the public sector then the proportion of refugees and than what they contribute to the system relatives has increased and many of in taxes. If the immigrants contribute them were born outside Europe. more/less in taxes than what they recieve Immigration may affect the income from the public sector there are positive/ conditions of the native population in negative income effects for the native JAN EKBERG 35 population. Positive income effects for welfare system has increased and their natives mean that their disposable inco- contribution to the tax system has mes increase. Negative income effects decreased. In political debate and among for natives mean that their disposable the public there is today a fear that this incomes decrease. will reduce the disposable incomes for There are two factors that are of spe- natives. Weak labour market integration cial interest concerning how the public among immigrants and thereby negative sector redistributes incomes between effects for the public budget probably immigrants and natives. The fi rst is the also creates tensions between natives difference in age structure between the and immigants which have implications groups. The other is the employment for the political system. situation for immigrants compared to natives. The age structure among immi- Immigrants in the labour market grants differs from natives. Immigrants There have been great changes in the have a higher proportion in economic employment situation for immigrants active ages (age 20-60) and a low pro- during the postwar period. The con- portion old people. This has been the clusion from many studies, eg Waden- case during the whole postwar period. sjö (1973), Ohlsson (1975), Ekberg Heavy public expenditures are directed (1983), Scott (1999), Bevelander (2000) to old people (pensions, healthcare, and Hammarstedt (2001) is that the service for pensioners and handicap- employment situation for immigrants ped). Large public expenditures are also in Sweden was good up to the mid- directed to unemployed and individuals 1970s. There was full employment for with a weak position on the labour both natives and immigrants. During market. The expenditures during one long periods the immigrants´ degree of year are fi nanced by taxes the same year. employment (their employment rate)1 The tax burden is mainly carried by even exceeded that of the natives. This employed people. In what direction the was especially the case for immigrant public sector redistributes incomes bet- women. Moreover, a large number of ween immigrants and natives is mainly employed immigrant women worked a combined effect of the immigrants full time, while most of the employed age composition and their position on native Swedish women worked part the labour market relative to that of the time. Therefore, the annual work natives. income per capita was high among the The age structure in the immigrant immigrants. The occupational mobility group changes very slow over time. among these early immigrants was also However, there have been great changes about the same as among natives, see over time in the immigrants position Ekberg (1990 and 1996). on the labour market. During the last At the end of the 1970s, the labour 25 years the immigrants labour market market integration among the new situation in Sweden has deteriorated. As immigrants began to deteriorate and a consequence their use of the public since then the tendency has been strengt- 36 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 hened. A great number of refugees that despite the goal for the Swedish immi- arrived during the 1980s never entered gration policy to integrate immigrants the labour market. This occurred des- (also refugees) to about the same extent pite the boom in the Swedish economy as natives in the labour market. This goal in the 1980s, despite the fact that the has not been achieved. We do not know new immigrants were well educated and all the reasons for this development.
Table 1 Index for employment rate at the age 16-64 years. Stardardised for age. Foreign born living in Sweden. Index for native born is 100*.
Men Women Both sexes Index for work income per capita age 16-64*** 1950 - *** -*** 120 -*** 1960 100 110 105 -*** 1967 -*** -*** 110 122 1978 95 101 98 99 1987 90 88 89 -*** 1991 84 83 83 75 1994 77 74 75 62 1999 78 75 76 64 2003 80 76 78 -*** Sources: Ekberg 1983, processed data from 1950, 1960 Swedish census and from 1987, 1991, 1994, 1999 and 2001. Data from the income register in 1991, 1994, and 1999.
*) The interpretation of the index can be expres- **) Even including individuals at the age 16-64 sed as follows: In 1960 the index was 105. That with zero work income. There is not enough means that the employment rate among the for- information to standardise for age and for work eign born was 5% higher than the employment income. rate among the natives. In 1994 the employ- ment rate among the foreign born was 25% ***) No information. lower than among the natives. For the years 1950, 1960 and 1967 the fi gures refer to foreign citizens. Most of the foreign born living in Sweden in these years had foreign citizenship.
It is to be noted that the tendency has Sweden and Denmark have very high been the same in many other immigrant unemployment rate among immigrants. countries. However there are large dif- In countries like United States, Austra- ferences between the countries in the lia and Canada the unemployment rate immigrants labour market situations. among imigrants is about the same as Investigations for the OECD-coun- for natives, see OECD 1999, 2001. tries show that especially Netherlands, JAN EKBERG 37 The reasons may be discrimination, tural background of these immigrants changes in the Swedish economy with which may contribute to the result that increased demand for ‘Sweden specifi c’ their human capital has been poorly knowledge (eg the Swedish language) to adapted to the Swedish labour market. It succeed on the labour market or mista- seems to be a reasonable hypothesis that kes in the Swedish integration policy. a combination of structural changes in During the 1980s and up to 1991 there the Swedish economy and increasingly was still full employment in the native distant ethnic and cultural background population. During the recession from among the immigrants contribute to 1992 onwards the immigrants´ labour their diffi culties on the labour market. market situation, relative to that of nati- 3) Mistakes in the Swedish integra- ves, deteriorated even further. However, tion policy on immigrants. it seems as if at the end of the 1990s there was also a small improvement of Integration policy the immigrants labour market situation. Let us in the following concentrate on A summary of the development is given the Swedish integration policy on immi- in Table 1. Changes in work income grants. In the last year there has been per capita among immigrants follow the an intensive public debate about this changes in their employment rate. policy. The issue of labour market inte- gration of refugees was one of the largest Explanations questions in the political debate before There are probably many reasons for the Swedish Parliamentary election in the worse labour market position of 2002. Let us look at some components immigrants. In Swedish research mainly in the integration policy. The fi rst one is the following explanations have been institutional changes in the integration mentioned. policy. The second one is a strategy to 1) The risk of discrimination on the relocate refugees to different regions in labour market has increased when the Sweden. immigration pattern changed from an immigration from Europe to an immi- In the middle of the 1980s the gration from countries outside Europe. responsibility for receiving refugees was 2) Structural changes in the Swe- changed from AMS (Swedish National dish economy made diffi culties for Labour Policy Board) to the Swedish immigrants to enter the labour market. Migration Board. When AMS had the Changes from an industrialised to a responsibilty the focus was on labour post industrial economy made higher market integration of refugees. The demands on skills and knowledge that Migration Board however had another are specifi c for the immigrant country philosophy once they took over. Greater which in turn reduce the immigrants emphasis was placed on social integra- opportunities on the labour market. tion and that refugees fi rst must pass This development has run parallel with special educational programs in Sweden the increasingly distant ethnic and cul- before they were allowed to enter the 38 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 labour market. The time between arrival that arrived to Sweden in 1993 and to Sweden and the possibility to enter 1994, carried out at Växjö university the labour market was increased. Rooth revealed that the level of of integration (1999) showed that this waiting time in the labour market, varied immensely had a strong negative effects on the dependent on where they were relocated refugees long run opportunities on the see Ekberg (2004). The group of refu- labour market. gees arriving from Bosnia in 1993 and The results stress the importance of 1994 was very large and were relocated rapid contact with the labour market to about 250 of in total 289 municipali- rather than participate in Swedish edu- ties in Sweden. cational programmes. In many respects Let us look at some examples which the most effective way to acquire show the extremly uneven regional ‘Sweden specifi c’knowledges is probably employment labour market situation to participate in the labour market. for the group. One exemple is the the Moreover a new strategy of relo- so called small business area consisting cation of refugees was introduced in of the municipalities Gnosjö, Gislaved, the middle of the 1980s, the so-called Vaggeryd and Värnamo in the west ‘Whole Sweden strategy’. The strategy part of the county Småland. There are was, above all, in place from the middle almost 100,000 inhabitants in these of the 1980s to the middle of the 1990s four municipalities. The economy in but was in practice to some extent also the area is to great extent based on after this period. The aim of the strategy small-scale industry. The unemploy- was to relocate newly arrived refugees ment in the area is usually low. Another over the entire country. area is Malmö municipality with about By avoiding demographic concen- 250,000 inhabitants. The economy has tration, immigrants were expected to undergone structural changes during have better opportunity of learning the last 20 years with high unemploy- the Swedish language which in turn ment. Both these areas recieved many was expected to improve their chances Bosnians. Let us look at the situation in of gaining employment. However in 1997 and 1999. In 1999 the Bosnian practice the strategy worked in another group has lived 5-6 years in Sweden. way. Refugees were often allocated to The employment rate for the years different regions based on availability of 1997 and 1999 is shown in table 2. accomadation and not on opportunities Already in 1997 the employment rate to fi nd employment. In regions with no for Bosnian men in the small business jobs there were plenty of accomadations area exceeded 75 per cent in the age 20- because of natives had moved out from 59. This was about the same level as for these regions. Edin, Fredriksson & native men in average in Sweden. Also Åslund (2000) found that that earnings Bosnian women in this area has a good and employment level among refugees labour market position. However the had worsened as a result of this strategy. situation in Malmö was very gloomy. A longitudinal study of Bosnians The employment rate for Bosnian JAN EKBERG 39 men was less than 15 per cent and for gees that arrived during the 1980s never women the situation was even worse. entered the labour market. This has For Bosnian men in average in Sweden occured despite the 1980s boom in the the employment rate was about 30 Swedish economy, despite that 1980s per cent. Between 1997 and 1999 the immigrants were better educated than labour market situation for Bosnians former immigrants and despite the gradually improved. However the regio- government´s goal for the integration nal differences remained and in Malmö policy to integrate immigrants (also the situation was still very gloomy. In refugees) to about the same extent as contrast in the small business area the natives in the labour market. In the employment rate for Bosnians now has 1990s the tendency strengthed even reached levels which is probably closed more and for many immigrant groups to theoretical maximum. More than 90 the labour market situation nowadays is per cent of men and more than 80 per desperate. cent of women were employed on the In an international comparison the labour market. This was much more immigrants in Sweden has nowadays a higher than for natives on the average very high unemployment rate. Besides in Sweden. the immigrants labour market inte- It is likely that another form of allo- gration differs a lot between different cation of refugees together with a system immigrant groups and between diffe- to transfer knowledge to different regi- rent geographical areas in Sweden. ons how to recieve refugees to achieve There are probably many explanati- rapid contact with the labour market ons for the development. Among others would have better integreted refugees on there are many evidences that there have the Swedish labour market in the 1980s been mistakes in the Swedish integra- and the 1990s. tion policy. Bad labour market integra- tion among immigrants probably also Conclusions creates tensions between natives and For a long time during the postwar immigrants which have implications for period there was full employment for the political system. both immigrants and natives. Up to mid The effects of the deterioration of 1970s immigrants were well established the employment situation of the immi- on the labour market. This was the case grants are that the they nowadays use not only for labour force immigrants the public welfare system to a much but also for refugees who arrived in larger extent than before. How the Sweden at the end of the war, at the end public sector redistributes incomes bet- of 1950s and at the end of the 1960s. ween immigrants and natives is often At the the end of the 1970s there the matter in the political debate and were the fi rst signs of a worse labour among the public. There is often a fear market situation among immigrants that immigrants heavy use of the welfare and since then the tendency has been system may reduce the disposable inco- strengthened. A great number of refu- mes for natives. In this respect the situa- 40 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 tion has changed a lot over time. We We can say that the present price for the showed in table 1 that up to mid 1970´s bad labour market integration of immi- the immigrants employment rate was grants is about 30-40 SEK billions per the same or in some periods even higher year. So, it is important also for natives than in the native population. The that immigrants are better integrated immigrant population also had a favou- into the labour market. rable age composition (a smaller frac- A very important issue for the future tion of old age people than natives). It is the labour market position for the can be expected that in a situation where second generation immigrants. In the the immigrants both have a good labour last years some investigations have been market situation and a favourable age conducted in Sweden, see eg. Ekberg structure the immigrants contribute (1997), Vilhelmsson (2000) and Öster- more to the public sector, through the berg (2000). These studies show that tax system, than what they recieve from second generation immigrants who are this sector. The difference is allocated to born before 1970 have about the same the natives. This happened in the 1950s, employment rate and about the same 1960s and the 1970s and gave rise a work income as natives in the same positive income effect for natives see age groups and with both parents born Wadensjö (1973) and Ekberg (1983). In in Sweden. These second generation the beginning of the postwar period it is immigrants are children to those who likely that the positive income effect was immigrated in the 1950s and the 1960s very small. The public sector was small and who were well integrated into the at that time and its ability to redistribute labour market. The pattern seems to be incomes between different parts of the the same for their children. However population was small. When the public the situation is probably more pessimis- sector expanded its redistribution ability tic for later immigation waves. Many increased. In the beginning of the 1970s immigrants in these waves were not the yearly positive income effect pro- integrated in the labour market. Recent bably amounted to 1-2 per cent of the studies indicate that the same pattern Swedish GNP. The situation changed exists for their children born in Sweden when the employment situation for the see Ekberg & Rooth (2003). immigrants deteriorated. At the end of the 80s the yearly positive income effect disappeared, see Gustafsson (1990). Nowadays there is a negative income for natives that is to say that the immigrants contribute less to the tax system than what they recieve from the public sector. At present the yearly negative income effect is 1-2 per cent of the gross natio- nal product that is to say approximately 30-40 SEK billions see Ekberg (1999). JAN EKBERG 41 References tion Quarterly Review 28: 181 - 199. Bevelander P. 2000. Immigrant integra- Hammarstedt M. 2001. Making a living tion and structural change in Sweden 1970- in a new country. PhD thesis. Acta Wexion- 1995. Lund Studies in Economic History no ensia no 9. Växjö. 15. Lund. Ministry of Finance. 1992. The medium Borjas GJ. 1994. The economics of term survey of the Swedish economy. Allmänna immigration. Journal of Economic Litera- förlaget. Stockholm ture. 32: 1667-1717. OECD. 1999. Trends in international Edin P-A, Fredriksson P & Åslund O migration. Sopemi. Paris. (2000) Settlement policies and the eco- OECD. 2001.Trends in international nomic success of immigrants. In Åslund O migration. Sopemi. Paris. Health, Immigration and Settlement Policies. Ohlsson R. 1975. Invandrarna på arbets- PhD thesis. Economic Studies no 53. Upp- marknaden. Doktorsavhandling. (Immi- sala. grants on the labour market PhD thesis). Ekberg J. 1983. Inkomsteffekter av Ekonomisk-historiska institutionen. Lund. invandring. Doktorsavhandling (Income Rooth D-O. 1999. Refugee immigrants effects due to immigration. PhD thesis). in Sweden. Educational investments and Summary in English. Lund Economic Stud- labour market integration. PhD thesis. ies no 27. Lund.Lund. Lund Economic Studies no 84. Lund Ekberg J. 1990. Immigrants - their eco- Scott K. 1999. The immigrant experi- nomic and social mobility. In: Persson I (ed) ence: Changing Employment and Income Generating Equality in the welfare state. The Pattern in Sweden. Lund Studies in Eco- Swedish Experience. Norwegian University nomic History no 9. Lund. Press. Oslo. Wadensjö E. 1973. Immigration och Ekberg J. 1996. Labour market career samhällsekonomi. Doktorsavhandling. among young fi nnish immigrants in (Immigration and Economy. PhD thesis). Sweden. International Migration Quarterly Nationalekonomiska institutionen. Lund. Review 34:371-384. Vilhelmsen R. 2002. Wages and unem- Ekberg J. 1999. Immigration and the ployment of immigrants and natives in public sector: Income effects for the native Sweden. PhD Thesis. Dissertation Series no population in Sweden. Journal of Population 56. Swedish Institute of Social Research. Economics 12: 411-430. Stockholm. Ekberg J. 2004. Kan invandrare under- Österberg T. 2000. Economic perspec- lätta försörjningen av en åldrande befolk- tives on immigrants and intergenerational ning? Ekonomisk Debatt 32 (4): 39-49 transmissions. PhD thesis. Economic Stud- Ekberg J & Rooth D-O. 2003. Unem- ies no 102. Gothenburg. ployment and earnings for second gen- eration immigrants-ethnic background and Notes parent composition. Journal of Population 1 The degree of employment in a population- group is usually measured as the employment Economics 16: 787-814. rate in the age 16-64 or sometimes in the age 20- Gustafsson B. 1990. Public sector trans- 59. The employment rate is the part in percent fers and income taxes among immigrants in an age class which is on the labour market. and natives in Sweden. International Migra- Internal Migration and Emigration- a Micro Historical Perspective
Solveig Fagerlund
In this article I am trying to show what contribution a micro historical perspective on migration in nineteenth-century Sweden can give to an interdisciplinary discussion on today’s migration. International migration is a matter of interest for most scientifi c dis- ciplines. The perspective on the study of migration, as well as the methods and consequ- entially, the dominant theories and the way of interpreting result differs depending on if it is an anthropological, a demographical or a political research. Interdisciplinary efforts are necessary and have been made.1 What contribution in an interdisciplinary discussion can a historical perspective give and how far back shall we go?
The political scientist James F Hollifi eld, starting point in describing migration in thinks that is important to put, what he, Western Europe. In her excellent study, somewhat doubtfully, calls the immi- she challenges the common picture of a grant crisis into historical perspective. sedentary rural society. People all over What he means is that the international Europe was on the move, she writes, migration have led to political crises in “and where and why they travels tells us many countries and perhaps could be a good bit about the past and about the seen as a threat to the sovereignty and pressures and processes that produced integrity of nation-states. His historical the world with which we are familiar”.3 perspective goes as far back as the treaty When we talk about international of Westphalia in 1648 from were Max migration of course we have to deal Weber has formulated his defi nition of with the nation-state, but not only sovereignty that a state can exist only if states have tried to control their bor- it has monopoly of the legitimate use of ders. Looking at the Swedish history we force in a given territorial area. From can mention the medieval city laws of this it would follow that the ability or Stockholm from ca 1350 which stated inability to control its borders is the cor- that the municipal council should have nerstone of the sovereignty of a state.2 6 councillors, of whom half could be The historian Lesley Page Moch also chosen among the German-speaking takes the period around 1650 as her burghers. This law was changed in 1471 SOLVEIG FAGERLUND 43 when the Germans were forbidden to focused on emigration to America. participate in the city council. This time Some studies have been carried through the question of citizenship was regar- on emigration to other countries and on ding the city elite. More often it was the the seasonal labour migration between citizenship of the poor that was put into Sweden and Germany and between dif- question. ferent regions in Sweden. The largest Some economist and demographers migration movement during most part formulate the so-called immigration of the nineteenth century, however, crisis in terms of fear in the receiving took place within regions. Not only in countries with highly developed welfare Sweden, but also in most of pre-indus- states, that immigrants will become an trial Europe, there existed considerable unfair burden on the public purse.4 This local migration that was ‘an integral fear is not something new. part of rural folkways, permeating During early modern times and las- systems of family and marriage’ and ‘a ting into modern times, local authorities key element of the life cycle for rural have tried hard to control their borders people.’5 This local mobility consisted from the entry of poor people. To be mostly of unmarried farm hands and permitted to beg in a certain town, you young families that moved within the often had to belong to it, otherwise you parish borders or between neighbouring could be banished. From an anthropolo- parishes. Although the gross migration gical or a sociological view, the immigra- was extensive, the net migration was tion ‘crisis’ can be formulated as ‘fear of of minor importance.6 The question the other’, or fear of the unknown and of why servants moved so often bet- those who are different. This fear is not ween different masters has been raised. something new either. In the medieval Ann Kussmal has tried to explain it by and early modern towns, certain ethnic the words: “Because nothing stopped groups and certain professions where them”.7 looked upon as dishonest and therefore Even if this is not a suffi cient expla- the people who held these professions nation, it is worth considering these were not welcome to live in the towns. words. In a world where improved Thus the construction of the other was modes of transportation, as well as the built upon the defi nition of honour. images that are transmitted by means of This early construction of the other has modern communications, have shorte- survived into modern times and can in ned the social distance between sending some way explain why the gypsies and and receiving societies, anthropologists the tinkers have been seen as dishonest, have begun to look upon population undesirable and also why many of them movements in terms of transnationa- still live as nomads in the country of lism. Transnationalism is defi ned as a their birth. social process whereby migrants operate in social fi elds that transgress geograp- Most of the migration studies about hic, political, and cultural borders. From Sweden in the nineteenth century have a transnational perspective, migrants are 44 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 not uprooted, but move freely back and authorities to move, was articulated in forth across national borders. The immi- the, since then, well used slogan ‘Vi fl ytt grants are involved in the nation build- int’ (We’re not moving). ing of more than one state, thus national Whether it concerns the political identities are not only blurred, but also and economic control of a territory, the negotiated or constructed.8 Does this question of national identities and the mean that the international migration fear of the other, or how migrants expe- of today and the national migration rience community, and how the labour in the nineteenth century have more market infl uences the migration fl ow, similarities than differences? the examples above shows that most Like other ‘developed’ countries, disciplines can benefi t from a historical Sweden has a history of times of perspective in the study of migration. migration, times when immigrants The object of my study is Stensjö vil- where recruited for industry and times lage, situated in the parish of Döderhult of restricted immigrant laws. This in the county of Kalmar in South East highlights a problem concerning the Sweden.11 During the fi rst half of the development of theory mentioned by 1900th century, the population rose Charles B Keely, a social demographer. steadily. In 1830 the population was Voluntary migration is usually used 130, in the 1870s it reached its peak of synonymously with terms like economic 180 people. From that on it decreased migration contrasted to forced or invo- steadily, and in 1950 there were only 70 luntary migration caused by man-made people left in the village.12 or natural disasters. 9 But when is migra- tion voluntary and when is it forced? The study of migration through history reveals that the intentions of the authorities are not always the same as the migrants. When the industrial nations in Europe suffered labour shor- tage, foreign workers were recruited, but when the need was fi lled, the migration continued. The Swiss novelist Max Frisch, has formulated the words well suited for the development “We asked for workers but human beings came”.10 During the 1960s economic life in Sweden underwent large structural rationalizations, which involved inter- nal migration from the northern to the southern parts of the country. The reaction from the people in Norrland, who felt that they were forced by the SOLVEIG FAGERLUND 45 Between 1861 and 1892 not less of the eighteenth century the peasant than 20 per cent of the population was family at the freehold came in posses- on the move. This meant that on an sion of the farm but remained in sub- average fi fteen persons moved out from ordinate position to the noble man for the village, fi fteen moved into the village at least another hundred years as half and fi ve persons moved within the vil- tenants and half freeholders.14 The econ- lage every year.13 Many of those people omic bonds between the tenant and the were young farmhands, but there were nobleman in terms of obligation to work also a number of married farm workers at the manor and hold horse and carry and their families. Most of the people would have meant many opportunities moved within the parish, but during to establish social networks across the some periods the migration to and from parish border. To some extent, and for the neighbouring parish Misterhult was some time ‘the community’ for people almost as high, and sometimes even in Stensjö, could have been Virbo and higher than the one within the parish. its surroundings to a higher extent than This could of course be easily explai- Döderhult’s parish. ned by proximity. Stensjö is situated From the end of the eighteenth by the parish border to Misterhult. The century, the population in Stensjö rose migration numbers, however, also raise and the farms were divided. The free- questions about the meaning of com- hold farm, although divided, remained munity. The parish, with the church at principally in the possession of the its centre, is in many ways looked upon same family until the beginning of the as the natural community. The parishes twentieth century. The farm owned by in Sweden derive from the twelfth and Hammarskjöld was also divided and thirteenth century. Their borders cor- parts of it sold to tenants. Looking at respond with the spiritual communities the two parts separated, it turns out that from these days, and also with the at the freehold farms were not so much the contemporary borders of the landed affected by migration as the farms and properties. During the medieval and cottages originally owned by the nobi- early modern time, however, landed lity. In this part of what in the nine- properties were exchanged, while the teenth century had become a village, parish, and consequently the adminis- the properties were exchanged more trative borders remain the same. often, the tenants, the farmhands and In the sixteenth century there existed workers moved more often. In this part two farms in Stensjö, one a freehold, the there also started small industries. One other in royal possession. In the middle sawmill and one brickyard were started of the seventeenth century both farms in the 1860s but were closed before were in the possession of the noble 1900. These industries affected the net family Hammarskjöld at Virbo, not migration between 1860 and 1893. So, more than fi ve kilometers as the crow the socio-economic structure in terms of fl ies from Stensjö, but on the other side possession of land had a high infl uence of the parish border. In the beginning on the migration fl ow.15 46 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 This does not mean that the parochial states, that immigrants will become an community was obsolete in all respects. unfair burden on the public purse.’19 In religious, administrative and econo- The difference is that the borders have mic meaning it was very important. changed, from parochial, to national. It was among other things responsible To the individuals it implies today, as for the poor relief. In the nineteenth then, that their opportunities to support century, the Swedish farmers played themselves are and were reduced. an important role in the parish board. At the end of the century, concur- In many ways they tried to get control rently with the declining rural economy, over the poor people in the parish. One increasing industrialization and urba- way was to stop immigration of poor nisation, as well as the extension of people.16 The legislation in the ninete- the railroads, internal migration (the enth century served the farmers’ and the moving from farm to farm) was repla- industries’ need of temporary labour, ced by immigration to the nearby city implying the freedom for the individual of Oskarshamn and more distant desti- to move wherever he or she chose to nations, like Stockholm and America. look for employment. This free move- Compared with the internal migration, ment was restricted for the poor by the the emigration to America from Stensjö domiciliary right - hemortsrätten, which was low. (41 persons between 1854 and meant that responsibility for the poor 1925) Yet in terms of net migration, rested on the parish where he or she had it was considerable, because it was been recently registered for a certain, young unmarried people, or families stipulated time. with many children that emigrated. The consequences of this legislation Together with the emigration from the for some poor people were that they rest of the parish, and county, it meant could be sent between parishes that that the recruitment base for young denied being the poor peoples proper farmhands that could move from farm domicile. For some poor, unhealthy to farm was reduced. The people that young persons, or unwedded mothers, emigrated from Stensjö were mostly the only solution was to be supported by farmhands, workers or sons and daugh- their old parents.17 One young man, Nils ters of crofters or tenants. Some of them Nilsson, with the notation ‘unhealthy’ in left Stensjö alone, but with the help of the catechetical meeting records, and his the catechetical records, we can see that sister, the unmarried mother Sara Lena they moved at the same time as siblings in Stensjö, moved away from home, as or other relatives, or with other people most young people did in the 1870s, from the place of their birth. Like the but came back and lived with their internal migration, the emigration to parents in the beginning of the 1880s.18 America took place mostly from the part The fear of the poor moving from parish of the villages that used to be owned by to parish in the nineteenth century is the nobility. similar to today’s’ fear in the receiving Borders are shaped and reshaped countries with highly developed welfare through history. Sometimes they cor- SOLVEIG FAGERLUND 47 respond to people’s needs and someti- Notes mes they serve as an obstacle to their 1 Caroline B. Brettell, James F. Hollifi eld., eds. 2000. Migration theory: talking across disciplines. movement. As Leslie Page Moch has Routledge. New York; London. stated, people in Europe have been 2 Brettell/Hollifi eld:141. crossing borders for a long time. In 3 Leslie Page Moch. 1992. Moving Europenas. nineteenth century Sweden farmers Migration in Western Europe since 1650. Indiana University press. recruited farmhands from across the 4 Brettell/Hollifi eld:139. parish borders that were shaped in the 5 Moch 1992:32, 59. Christer Lund “Servant thirteenth century. During the time migration in Sweden in the early nineteenth century” Journal of family history : studies in family, of industrialisation and the building of kinship and demography. Minneapolis: 53. the railroads, the industrial regions and 6 Lund:56. the cities recruited people from the rural 7 Börje Harnesk. 1990. Legofolk : drängar, pigor areas. Today transnational companies och bönder i 1700- och 1800-talens Sverige:164 ff (Ann Kussmaul.1981. ‘The ambiguous mobility recruit workers all over the world, yet of fram servants’ in Economic History Review, vol the national borders are in some parts XXXIV) the same as in the seventeenth century. 8 Brettell/Hollifi eld:104 ff 9 Brettell/ Hollifi eld: 50. In my opinion the international 10 Brettell/Hollifi eld:148 f. migration of today and the national 1111 Stensjö is partly owned and managed by migration in the nineteenth century the Royal Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities in Sweden, and the study is part of a have more similarities than differences. project fi nanced by the academy. Here I have tried to show that a 12 The regional archives in Vadstena: Kalmar micro historical study can contribute county, Döderhult’s parish, parish records 1861- to an understanding of today’s interna- 1935.The numbers from 1950 derives from Elisabeth Wennersten. The institute of Human tional migration. The Swedish parochial Geography, University of Stockholm. (Ongoing records, with their entries of people’s project) residents and movements, are well pre- 13 The numbers can be even higher, if we consider that there could be unrecorded cases. served from the end of the seventeenth 14 Göran Rosander. 1966. ‘Stensjö by i century. The records can serve as a key Döderhults socken’. Unpublished paper, Eli- to the understanding of the way people sabeth Wennersten. The institute of Human Geography, University of Stockholm. (Ongoing moved to certain places, how they project). responded to economical and legislative 15 Solveig Fagerlund. ‘Sociala förhållanden forces, and what consquences it had on och migration i Stensjö ca 1860-1930’. Unpu- themselves and to the sending and recei- blished manuscript. 16 Peter Aronsson.1992. Bönder gör politik. Det ving communities. lokala självstyret som social arena i tre smålandssock- nar, 1680-1850:221 ff. 17 Birgitta Jordansson. 1998. Den goda män- niskan från Göteborg. Genus och fattigvårdspolitik i det borgerliga samhällets framväx: 94-99. Eslöv 1998. 18 The regional archives in Vadstena: Kalmar county, Döderhult’s parish, parish records 1861- 1900. 19 Brettell/Hollifi eld:139. When Education meets Emigration: Slovene Women Intellectuals and Students Abroad
Irena Gantar Godina
In 1897, when Austrian authorities allowed women to enrol in almost any Austrian University, Slovene women also took this opportunity to study. Indeed, they were very few in number, not only because of their mentality, but because of the weaker fi nancial position of their families. The majority of Slovene women students decided to study at the traditional and cheaper Vienna University. Those who believed that the German environment was harmful for the preservation of Slovene national identity, decided to study in Slavic Prague where the Czech cultural and political activities made their South/Slavic sentiments even stronger. Slovene women students in Prague belonged to rather well-situated families, nationally awoken and deeply Slavic oriented. Slovene women students studied medicine, chemistry, philosophy, some enrolled in Academy of Arts and Academy of Music. Many of them became reputed scientists, cultural and artist workers abroad or at home.
‘Unfortunately, the truth is that we chy recognized people’s need for educa- are behindhand with the Protestants. tion rather late. But few years ago the distance was This was particularly true of the Slo- even larger. But we will catch up with venes. It was already in the sixteenth them, with God’s help we will…and century when the Slovene Protestants the Monarchy can look forward facing began to found Slovene elementary and a unique Catholic doctrine…’.1 The secondary schools, using regional idioms words of the Vienna University profes- as a teaching language, so very different sor Martini touched a very subtle issue, from the language of the landlords, the question of religion. But one could higher culture and education. Together apply his observation also to the com- with stressing the need for education in parison of school/educational policy of the mother tongue - although for reli- the Protestants and Catholics in general. gious reasons and for religious purposes While the Protestants in the nineteenth - they also clearly pointed out that the century supported general education Slovenes were always an important part and also the university education of of a greater Slavic family. Their endea- women, the Catholic Habsburg Monar- vours were twofold: on one hand one IRENA GANTAR GODINA 49 witnessed the fi rst attempt on Slovene schools. For the Slovenes it was a great grounds to bring education - in their opportunity to earn more money since own language - closer to a wider popu- they offered much better wages than the lation.2 Austrians as well as the opportunity to The tradition of Protestantism which live and work in the then largest inde- enabled schooling at all levels – also in pendent Slavic country.3 Alexander’s the Habsburg Monarchy and Slovenia educational reforms included also was one of its crown lands - to all the women’s education. Women were allo- inhabitants, regardless of sex or social wed to attend middle-schools, particu- strata, was not preserved. Even more, larly schools which might have enabled women in the Habsburg Monarchy them to study medicine. In Russia the were not permitted education the whole fi rst woman to graduate in medicine period from the end of sixteenth cen- was inaugurated in 1878 at the Uni- tury up to the very end of nineteenth versity of Petrograd. Indeed, they were century. The majority could gain only not allowed to take the doctor’s degree, elementary education, but many of they could become »only« graduate them remained without any education. doctors. Besides many of them had to It was even worse if women wished discontinue their studies because of the to enrol in the University. In some Russian-Turkish war (1877 to 1878), protestant countries it was already in where they had to nurse the wounded the middle of nineteenth century when soldiers. After the war they could come women were allowed to enrol to diffe- back to the University and complete rent university studies, i.e. in some Swiss their studies. cantons, in Scandinavian countries, in Anyhow, women in Russia could England and after 1870 even in Ger- have become doctors, but they could not many. The available study programmes take their doctor’s degree. On one hand for women slowly broadened; the last one might conclude that the Russian was the possibility for women to enrol model was a certain encouragement to in the Faculty of Medicine. other European authorities (countries) With reference to the study of medi- to – albeit very slowly – allow women’s cine by women, Russia in particular study of medicine. On the other hand should be mentioned. Women in Russia the lack of doctors in Western countries were allowed to enrol in the Faculty of motivated many Russian women medi- Medicine already in the 1860s, after cines to seek employment there, mostly school reforms were taken. Tsar Alexan- in Switzerland, which might have had der II. introduced social and political hastened the process of giving women reforms in Russia, including the edu- the rights to enrol to the Faculty of cation reforms. Thus the authorities Medicine. began to propagate the importance of Indeed, in the nineteenth century education, and many, particularly Aus- women in all European countries trian gymnasium professors were invited were facing diffi culties in realising to teach at the new founded middle- their wishes to study, some earlier some 50 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 later. Tradition of Protestantism, which political gathering or meeting. Although allowed women schooling, continued they have submitted numerous petitions also in nineteent century, and among to cancel the prohibition, they were not the fi rst countries allowing women to successful. enrol in the University, was Switzerland. Unlike to other European countries Already in the 1840s, there were two women in Austria have been facing female students at the Faculty of Arts. various obstacles on their way to study, Studying medicine was last allowed, besides legal impediments also oppo- but the fi rst Swiss woman student fi nis- sition of the then society. Austria was hed her studies already in 1871. Swiss one of the last countries to acknowledge women could enrol to study medicine women’s rights to study. One of the in Zurich, Geneve, Bern, Basel and fi rst steps the authorities recognized some other universities, also in Catholic to women was in the years of 1840 to regions. 1853 when they allowed the education Also women in Scandinavian coun- of women teachers.4 In 1869 they allo- tries were given the rights to study wed women, i.e. wives of postmen, to rather early. In Sweden, for example, be educated in the profession of their women were allowed to enrol already in husbands. Thus in Slovenia, the fi rst 1870, fi rst female doctor of medicine as independent post-woman passed all her early as in 1888; fi rst female historian exams in 1872. She had entered a new took doctor’s degree already in 1883 at era in employing women in post jobs; at Uppsala Faculty of Arts. In the same year the end of 1918 there were already 683 fi rst female doctors of laws graduated. women post offi cers. In 1904 the fi rst Since 1882 and 1884 respectively, also Slovene woman account offi cer began Norwegian women faced no obstacles to work, and in the same year the fi rst to enrol in universities. The fi rst female Slovene woman fi nished her education doctor of medicine graduated in 1894. at the Vienna Commercial Academy. Social conditions of women studying Anyhow, studying at the University was at the universities were very similar in still very far. Denmark, and up to 1901 there were This was also a period when the more than 200 women students matri- whole generation of Slovene women culated at all Scandinavian universities. were facing not only entirely general In Germany Victoria-Lyceum was women’s issues. For the whole period founded in 1868 and it followed the from 1848 onwards one could follow programme of the University. When Slovene intellectuals’ activity and endea- the girls’ gymnasium in Berlin and vours to establish a Slovene University, Leipzig were founded in 1893, German particularly to avoid studying at the women were given the possibility to then only available non-Slovene, i.e. continue their studies at the University. German Universities within Austrian Along with the given rights to study the state. The fact is that all up to 1895 the political rights were cancelled. German majority of Slovene secondary school women were forbidden to attend any students enrolled at the universities of IRENA GANTAR GODINA 51 Vienna and Graz where the infl uence Among these exeptions there was no of German language and culture was Slovene student. After being allowed inevitable. Along with endeavours for to attend the lectures, they were not Slovene University the struggle of the allowed to be imatriculated, i.e. to be whole generation of Austrian women enrolled in the University. They could for the right to study continued. For only have been given the attendance/ Slovene women intellectuals the domes- frequency for fi xed lecture or lectures, tic and foreign milieux were not the without receiving any offi cial document only obstacles they had to overcome. of their attendance. They were facing the problems of the It was only in March 1896 when the right to be educated, the right to attend Austrian authorities allowed the nostri- secondary schools and, of course, the fi cation of the doctorate of medicine at right to study. Many of them participa- the foreign University. ted in students movements and students Finally, in March 1897, after many societies of different political affi liations, petitions and requests, the authorities Catholic and liberal as well. Their male allowed women to enrol at the Faculty colleagues accepted them as potential of Arts. The candidate had to be an Aus- collaborators, but one cannot trace any trian citizen, at least 18 years of age, with actions made to improve women’s access graduation from a secondary school of to education. domestic or foreign gymnasium. One can state that women in Austria Matriculation of women to Austrian were deprived basically, already at the universities continued gradually. After beginning of their education. In Austria, allowing them to enrol at the Faculty it was only in 1890 in Prague5 and in of Arts in March 1897, next year the 1892 in Vienna, respectively, when number of women students grew to 40, middle-schools, preparing pupils to in 1901 to 139; there were very few Slo- enrol to the University, were founded. venes among them. It was at the Uni- Compared to German or Czech women versity of Graz where the fi rst Slovene pupils the conditions for the Slovene female student took her doctor’s degree women were even more diffi cult. They of philosophy in 1905; in Vienna fi rst could begin to attend such a middle- Slovene woman student graduated in school only in 1907. Until then they 1907, while in Prague only in 1911. had to pass exams as external candida- The fi ght of Slovene women for their tes at the boys’ gymnasiums. The fi rst rights to study coincided with increas- Slovene women pupils passed exams as ing pressure of Austrian Germans upon external candidates in 1898. non-German nations, mainly Slavic. The possibilities of women to study The Slovenes responded to these pres- at the Austrian universities6 were extre- sures by advocating non-German, i.e. mely limited: after the decrees of 1878 Slavic universities within Austria. They Austrian women could attend lectures fi rmly believed that studying at Slavic only as an exception. Their applications universities, initially especially the were accepted individually, case by case. Czech University, would signifi cantly 52 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 help to preserve both the Slovene and what to study. In many cases there was Slavic identity of the Slovene intelli- a gap between wishes and possibilities. gentsia.7 Thus one might have expected Wishes were not always in accordance also more Slovene women to enrol at the with the then allowed studies: i.e. study- Czech University. It did not happen. ing law was not allowed for women all up The fi rst Slovene female student to to 1919. Especially those who wished to enrol at the Prague Czech University in study medicine must have faced lots of 1900 was Zofka Kvedrova, writer and obstacles and prejudices even after it was fi ghter for women rights, but she never allowed. As mentioned before, for many fi nished her studies. She attended seve- a problem was also the studying desti- ral universities in Europe, in Vienna, nation: either to enrol to traditional and Bern, Berlin. Her activities were not cheaper Vienna University or – condi- connected merely with women’s eman- tionally speaking – fashionable/the then cipation in general, but also with politi- fashionable but more expensive Slavic cal and cultural movement and activities Czech University in Prague. 8 Thus, the of Slovene, Croat and Serb students in majority of those who have enrolled in Prague. She participated in the then the Czech, i.e. Slavic University, descen- students’ generation movement for ded from the families which were more new inter/national relationships within or less well-off, nationally awoken and the Austrian multinational empire. devoted, but also deeply Slavic orien- She believed that Czech University in ted. As a rule Slovene women students Prague was the only Slavic University in Prague grew up in families belonging which the Slovenes should attend; to to a generation which demonstrated avoid Germanisation and to strenghten their rejection of German schools and national and Slavic consciousness. universities by stimulating cultural and Nevertheless, also after being allo- political cooperation with other Aus- wed to enrol at any Austrian University trian Slavs along with emphasizing the there was no mass enrolment of Slovene need to avoid Germanisation also by women to any Austrian University, studying at the Slavic universities. either at Vienna or Graz nor Prague. Not Thus, the fi rst Slovene woman to only because of the Catholic mentality, achieve doctor’s degree in chemical which at that time considered women sciences at the Czech University in studying as inappropriate, inconvenient Prague was Ana Jenko, but only in and unnecessary. For Slovene women 1911. It is not surprising that she enrol- ‘a project of leaving home and go to led in the Slavic University: she was a the University’ must have been a very daughter of a celebrated and very active demanding one, not only for a woman Slovene cultural worker, and an enthu- herself, but also for her family. In the siastic Pan-Slav and Russophile doctor fi rst place there was a fi nancial problem. Ljudevit Jenko and his Russian wife As a rule, only women from very well- Terezina Mihajlovna. Both were very off families could afford studying in enthusiastic propagators of teaching Prague. There was also a question of and learning Russian language all over IRENA GANTAR GODINA 53 Slovenia by founding so called Russki Slovenes fi nished their studies at the kružok/Russian circles which were a Faculty of Medicine, in 1923 Marija serious nuisance for the authorities. Fink (1897-1971 and Sabina Praprot- Thus they were subsequently banned. nik (1898-1986) in 1924. Their activity, their being well-off, and Slovene women who had had artistic good education and, last but not least, ambitions such as of act, fi ne arts or their deep devotion to the Slavic idea of music, faced essentially fewer obstacles; mutuality and cooperation explains why at the fi rst glance their ways seem to Ljudevit Jenko insisted his children to be much easier. They could participate be educated in Slavic countries. His fi rst or be active in various courses, circles daughter Eleonora Jenko Groyer has and various artistic societies. The fi rst been one of the fi rst Slovenes to enrole Slovene Drama Society was founded to a Faculty of Medicine in Petrograd, already in 1867, and soon there were Russia, where she graduated in 1907.9 already more than seventy members. Thus it was only natural that also their There they could have gained the second daughter studied in Slavic milieu necessary knowledge and education; as well. nevertheless, also they had to leave their Among women one of the then most homeland, seeking for additional know- ‘popular’ studies was the study of medi- ledge and skills, but also recognition cine. As well as many women in Europe in non-Slovene milieu. Some returned and in Austria also Slovene women home and worked there, some have con- were very interested to study medicine. tinued their careers not all over Austria One of the fi rst, Valerija Strnad, born but also in other European countries. in 1880, was acknowledged as the Among these artists there was quite a ‘fi rst Slovene doctor with a complete number of those who wanted to conti- Faculty of Medicine’; she graduated at nue their education in Slavic countries, the Faculty of Medicine in Prague in mainly in Bohemia, in Prague. One of 1916. Undoubtedly, she was not only the most famous was the actress Zofi ja a very skilled doctor but also devoted to Borštnikova who has attended the so- Slavic and, after 1908 among the Slo- called Drama-Theatre School in Prague venes, more popular South-Slavic idea; and created a great career as an actress. after First World War, in 1919, she left In fi ne arts there were two very Czechoslovakia to join the Czech medi- successful and famous Slovenes, woman cine group in Yugoslavia. In 1920 she painter Maria Strnen and sculptress returned to Slovenia, where she lived up Karla Bulovec. The latter graduated to 1961. After 1918 fi ve Slovene women at Prague Fine Arts Academy in 1919. students completed their studies at the Born in 1895, she enrolled in Prague Faculty of Medicine, among which artistic-crafts school in 1918/19, and in Nada Slavnik was the fi rst, in 1920; the 1919 to Academy of Arts. Her decision next year Valerija Valjavec (1888-1981), to study in Prague was most likely neu- in Marija Goropevšek (1894-1979) were tral and less political. It is most certain promoted; until 1924 another two that her decision was more a result of a 54 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 good reputation of the Academy than began her musical-artistic work in Slavic the millieu itself, since her domestic sur- Prague. Lily Gerbic was the fi rst Slovene rounding was more of so-called Catholic woman who – in 1901 - completed circle. Karla Bulovec was/is one of those Conservatorium of solo-singing and Slovene women artists who was recogni- piano. As a concert singer she appea- zed and honoured for her artistic work red in Prague, Plzen, Trst, Zagreb but already by a new milieu. It was already also in Belgrade and Vienna. After her in 1921, just before she returned home, return to Ljubljana in 1909 she founded that she was given the opportunity to a private musical school in 1915; she have an art exhibition in Prague; next died in 1964. year she created a tombstone to Milena In 1918, the State of Serbs, Croats Novakova at the graveyard of Pankrac and Slovenes was founded, and along made to order. After her return to with it, in 1919, also Slovene Univer- Ljubljana as a woman-sculptress she sity in Ljubljana. Although almost faced a rather unpleasant - if not worse hundred years old wishes were fulfi lled, – ‘welcome’; Slovene society favoured the Slovenes continued to enrol in the paintresses and was unfavourable to Prague University. Also Yugoslav autho- women sculptresses; as a scupltress she rities continued to support studying in wasn’t given any commissions, and if Prague, but only up to 1922 when the she wanted to survive, she had to accept political situation in Yugoslavia chan- commissions as a paintress, mainly as a ged. A rather strong Communist Party portraitist. of Yugoslavia was banned, while the then One exceptional Slovene woman new Czechoslovakia country was one of musical artists should be mentioned: it the few countries in Europe where the was Jarmila Lily Gerbic, born in 1877 in Communist Party was allowed. That Croatia, in Zagreb. Also Jarmila was/is, was one of the very crucial reasons why like Jenko daughters, a good example of the authorities limited their support to the family infl uence and its beliefs. She students to study in Czechoslovakia, descended from the musical, intellectual since the Yugoslav authorities believed and at the same time very Slavophile that Czech milieu might have been too family. Her father Fran Gerbic was infl uential. From then on studying in one of the fi rst Slovenes to enrol to the Prague was not welcome anymore, and University in Bohemia, at the then only the number of Slovene students was German, at the Prague Conservatorium radically reduced. They mainly remai- already in 1865. After graduating he ned at the Fine Art Academies and at remained in Prague for a certain time, the Faculty of Medicine. then he moved to Zagreb, where his It is one’s fi rm belief that there were daughter was born. From 1882 to far more Slovene women students at the 1886 he worked in L’viv, and only after Czech University in Prague than one that time he came back to Slovenia, to could fi nd in archives. Only those who Ljubljana. According to his affi liation it were – in some ways – exceptional and was somehow natural that his daughter outstanding by their scientifi c, scholar IRENA GANTAR GODINA 55 or artistic activities, were mentioned. Conditionally speaking, they could be There were women who - for many rea- recognized as a sort of brain drain of sons – were not able to fi nish their stu- the nineteenth century: they had to dies; therefore their presence in Prague leave their homeland to get education, could not be traced. One of the main they had to abandon their native lan- reasons why they quitted their studies guage and live in a foreign cultural was undoubtedly a fi nancial problem surroundings. Those Slovene women since – as mentioned above - studying in who studied at non-Slavic Universities, Prague was much more expensive than mostly in a German environment and studying in Vienna. Some of them had used German language, returned home; to work for living, some also established but also those who remained there for families. good did not give up their national awa- reness or their language. Women who It was not easy to trace Slovene studied and worked in Slavic milieu women students’ activities outside were not faced with utter need to take University; unlike their male Slovene care of the preservation of their national colleagues in Prague, they were not and language identity; besides, in Slavic active in students’ societies, they did not countries they were offered much more contribute to students’ papers10 and stimulation, better work and creativity women’s magazines11, or joined some conditions, and, last but not least, there women’s gatherings or activities12. For they could have gained broader recogni- the majority studying was their fi rst tion of the values of their work. ‘task’ to be completed. Many of them became reputed sci- Same as for Slovene male students entists, scholars and cultural and artist one has to conclude that also Slovene workers. Their temporary residence in women students at foreign universities a foreign milieu proved to be fruitful were not just typical, permanent or tem- for their further work at home; along porary emigrants.13 They were far from with their work they could also imple- being economical or political emigrants. ment the ideas of the need for women’s Most of all, they were excellent ambassa- education, being themselves an excellent dors of Slovene culture, science and arts. example of all the abilities of women. 56 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 References activities were not connected merely with women’s emancipation in general, but also with political and Splošno žensko društvo 1901-1945: od cultural movement and activities of Slovene, Croat dobrih deklet do feministk, ed. Nataša and Serb students in Prague. She collaborated with Budna Kodrič and Aleksandra Serše, the students’ generation which fought for new inter national relationships within multinational empire. Arhiv Republike Slovenije, Ljubljana 9 Živa Melik, Eleonora Jenko Groyer, Splošno 2003. žensko društvo 1901-1945, Arhiv RS, Ljubljana Izobraževanje in zaposlovanje žensk 2003. nekoč in danes II, ed. Tjaša MrgoleMrgole Jukič,Jukič, 10 Studentska Revue, Studentske smery 11 Česka žena, Studentska Revue, Studentske smery. Zgodovinski arhiv; Ljubljana-Ptuj: Urad 12 E.g. the role of a women, about women’s labour, za žensko politiko pri Vladi Republike women’s study, about the power and impact of women, etc. Slovenije, 2000. It seems that they did not participate at meetings of a wom- en’s magazine Ceska žena,/Czech Woman or at the meet- AngelcaAngelca Žiberna.Žiberna. 1998. Slovenke skozi ings of women’s students’ circle Slavia, founded in 1902. čas, Ljubljana. M. Novakova critisized women students not to participate Marie L. Neudorfl ova. 1999. Česke at those activities pointing out the main problem, i.e., that , Janua,Janua, Praha 1999 they preferred dancing halls of Klementinum to working ženy v 19. stoleti for students’ cause. Boris Urbančič. 1993. Slovensko-češki 13 Irena Gantar Godina, Češki politični real- kulturni stiki, Mladika, Ljubljana. izem med hrvaškimi in slovenskimi študenti v Pragi (1895-1900), Zgodovinski časopis, 1985, No. 3, pp.269-275; idem, Kulturnoumetniško delovanje Notes Slovencev v slovanskih deželah do začetka prva svetovne 1 Victor L. Tapie, Marija Terezija, Založba Obzorja, vojne, Dve Domovini/Two Homelands 14, 2001, Maribor 1991, pp. 265-266. pp. 15-18; idem, Josip Vuga, slovenski znanstvenik v 2 And, on the other hand, it was Primož Trubar who set, Českih Budejovicah, Dve Domovini/Two Home- with his establishment of Slovene literary language a deci- lands 16, 2002, pp. 9-20. sive turning-point in building the Slovene national identity by calling his believers the Slovenes. 3 After the introduction of Dualism the idea of Pan-Slavism became the major element of Slavic loyalty among Slovenes. Many Slovene intellectuals interpreted the concept of Pan- Slavism as a protection against Germanisation and Italian nationalism. They believed that Russia alone was able to confront the Pan- Germanism and offer protection to other Slavic nations. 4 Aleksandra Serše, Gimnazija, fakulteta in ženske, Šolska kronika, Zbornik za zgodovino šolstva in vzgoje, XXXII, 1999, št.1 5 Marie L. Neudorfl ova,Česke ženy v 19. stoleti, Janua, Praha 1999. 6 Waltraud Heindl/Marina Tichy(Hgb), Durch Erkenntnis zu Freiheit und Glück…Frauen an der Universität Wien (ab 1897), Wien 1990. 7 Irena Gantar Godina, Slovenski doktorji v Pragi od 1892-1917, Zgodovinski časopis 1990, No.3, pp. 451-455 8 As mentioned before, one of the fi rst to enrole at the Czech University was a well known and cel- ebrated Zofka Kvedrova, who attended several universities in Europe, in Vienna, Bern, Berlin. Her The Research Profi le AMER, Växjö University.
Katarina Hjelm
The research profi le AMER was estab- Jan Ekberg, Economics, Professor Lars lished in December 2000 by the uni- Olsson, History, Professor Gunnar versity board after an application made Olofsson , Sociology and Associate by four interested researchers being well Professor Katarina Hjelm, Nursing experienced in the area of migration Science. but in different subjects. In Swedish AMER means ‘Arbetsmarknad, migra- This group has the main responsibi- tion och etniska relationer’ and in Eng- lity for the budget and activities that are lish ‘Labour market, migration, ethnic runned within the profi le. One of the relations’. team members has the responsibility for The research profi le comprises four being the co-ordinator of the activities different subjects: Economics, History, during one year, and this responsibi- Sociology and Nursing Science. lity is rotated between the members. The core of the research profi le can be Meetings are held about one time per described by the following key words: month. Migration, work, welfare and health. As a special resource there is a group of mentors from four different uni- The main aim of the activities in the versities within Scandinavia (Sweden, research profi le is Norway and Denmark) connected to • to strengthen the integration of dif- the research profi le being an expert ferent subjects working with research group giving advice and having a con- concerning migration and thus enco- sultative role. Planned meatings are urage multidisciplinary research. held once a year with this group and in • to develop research high in quality. between contacts are runned by e-mail, • to develop co-operation with the telephone and mail. During the formal surrounding society. meatings discussions are held concer- ning for e.g. strategies for planning The research profi le is led by a and implementing research projects, group of senior researchers, Professor applications for funding and different 58 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 methodological matters. The mentors ration concerning tutoring of doctoral are also consulted as external reviewers students is made. Research funding is of reports and year books published by of great importance and thus a lot of the research profi le in order to guarantee co-operation is needed and made con- high quality publications. cerning applying for grants. In order to In each subject there are a number spread new research results co-operation of persons employed as researchers, with the surrounding society is made doctoral students, assistants in data col- by giving lectures, seminars etc. with lection (e.g bachelor/master students), a popular science approach for people guest researchers from other institutions outside the academy. Finally different within or outside Sweden. publications are published as e.g the year A wide range of different activities are book by AMER, and multidisciplinary included in the research profi le. The base reports both in each subjects as well as is of course different research projects, in multidisciplinary co-operation. in each subject but also on a multidis- ciplinary basis in co-operation between the different subjects. Different courses Research activities at School of Nursing concerning Migration on bachelor, mas- and Social Work ters and doctoral level are held, in each At School of Nursing and Social Work subject but also on a multidisciplinary there are a range of different research basis in co-operation between the dif- projects in the area of Migration and ferent subjects e.g. International Migra- Health. The oldest concerns “Migra- tion, 7,5 ECTS credits, Migration and tion, health and diabetes mellitus/ Health, 7,5 ECTS credits. chronic disease” and is a project develo- The course International migration is ped from a doctoral dissertation entitled a doctoral course with a multidiscipli- “Migration, health and diabetes mel- nary base being taught by researchers litus - Studies comparing foreign-and from all four different subjects and Swedish-born diabetic subjects living focusing on causes behind international in Sweden”. The project is focused on migration, effects and consequences by beliefs about health and illness and its international migration (demographic, consequences for self-care measures and economic and political), migration, health care seeking behaviour. Another adaptation in the new society and main project is “Elderly migrants in health, and remigration. The course is Sweden” in which the development of open to international students. health and disease over time is studied. Further activities held are multidis- Also “Migrants in emergency care” ciplinary research seminars. As a rule has recently been started and concerns AMER arranges a two days seminar in dissimilarities/similarities in need of autumn and a one day seminar in spring care between foreign-and Swedish-born for all researchers involved as well as persons. Also “Migrants in psychiatric interested students. Also research semi- care” is studied and here the focus is nars in each subject are held. Co-ope- on health care seeking and health care KATARINA HJELM 59 utilisation. not. Then the material was analysed in About once a month research semi- general in order to describe what coun- nars concerning migrants and health are tries were represented and characteristics held at the department. The seminar of the respondents. By using SPSS (The group comprises both experienced rese- Statistical Package for Social Science) archers as students at different levels. the material was coded and statistically At the department 5 week courses analysed in order to describe the study are held both on bachelors, masters and population. The next step was to read doctoral level concerning migration and the interviews in order to choose those health. These courses are all within the having a high quality. These interviews area of nursing science and open to stu- were then listened through and all dents from other universities in Sweden identifying data (e.g names, addresses, as well as universities abroad. relatives names etc) were deleted. The In order to engage and to develop an students were then informed about the interest in the research area there has importance of following the laws and also been a project started for students regulations concerning personal inte- concerning “Migration and Health”. In grity and secrecy. The importance of this project students have used docu- not spreading any information around ments being stored in an archive at the were emphasized and an agreement was Swedish Emigrant Institute (Svenska made that the students were not allowed Emigrant Institutet). The interviews to work with the interview-transcripts were originally made by unemployed or tapes outside the Swedish Emigrant immigrants being trained as data col- Institute (SEI). One person at the insti- lectors. They were specially trained tute, the librarian, were responsible for at the University of Växjö in order to storing the material when the students make interviews with immigrants and were not working at the institute. refugees and thus documenting their The student project, “Migration and experience in Sweden. health”, was based on archive mate- rial and has so far generated about 20 reports on a bachelors level. Examples Working with archive materials in a stu- of titles are: dent project When working with a student project •The importance of integration for and a subject like migrants and health, health – A qualitative study of labour described above, one need to consider migrants from Yugoslavia. matters of ethical issues and how to •Labour migrants from former Yugosla- protect personal integrity. The prepara- via – A qualitative study of dietary habits, tory work was done by two experienced food traditions and health. researchers with a background as regis- •Factors infl uencing health in migrants tered nurses and nurse tutors. The fi rst when arriving to Sweden. step was to screen the whole material •Bosnian refugees experience of health and try to value if it could be used or – An interview study. 60 AEMI JOURNAL 2005
•The importance of social support for health after migration – An interview study with refugees from former Yugosla- via. •Experience of quality of life and mental ill-health – A qualitative interview study with labour migrants and refugees from former Yugoslavia. •Labour migrants from former Yugosla- via – their health, leisure time and pattern of consumption. An interview study.
In conclusion, from working with archive materials the students gained a lot of knowledge in the studied area as well as they also learned to know about activities in the Swedish Emigrant Insti- tute, and thus broadened their perspec- tives.
Connecting Contemporary Migration With The Past
Olavi Koivukangas
Mankind has always been migrating in search for a better life. The “new” emigrations started in the fi fteenth century when European navigators discovered America and other overseas destinations. The period between 1870 and the First World War was characte- rized by international movement of labour and capital. After the Second World War North-Western Europe became a major area of immigration, including a great number of asylum seekers. A dominant feature of the twenty-fi rst century is the phenomenon of globalization with a growing number of people moving across borders, often directly linked to multicultural companies. It is essential to know the past in order to understand the present and future trends in human migration. The assumption is that migration movements, its causes and mecha- nisms, are very much the same today as hundreds of years ago. This should give us every possibility to learn from former mistakes regarding integration and assimilation. But is this really the case? My conclusion is that we cannot learn as much as might expected from past migration movements, because each epoch in history has been so different. However, freedom to move and cross borders should be a basic value of the future.
Migration is the physical transition of an Mesopotamia, Greece and most widely individual or a group from one society in the old Roman empire. After the col- to another, abandoning one social set- lapse of the Roman Empire, followed ting and entering another and different the epoch of great invasions in Eurasia. one. Throughout the times, mankind What had happened on the other conti- has always for economic, political or nents is not known in written history. environmental reasons, been migrating In the fi fteenth century the European from one place to another, searching navigators reached America and other for a better life and new opportunities. overseas destinations. In the begin- Often they were forced to move because ning colonization was slow until the of natural disasters, but in most cases nineteenth century when extensive because of other human beings. In the European emigration to America and early days of civilization, tribes and even other overseas destinations started after nations moved long distances either the Napoleonic war. For more than one voluntarily or by force in ancient Egypt, and a half century Europe was a land of 62 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 mass emigration. One reason was the eg. in Australia. New minorities of a quick development of the railway and large variety of ethnic origin in many steamship transportation, which made cases found it very diffi cult to settle in travelling quick and cheap and available the foreign language and culture, also to to ordinary poor people.1 The period meet xenophobia and racism. between 1870 and World War I was characterized by an expanding inter- Skilled migration, including brain national economy and the movement drain, professionals, skilled permanent of capital and labour. At the same time migrants, business transfers etc, has inside a nation there was rapid urbaniza- become a major element of contem- tion and massive migration movements, porary migrations. Especially in Europe the development of the United States the social fabric has been altered by the after the Civil War being the best exam- infl ux of migration from former colonies ple. Tens of millions immigrants arrived and labour-exporting countries, as well in North America until the great depres- as the challenge of a signifi cant number sion of the 1930s and Second World of asylum seekers. There are also the War. After the war millions of political ensuing problems of the newcomers´ refugees in Europe moved to America, integration into the larger community. Australia and other destinations to start In many EU countries there is an obvi- a new life there. ous need for labour force due to the low birth rate and ageing population.3 In the 1950s and 1960s the econo- mic growth in North-Western Europe The above introduction is essential as attracted labour especially from South- we should know the past to be able to ern Europe and Turkey, and in the fol- understand the present and the future lowing decades Europe became an area trends in the fi eld of human migra- of immigration, especially from Asia, tion. The basic assumption is that in Africa and Latin America. This group migration movements, the causes and included millions of asylum seekers. mechanisms, are very much the same as Together with the United States Wes- thousands and hundreds of years ago. tern Europe became the major magnet A dominant feature of the present to attract immigration. Up until the twenty-fi rst century is the phenomenon end of the 1960´s, labour migration was of globalisation and internationalisation. the fortuitous result of a coincidence of A growing number of people are moving needs: great labour demand in Western across borders, often directly linked to Europe with excess labour in Southern multicultural companies. In Finland and Eastern part of Europe. In the early we have a good example: NOKIA. The 1970s labour markets began to deterio- labour market of the highly skilled has rate, and industrialized European coun- become increasingly international. But tries began to restrict the further infl ow there are also other people on the move of foreign labour.2 The same measures as a consequence of globalisation, just were taken also in overseas destinations, to mention the growth of immigration OLAVI KOIVUKANGAS 63 of ordinary workers and refugees plus at the same time the EU has developed their family members. Also the integra- restrictive immigration policy establish- tion of the newcomers to the new society ing a ‘kind of the “Fortress of Europe”’. is problematic. New ethnic minorities Consequently there is a need for revi- tend to concentrate in larger urban sion of the immigration and integration areas. This can be seen in Helsinki too, policies of the EU allowing a wider but in Amsterdam immigrants and their admittance of immigrants for either children form over forty two per cent of humanitarian or economic reasons.4 the total population. This change has Looking for parallels to contemporary taken place in a relatively short period of migration, the period 1870 – 1914 has time. The crucial question for the cities far more in common with our era than is whether they can accommodate the any other time. In both the periods newcomers to new social and political international fl ow of information and environment. capital was followed by rising immigra- tion. Before 1914 practically no control Also the form of migration has been or restrictions existed while nowadays different from the old days of sailing there are effective controls and limita- and steam ships. The growth of trans- tions of international movements. The national migrant communities retain twenty-fi rst century seems to move in strong and intensive bonds across bor- the direction of increasingly restrictive ders, and may lead to new forms of immigration policy. incorporation of immigrants. A basic What could we learn from this ? We difference of our era to the old days is should recognize immigration as a natu- that migration movements are rooted ral outgrowth of the global economy in global developments and not in state trying by all means to minimize its premises. negative consequences.5
All this will be a challenge to immigra- A question to be considered in more tion and integration policies. In classical detail is the present fl ow of illegal immi- immigration countries like the USA, gration compared with the old days. In Canada and Australia there has been the history of colonization and Euro- a general acceptance of immigration pean emigration there has been a lot of resulting benefi ts to the growth of the forced emigration eg. convicts to over- nation. But in Europe to-day there is a seas colonies, as well as the slave trade basic non-acceptance of immigration. from Africa to North America. There are differences between the coun- But was there really any illegal immi- tries, the Netherlands and Switzerland gration as the whole world was open being far from each other as far as the to anybody to travel and settle even in acceptance of immigrants is concerned. most remote destinations. When doing Generally the EU migration policy has research in Australia in 1969-72 I met been ambivalent. There is a fundamental an old Swede in Sydney who told that right to migrate within the EU area, but before the First World War he just ente- 64 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 red and settled in Australia without any immigrants to become legal citizens. A permits or papers. reason for this has been that in political elections an immigrant vote is as good as Illegal immigrants, often poorly any other vote. educated from ‘the third world’, have As in the beginning of our history, become a major problem eg. in the so also in the present-day world, and Southern European countries, but also especially in Europe, the four liberties in Russia. As mentioned earlier, due of movement – people, goods, services to the illegal immigration and asylum and capital – all strive for a new type of seekers the EU is tightening the immi- more effi cient level division of labour gration policy.6 In the United States and work opportunities as well. Espe- there are estimated to be no less than cially there is expected to be emigration eight million illegal immigrants. The of highly educated and so called key USA Government is trying to legitimise persons. An example of this are doctors the illegal immigrant population, the and nurses who have moved from Fin- majority being Mexicans. 7 Also in the land eg. to Norway. But it is not only EU it is estimated that there are as many the rivalry between the countries but illegal immigrants as legal ones. Spain, also between regions inside the nation. as Italy before, has been in the process of Consequently, in Finland in the North- giving the legal status to a large number ern part of the country, in Lapland, of illegal immigrants, which often have there is a great demand for doctors found work in agriculture and service and nurses. In the present day Europe industries.8 Illegal immigrants and there is also competition between refugees are a huge problem all over the regions rather than between countries. world, and we cannot learn much of the The powerful regions now benefi t most past experiences of the mankind. and the weaker regions are weakening. 10 The enlargement of the European There is also the role that cultural Union will be a further challenge. and ethnic mixtures increasingly play Going through the literature, books in enriching the lives of many European and articles, related to the question countries. Here we have good examples of what we could learn about the past of the USA, Canada and Australia. But migrations, I was surprised that there there are also strong anti-immigrant was not much to be found, not at least sentiments involved. Immigrants should in our Library of some 10,000 books on also be encouraged to become citizens of migration issues. Here we have obvi- their host societies. In many European ously an empty area for future research, countries legally settled immigrants perhaps as an AEMI project. do not have the political right to vote But maybe, the observations, how to because of diffi culties and delays in learn of the past for the future, are quite acquiring citizenship.9 We could learn too obvious and clear. from the experiences of the USA, For years I have been telling in Fin- Canada, Australia etc. to favour the land that we should study how the Fin- OLAVI KOIVUKANGAS 65 nish emigrants settled and integrated in Notes other parts of the world to be able to 1. Of the ancient migratory movements see Ragnar Numelin. 1944. Ihmisen vaellusvietti,. Hel- understand better the immigrants and sinki. The book in English: The Wandering Spirit. refugees in Finland. The problems and New York 1937. processes are similar: how to fi nd work, 2. OECD, Migration Growth and Development, Paris 1978:7. how to learn the language, how to cope 3. Emrehan Zeybekoglu – Bo Johansson, Ed. with the negative attitudes and xenop- 2003. Migration and Labour in Europe; Views from hobia of the main population and other Turkey and Sweden: vi. Istanbul 2003 ethnic minorities. 4. Rinux Pennix. 2000. ‘Migration and the City: Social Cohesion and Integration Policies’ in Migra- So we might come to the conclusion tion Scenarios for the Twenty-fi rtst Century. Interna- that we cannot learn as much as expected tional Conference, Rome 12-14 July, 2000. from past migration movements, simply 5. Douglas S. Massey. 2000. ‘Immigration and Clo- balization: Policies for a new Century’ in Migration because each epoch in history is so dif- Scenarios for the Twenty-fi rtst Century. International ferent. But in all times Homo Erectus has Conference, Rome 12-14 July, 2000. been mobile for many good reasons. 6. Olavi Koivukangas. 2004. ‘Finland, Russia, And The European Union – The Challenges of Migration The speed of movement and communi- Movements’ in AEMI Journal 2004:54. cation has increased incredibly since the 7. “Yhdysvallat harkitsee miljoonien laittomien days of sailing ships. But still there are siirtolaisten aseman virallistamista ( The US is con- quite too many obstacles and mountains sidering to legitimize millions of illegal immigrants)”, Helsingin Sanomat (Helsinki News), 17.7. 2001. on the road of globalisation. Freedom 8. “Espanja laillistaa taas suuren joukon siirtolai- to move and cross borders should be a sia; Yli puoli miljoonaa työlupaa annettu lyhyessä basic value of the future. ajassa ( Spain is legitimizing again a large number of immigrants; over half a million work permits granted in a short time)”, Helsingin Sanomat (Helsinki News) 6.8. 2001; and “Espanja aikoo työllistää laittomia siir- tolaisia (Spain is going to employ illegal immigrants)”, Helsingin Sanomat (Helsinki News) 23.8. 2004. 9. Amartya Sen. 2000. ‘Migration in Historical Perspective’, in Migration Scenarios for the Twenty- fi rtst Century. International Conference, Rome 12-14 July, 2000. 10. Elli Heikkilä, ‘Finland in the Globalising International System: A Special Viewpoint of Inter- national Migration’, Regional Politics and Economics of EU Enlargement; East European Regions and Small States in the Changing Architecture of Euro- pean and Global Integration, Ed. By Istvan Hulvely and Imre Levai, Budapest Forum – Institute of Politi- cal Science, HAS 2003:36-50. Labour Immigration and Ethnic Relations at a Swedish Industrial Plant after the Second World War: A Planned Research Project
Johan Svanberg
The period of labour immigration to Sweden has not been a topic of any large-scale historical research projects, which is especially true concerning a long-term perspective on the immigrants’ meeting with the Swedish labour market and the Swedish trade union movement. The aim of my planned research project is therefore to analyse some immigration groups’ experiences – in a long historical perspective – of working life during their continuing lives in Sweden. The aim is also to analyse the relationship between industrial management, indigenous workers and immigrant workers about immigration related matters in a dynamic perspective. In this article I will fi rst present a summarised description of my project. Secondly, I briefl y want to show some results from an ongoing oral history project focusing on labour immigrants from Estonia and Finland with very different backgrounds, and discuss how their earlier experiences infl uenced their fi rst encounter with the Swedish body of workers and the Metal Workers’ Union.
Introduction shortage became more and more appa- World War II is a sharp dividing line rent. When the indigenous manpower in the history of Swedish migration. reserve could not satisfy the needs of the During the years of war Sweden was Swedish industry, the industrial capital transformed from a country with a in co-operation with the State chose to characteristic emigration surplus to a look abroad for labour to recruit. country with high immigration rates. An important reason for the choice to In 1945 large parts of the European import labour was the pleasant memo- continent were in ruins, in Sweden the ries of the World War refugees as a sig- situation was rather different. Europe nifi cant reserve of manpower during the was about to be rebuilt and the Swe- years of war. The number of refugees in dish industry was ready to produce the country reached a climax during the and export. The expected post war winter 1944-45, when about 170,000- depression did not appear, and instead 180,000 foreigners resided in Sweden. Sweden approached a powerful boom, The largest refugee groups came from which lasted until the 1970s. By the the neighbouring Nordic countries. rate of the economic boom, the labour But Sweden also hosted about 30,000 JOHAN SVANBERG 67 Baltic refugees who sought a safe refuge Previous research from the German-Russian war front in As I mentioned above, the era of labour the autumn of 1944, and in the end of immigration has been rather disregar- the war survivors from Nazi labour and ded in Swedish historical writing. Par- concentration camps were transferred ticularly overlooked is the recruitment to Sweden. The refugees had however of foreign-born labour during the 1960s to do their share and they were in the and the early 1970s, the period when fi rst place given low paid and laborious the immigration stream to Sweden assignments within agriculture or as culminated. We do however have a bit lumberjacks.1 When the great structu- more knowledge about the World War ral related shortage of labour appeared refugees, the early labour import cam- after 1945 the World War refugees had paigns and these immigrants’ meeting showed the industrial capital and the with the Swedish labour market and the Swedish labour market authorities how Swedish trade unions. I am not claiming the problem could be resolved through to give a full view of the existing fi eld of import. As Lars Olsson puts it, the research, but a few examples that might World War refugees can be seen as ‘an be seen as a representative selection. intermediate link in Sweden’s transition Two studies are particularly pivotal from an emigrant country to an immi- concerning the Estonian World War grant country; from a labor exporting refugees’ encounter with the Swedish country to a labor importing one’.2 labour market, namely Lars Olsson’s Between 1950 and 1975 Sweden On the Threshold of the People’s Home of had a total immigration net of 390,000 Sweden4 and Björn Horgby’s Dom där persons, and most of them came as [Those people].5 Olsson’s and Horgby’s labour immigrants. In 1950 the Finns studies differ however a lot, because the were already the largest immigration authors take their starting points in very group in the country, with about different theoretical perspectives. While 45,000 individuals. During the next Olsson focuses on the contradictory two decades they gradually reinforced relationship between labour and capital, this position, and in the end of the year Horgby uses a circumstantial theoretical 1970 235,000 people in Sweden were model in which the concepts of disco- born in Finland. The Danish, the Nor- urse and mentality work as analytical wegians and the Germans were 1970 tools. the largest immigration groups after the Lars Olsson analyses the Baltic Finns with 40,000 to 45,000 individu- refugees’ transformation in the eyes of als per group. To these numbers we shall the Swedish authorities from a social add about 35,000 Yugoslavians, 10,000 problem to a useful labour reserve. Poles, 10,000 Hungarians, 10,000 Olsson is of the opinion that the refu- Greeks and 7,000 Italians. Since the gees soon after the arrival to Sweden end of World War II there were in 1950 ‘found themselv themselves,es, at the intersection further nearby 25,000 Baltic refugees of a philanthropic refugee policy and (mostly Estonians) left in Sweden.3 a labor market policy where capital 68 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 and the State sought more labor’.6 The sive thesis is that the demand was due refugees had – whether they wanted to to ‘xenophobicxenophobic mentality that existed in or not – to contribute, not only to their the [Swedish] working-class culture’.10 own and their family’s support ‘but also Horgby’s empirical evidence shows to the support of the entire nation’.7 great tension on the working fl oor Olsson is especially interested in those between the Estonian and the Swedish individuals who were given assignments workers. This confl ict had its founda- on the beet fi elds in the Scania district. tion in that the foreign-born workers The beet work was hard and low paid, neglected the basic norms and values of and the indigenous workers tried if pos- the Swedish working class. There were sible to fi nd other kinds of support. The Estonians who refused to pay the trade refugees had accordingly to accept those union dues, while others undermined assignments which Swedish labourers the indigenous workers endeavour to fl ed from. control the pace of work.11 The Agricultural Workers’ Union Rudolf Tempsch illustrates in the demanded that refugees join the union, dissertation Från Centraleuropa till folk- that the refugees were paid according to hemmet [F [Fromrom Central E Europeurope to the existing standards and that the Swedish People’s home of Sweden] how young, labour force would have priority to all professional experienced, politically openings. When these demands were unloaded and healthy Sudeten German fulfi lled the Baltic men and women refugees were welcomed to Sweden after were left out from the union’s agenda.8 1945.12 In much the same way Anders From Björn Horgby’s case study Svensson demonstrates in the study about Estonian textile workers in Ungrare i folkhemmet [H [Hungariansungarians in Norrköping we have learned that the the People’s home of Sweden] how the World War refugees’ fi rst meeting with National Labour Market Board had a the Swedish labour market and the decisive infl uence on which Hungarian trade unions was fi lled with potential refugees in Austrian camps that could confl icts. The Estonians’ class-consci- come to Sweden after the uprising in ousness and experiences of dictatorship 1956.13 But neither Tempsch nor Svens- under the Russian occupation affected son follow the refugees/labourers into their labour market integration, at least the Swedish labour market, and they in the short run. do not analyse their meetings with the Horgby’s study takes its point of trade unions. departure in a demand of the repre- The ethnic division of labour has sentative assembly of the Local No. 1 carefully been analysed by Carl-Ulrik of the Swedish Textile Workers’ Union Schierup and Sven Paulson in a case in September 1945. It wanted the Swe- study at a large plant in Gothenburg. dish State authorities to force all Baltic They found a complicated ethnical men and women to leave the country.9 hierarchy, where ‘some immigrant The main aim of Horgby’s analysis is to groups hold a strong position within explain this decision, and a comprehen- comparative attractive jobs and bran- JOHAN SVANBERG 69 ches, while others tend to be stuck in and capital in regard to immigration the most monotonous kinds of work’. concerned matters, especially at local The authors describe a hierarchy with levels. ‘the Swedes employed under collective agreement at the top, the Finns in Questions the middle and the Yugoslavs at the My planned research project will focus bottom.’14 However, this study lacks on two areas: the ethnic division of labour a long-term analysis about how the and ethnic relations in daily trade union ethnical hierarchy is affected when new matters. In both areas a couple of ten- groups of immigrants are employed, at tative questions have been worked out. the same time as the process of recruit- The project will have its starting points ment and the contacts with concerned in class as wellwell as in ethnicity, gender and trade unions generally are left aside. generation. Mainly from Wuokko Knocke’s In the fi rst area the following ques- extensive studies we do have some tions shall be considered: How were knowledge about foreign-born workers foreign-born workers recruited to one situation in Swedish trade unions.15 To single plant at different occasions? In put it very shortly: immigrant workers what way was the ethnic division of have generally been subordinated in labour affected when new immigrant trade union matters, and some immi- groups were employed? What happe- grants at fi rst even believed that trade ned to former employed foreign-born union membership was a condition workers when new groups arrived? for employment in Sweden. According What concrete assignments were given to the offi cial rhetoric the trade union to the immigrated workers of both gen- movement has taken ‘an egalitarian ders, and how did these matters stand and progressive attitude towards the against their professional and class rela- immigrant membership’. But as Knocke ted backgrounds? What advancements points out, we do not know ‘what has (if any) did the immigrants do at the been done to strengthen the position of investigated plant, and how were these immigrants in the union movement and potential careers related to their social at the workplace level, and how much backgrounds? How many and which has stayed at the level of declarations’.16 immigrants left the plant, and if so, However, from the available previ- under which phase of their lives and ous research we cannot tell either how under what circumstances did they the apparent ethnical hierarchy at the leave? workplace levels has developed in a long The questions concerning the second historical perspective, or how the rela- area of research will be as follows: How tionships between different immigrant did the local trade union deal with the groups and their relationships towards recruitment of foreign-born workers? the Swedish union movement has How did the relationship between local developed over time. Rather unexplored and national trade union level work is also the relationship between labour out concerning immigration-related 70 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 matters? What were the immigrants’ However, during the 1960s and 1970s attitudes towards trade union members- other nationalities dominated the hip? How did the fi rst meeting between immigrated part of the labour force. the immigrated workers, the indigenous As a further example, in September workers and the trade union turn out, 1966 1,035 of the approximately 3,400 and how did these relationships develop employed workers were foreign-born, in a short and in a long perspective? and together they represented 19 natio- Which immigrant workers became nalities. Finns and Yugoslavs together trade union offi cials? How did the rela- dominated the immigrated group, and tionship between the trade union and at this point of time 516 Finns and 353 the industrial management in immigra- Yugoslavs were employed, while only tion-related matters develop in the short 8 Estonians still were working at the and in the long run? factory.20 For my project I have selected 7 nati- Foreign-born labour at Olofström onal groups, who were recruited to the The project will be carried out as a company at different times: Estonian local work-place study at Svenska Stål- refugees who arrived to the municipality pressnings AB (SSAB) at O Olofström,lofström, soon after the war and Estonians who from 1945 until present day. In 1945 were recruited in German camps in the Olofström was a pronounced industrial early 1950s, Germans who came during centre; this urban district was totally the 1950s and 60s, Hungarians after the dominated by one big employer, namely uprising in 1956, Italians in the begin- SSAB. The company had in 1945 ning of the 1960s, Yugoslavs during the approximately 1,200 employees,17 while second half of the 1960s, Danish immi- there were only about 3,200 inhabitants grants in the beginning of the 1970s in the community.18 SSAB is historically along with Finns who were recruited a workshop with a very varied output, to Olofström during the whole period that during the post World War period until the middle of the 1970s. mainly specialised in the production of car bodies. From 1945 until the middle Labour immigrants and oral history of the 1970s the company suffered from The study will partly be based on oral an almost constant shortage of labour, history, and some pilot interviews with and to meet this scarcity the company Estonian refugees and Finnish labour imported foreign-born labour. immigrants at Olofström have already Foreign-born workers have therefore been done. In the following part of this to a large degree composed the labour article I will briefl y discuss a couple of force at the plant during the conside- their own statements about thier fi rst red period. In the spring of 1947, as encounters with the Swedish Metal an example, 95 Estonian men and 11 Workers’ Union at Olofström. The main Estonian women were on the company’s argument will be that previous experi- pay roll, which means that almost every ence and social status in the homeland tenth employee were born in Estonia.19 affected the immigrants’ meetings with JOHAN SVANBERG 71 the indigenous labour force. Russians who came, then the Germans had to During the years following the end force the Russians away. Then we got jammed, of World War II the Estonian immi- we only had to obey.’22 grants were a recurrent item on the trade union’s agenda at Olofström. The At fi rst the Estonian immigrants had Swedish body of workers believed that the cruel Russian occupation in mind the company gave the immigrants prefe- when they met the Swedish body of rential treatment of different kinds, and workers. Their experiences had turned as in Norrköping many of the Estonians many of them into burning anti socia- at Olofström refused to pay the trade lists, and the accusations of them being union dues. The measures to organise pro Nazis probably did not make them the community’s new inhabitants inclu- friendlier minded. Another Estonian ded spreading of information through immigrant, Albert Fatajev, gives a con- lectures, leafl ets and a newspaper article crete example of how the Russian occu- published in their native language. But, pation affected the Estonians conduct at as we shall see, unorganised labour was Olofström. At this point of time he was also met by forcible means. working next to one of the local trade Johan Metsäär – just like tens of union offi cials: thousands others – tried to fl ee the war zone in the Baltic in the autumn ‘When we approached the May-Day demon- of 1944. But Johan was nevertheless stration he told me to be there. ‘No, I will not’. captured by German troops at the In Estonia I had been ordered out by the com- beach and thereafter had to spend time munists, there you were forced to go’.23 in different German working camps. Soon after the war the refugees in the For Albert, May-Day demonstrations DP-camps became a powerful reserve were, trough earlier experiences, asso- of labour that several western European ciated with communism and forcible companies tried to make use of,21 inclu- means, while they were a demonstra- ding SSAB at Olofström that recruited tion of power and an expression of the this particular Estonian man from a working class culture for the Swedish German camp in 1950. At Olofström workers. he and other Estonian men and women Johan Metsäär was one of those Esto- came in contact with the trade union nians who, during a long period of time, and the indigenous labour force, and in stood up against the pressure and refu- many cases there were a clash: sed to organise. When new immigrants were employed at SSAB shop stewards ‘The trade union. Then I fi rst have to tell, who tried to make them pay the trade when we fi rst arrived here we were accused for union dues visited them: everything. That we had been in the German army […] that we were there voluntarily, but ‘And we directly asked: ‘is it voluntarily?’ But the Germans forced us […] We did not declare when I told them that I did not want to join: war to anybody, on the contrary it was fi rst the ‘Damn, take your belongings and get lost’, 72 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 they told me […] ‘Tomorrow you will not be was, as an example, dairyman in his here!’’24 native country and his parents owned a country shop. Erik Olin Wright writes: In some cases the threats at the work- place could be even more explicit arti- ’The norms and values of workers […] are not culated: mainly the result of deep socialization outside the sphere of work, but are generated within ‘I know one [Estonian] […] he became moles- production by the practices workers adopt in ted and had to run away […] a group came and their efforts to cope with the dilemmas of their they threatened him […] promised to kick him situation. Of particular salience in these terms to death, beat him to death, or at least beat him are the ways in which individual participation black and blue.’25 in class struggles of various sorts contributes to the formation of solidaristic preferences. More A letter from the Local No. 106 at generally the claim is that the perceptions of Olofström to the Metal Workers’ Union alternatives, theories, and values held by indi- in Stockholm shows that physical means viduals situated in different class locations is actually was a part of the union’s register not just shaped by where they are but what they of measures to deal with unorganised do.’28 foreign-born workers. In this particular example it is however a Finnish man Real happenings are accordingly cru- who is the main character: cial when our perception of the world is developed. The native-born workers ‘An other reason which not improves the at Olofström had experienced a lot of atmosphere is that one Finnish worker who was confl ict between labour and capital eight weeks behindhand with the dues refused during the fi rst half of the twentieth to pay, which led to that a couple of hundreds century. Just a couple of months before of our members called on this Finn, in this con- the fi rst Estonian refugees arrived at nection the Finn happened to fall on the fl oor. Olofström a fi ve-month long harrowing He reported to his supervisor that he had been strike had ended. Experiences of these assaulted, the company reported the accident to kinds will – according to Wright’s line the police’.26 of argument – strengthen the class- consciousness in the Swedish body of The conduct of the hardly organised workers. Estonian immigrants who Estonians can partly be explained by did not have a background inside the their painfull memories of rough Rus- industrial working class, but had been sian occupation, partly by their back- given these class positions at Olofström, ground outside the industrial working had gained different experiences during class. As Lars Olsson and Björn Horgby their lives. They had not taken part in point out, the greater part of the Esto- the class struggle in the same way as the nian refugee group was not industrial older workers of Olofström had, and in labourers in Estonia, but peasants and the extension this matter affected some fi shermen.27 The above quoted Estonian Estonian workers choice not to pay the JOHAN SVANBERG 73 trade union dues. Union. His language skills were most Pentti Suua was born in 1932 at Kemi necessary for the trade union during in Finland, about 20 kilometres from this period of time when new Finnish Haparanda and the Swedish border. The immigrants were employed at the plant town can be characterized as a stereoty- almost every day: pical industrial community of northern Sweden. Two big pulp-factories more or ‘[A]nd a lot of Finns arrived – it was especially less ruled the place; they had some social smallholders who came – and they were very responsibilities at the same time as they hard to organise. And [they were] very sceptical supervised the area. During his teens and to socialism. They had lived in agricultural dis- early twenties Pentti was socialised into tricts during their whole lives.’31 the local labour class, and he assimilated its norms and values. During the early post World War years the relationship The labour immigrants’ background between labour and capital at Kemi at outside the industrial working class is times was very tense. As an example, in here explicitly mentioned as a reason 1949 he marched in the front line along for their conduct. In the last part of this with 400-500 other labourers on strike article we have only met three foreign- towards one of the factories, and their born workers with different experiences purpose were to teach strikebreakers ‘to in their ‘luggage’; they can not be said swim’. I Inn the riots that follo followedwed when to be a representative selection, but yet those on strike met armed policemen I think that their statements point out protecting the strikebreakers two people a direction for more research. The pro- were killed.29 Unlike the above quoted cess of migration should be studied as a Estonian man, this Finnish man accor- whole, conditions in the sending coun- dingly had experiences with him when tries as well as in the receiving country he in 1952 moved to Sweden that should be considered. reminded of those that the indigenous labour force at Olofström had collec- ted.
‘When they asked if I was going to be a member [in the trade union], and I answered: ‘of course I am’, they were a little bit surprised. Then afterwards I have heard – it was a lot of rumours – that the Estonians were very sceptical. And they had said that even the Finns were hard to organise.’30
Soon after his arrival at Olofström he became a shop steward for the Local No. 106 of the Swedish Metal Workers’ 74 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 References stream’, in Penninx, Rinus & Roosblad, Judith (eds.), Trade unions, immigration Primary and contemporary material and immigrants in Europe, 1960-1993. I. Metal Workers’ Union archives A Comparative Study of the Attitudes and E09 1950-1959, correspondence with Actions of Trade Unions in seven West Local No. 106. European Countries. New York/Oxford. II. Volvo’s archives at Olofström Christer Lundh & Rolf Ohlsson. 11295c, ‘Utlänningar, kollektivanställda 1999. Från arbetskraftsimport till fl yk- per den 3 sept 1966’. Un s o r- tinginvandring. 2:a reviderade upplagan, ted material, ’utlänningar anställda den Kristianstad. 26 april 1947’. Emmanuel Morfi adakis. 1986. Sve- III. Interviews rige och invandringen. Malmö. Albert Fatajev, 5 November 2003. Anders Neergaard. 2002. ‘Fack- Johan Metsäär, 18 October 2003. föreningen i ett rasifi erat samhälle’, Pentti Suua, 10-11 June 2004. in de los Reyes, Paulina, Molina, Irene IV. Printed sources & Mulinari, Diana (eds.), Maktens SOS, Folkräkningen den 31 december (o)lika förklädnader. Kön, klass & etnici- 1945 – V Totala räkningen, Stockholm tet i det postkoloniala Sverige. Stockholm 1949. Lars Olsson. 1997. On the Threshold of the People’s Home of Sweden. A Labor Books and articles Perspective of Baltic Refugees and Relieved Helge Hane. 1985. Kronan på verket. Polish Concentration Camp Prisoners in Kristianstad. Sweden at the end of World War II. NewNew Björn Horgby. 1996. Dom där. Främ- York. lingsfi entligheten och arbetarkulturen i Lars Olsson. 2003. ‘Hundra år av Norrköping 1890-1960. Stockholm. arbetskraftsinvandring: från kapitalis- Wuokko Knocke. 1981. Invandrare mens genombrott till folkhemsbygget möter facket. Betydelse av hemlandsbak- i Sverige’, in Ekberg, Jan (ed.), Invan- grund och hemvist i arbetslivet, S Stock-tock- dring till Sverige / orsaker och effek- holm. Wuokko Knocke. 1986. Invandrade ter. Växjö. kvinnor i lönearbete och fack. En studie Kim Salomon. 1991.Refugees in the om kvinnor från fyra länder inom Kom- Cold War. Toward a new international munal- och Fabriksarbetareförbundets refugee regime in the early postwar era. avtalsområde. Stockholm. Lund. Wuokko Knocke. 1997. ‘Sist på dag- Carl-Ulrik Schierup& Sven Paulson. ordningen? Invandringen, den invan- (ed.). 1994. Arbetets etniska delning. drade arbetskraften och facket i Sverige’ Studier från en svensk bilfabrik. Stock- in Arbetarhistoria. Meddelande från holm. Arbetarörelsens Arkiv och bibliotek, 82:2. Anders Svensson. 1992. Ungrare i Wuokko Knocke. 2000. ‘Sweden: folkhemmet. Svensk fl yktingpolitik i kalla Insiders outside the Trade Union Main- krigets skugga. Lund. Rudolf Tempsch. 1997. Från Centar- JOHAN SVANBERG 75 leuropa till folkhemmet. Den sudettyska 1986; Wuokko Knocke, ‘Sist på dagordningen? Invandringen, den invandrade arbetskraften och invandringen till Sverige 1938-1955. facket i Sverige’, in Arbetarhistoria. Meddelande Göteborg. från Arbetarörelsens Arkiv och bibliotek, No. 82, Erik Olin Wright. 2000. Class counts. 1997:2; Wuokko Knocke, ‘Sweden: Insiders Student edition. Cambridge. outside the Trade Union Mainstream’, in Rinus Penninx & Judith Roosblad (eds.), Trade unions, immigration and immigrants in Europe, 1960-1993. Notes A Comparative Study of the Attitudes and Actions of 1 Lars Olsson, On the Threshold of the People’s the Trade Unions in seven West Eeuropean Countries, Home of Sweden. A Labor Perspective of Baltic Refu- New York/Oxford 2000; see also Anders Neer- gees and Relieved Polish Concentration Camp Prisoners gaard, ‘Fackföreningen i ett rasifi erat samhälle’, in Sweden at the end of World War II, New York in Paulina de los Reyes, Irene Molina & Diana 1997, pp. 15-19, 59, 60, 142, 148, 149. Mulinari (eds.), Maktens (o)lika förklädnader, 2 Olsson, On the Threshold of the People’s Home Stockholm 2002. of Sweden, 1997, p. 153. 16 Knocke, ‘Sweden: Insiders outside the 3 Emmanuel Morfi adakis, Sverige och invan- Trade Union Mainstream’, 2000, p. 178. dringen, Malmö 1986, pp. 50, 56, 60; Christer 17 Helge Hane, Kronan på verket, Karlshamn Lundh & Rolf Ohlsson, Från arbetskraftsimport 1985, p. 100. till fl yktinginvandring. 2:a reviderade upplagan, Kris- 18 SOS, Folkräkningen den 31 december 1945 – V tianstad 1999, p. 31; Lars Olsson, ‘Hundra år Totala räkningen, Stockholm 1949, p. 56. av arbetskraftsinvandring: från kapitalismens 19 Unsorted material, ’utlänningar anställda genombrott till folkhemsbygget i Sverige’, in den 26 april 1947, Volvo’s archives at Olofström. Jan Ekberg (ed.), Invandring till Sverige – orsaker 20 11295c, ‘Utlänningar, kollektivanställda per och effekter, Växjö 2003, p. 9. den 3 sept 1966’, Volvo’s archives at Olofström. 4 Olsson, On the Threshold of the People’s Home 21 Kim Salomon, Refugees in the Cold War. of Sweden, 1997. Towards a nex international refugee regime in the early 5 Björn Horgby, Dom där. Främlingsfi entligheten postwar era, Lund 1991; Tempsch, Från Centraleu- och arbetarkulturen i Norrköping 1890-1960 , ropa till folkhemmet, 1997. Stockholm 1996. 22 Interview with Johan Metsäär, 18 October 6 Olsson, On the Threshold of the People’s Home 2003, my translation. of Sweden, 1997, p. 8. 23 Interview with Albert Fatajev, 5 November 7 Olsson, On the Threshold of the People’s Home 2003, my translation. of Sweden, 1997, p. 149. 24 Interview with Johan Metsäär, 18 October 8 Olsson, On the Threshold of the People’s Home 2003, my translation. of Sweden, 1997, pp. 77-78. 25 Interview with Johan Metsäär, 18 October 9 Horgby, Dom där, 1996, p. 9. 2003, my translation. 10 Horgby, Dom där, 1996, p. 27, my transla- 26 E09 1950-1959, avd. 106. Letter from tion. Ejnar Larson to Metal Workers’ Union 23 Janu- 11 Horgby, Dom där, 1996, pp. 163, 165. ary 1952, Metal Workers’ Union archives. 12 Rudolf Tempsch, Från Centraleuropa till 27 Olsson, On the Threshold of the People’s Home folkhemmet. Den sudettyska invandringen till Sverige of Sweden, 1997, pp. 25-28; Horgby, Dom där, 1938-1955, Göteborg 1997, p. 253. 1996, p. 88. 13 Anders Svensson, Ungrare i folkhemmet. 28 Erik Olin Wright, Class counts. Student edi- Svensk fl yktingpolitik i kalla krigets skugga, Lund tion, Cambridge 2000, p. 202. 1992. 29 Interview with Pentti Suua, 10 June 2004. 14 Carl-Ulrik Schierup & Sven Paulson (eds.), 30 Interview with Pentti Suua, 11 June 2004, Arbetets etniska delning. Studier från en svensk bilfab- my translation. rik, Stockholm 1994, pp. 18, 56, my translation. 31 Interview with Pentti Suua, 11 June 2004, 15 Wuokko Knocke, Invandrare möter facket. my translation. Betydelse av hemlandsbakgrund och hemvist i arbet- slivet, Stockholm 1981; Wuokko Knocke, Invandrade kvinnor i lönearbete och fack. En studie om kvinnor från fyra länder inom Kommunal- och Fabriksarbetareförbundets avtalsområde, Stockholm Portugal: Destination Countries for Emigrants; Immigrants´ Countries of Origin
Maria Beatriz Rocha-Trindade
Contrary to other countries in Europe, Portugal experiences both emigration and immi- gration. There is some nexus of emigration destinations and the fl ux towards Portugal. The most obvious ones are Brazil and the Portuguese-speaking States in Africa. This is not, however, the case with the newest and very substantial wave of immigrants coming from the Central and East European countries: there was no previous tradition of interaction with the Portuguese, as well as no proximity to their language and culture. The same is true for all of more than one hundred nationalities of foreigners now wor- king and living in Portugal. The solution of this apparent paradox is that, while historic ties between sending and receiving countries certainly favour the establishment of migration currents, this is not, nowadays, a sine qua non condition: globalisation can overcome all kinds of frontiers and cultural differences.
Portuguese Emigration: In the particular case of the Portuguese, Reasons for Leaving the Country the principal country of destination in Throughout the entire nineteenth cen- this Atlantic region was Brazil. tury and the fi rst half of the twentieth, The second reason stemmed from the two principal reasons came together to fact that Portugal possessed an extensive motivate the Portuguese to leave their colonial empire in Africa, Asia and Oce- country of origin. ania, a situation that lasted up until the The fi rst of these reasons, common third quarter of the twentieth century, to other countries located on Europe’s well after the decolonisation process of periphery — underdeveloped regions the United Kingdom, France, Spain, where a shortage of employment and, Belgium, Holland and Germany had not uncommonly, the prospect of taken place. As these processes of deco- hunger loomed overhead — created a lonisation progressed, the European fl ow of transatlantic movements in the colonial powers eventually retreated to direction of the major receptor countries their original pre-colonial size. of the Americas, namely to the United However, as long as Portuguese colo- States, and Central and South America. nial control lasted, many tens-of-thou- MARIA BEATRIZ ROCHA-TRINDADE 77 sands of Portuguese settled down in shape that would soon come to domi- these territories as agents of the colonial nate the entire spectrum of Portuguese administration, merchants, busines- immigrant destinations: emigration to smen or farmers. other European countries, namely Ger- Although these departures can not, many, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, technically speaking, be classifi ed as the United Kingdom, Spain and, above examples of international emigration all, France, where at one time roughly they do not, however, differ signifi can- one million Portuguese were legally tly with respect to the structure of the settled. populations of those groups of indivi- The proximity of the countries invol- duals who left for North America or ved and, above all, their authorities’ Brazil. willingness to accept unskilled manual Although this latter destination labour proved very attractive factors for was by far the most numerically sig- short or medium-term labour-based nifi cant, there were other countries of emigration (in stark contrast with long- destination, albeit of a smaller nume- term transatlantic emigration) although rical importance. These included, in these often developed into permanent North America, the United States; in arrangements. Central America, Aruba, Curaçao and In the majority of cases, the reasons Demerara; in the Pacifi c, the Hawaiian for leaving were no longer a matter Archipelago (formerly known as the of purely material survival but rather Sandwich Islands); in South America, were due to these individuals’ hopes Argentina and, later on, Venezuela; and and expectations for a better future for even later, roughly around the mid- themselves and their children. twentieth century, Canada and South Table 1 presents an estimate, referred Africa. to the year 2002, of the number of Por- Generally speaking, the underlying tuguese nationals living abroad. characteristic of both the emigration movements and the process of coloni- Table 1 Portuguese Residents Abroad zation was that these were movements leading to long -term settlement which, Countries Residents in many cases, took on a permanent Others 706,000 nature, with the successive multiplica- PALOP* 33,000 tion of generations. Australia 55,000 This departures process that conti- Switzerland 154,000 nued throughout the decades and even Germany 170,000 the centuries has led some Portuguese USA 500,000 historians and sociologists to look at South Africa 500,000 emigration as a structural phenomenon Canada 515,000 of Portuguese society.1 Francce 798,000 In the mid-twentieth century a new Brazil 1200,000 type of migratory phenomenon took *PALOP: in Portuguese language, Países Africanos de Língua Ofi cial Portuguesa (African Countries with Portuguese as Offi cial Language) Source: Minitry of Foreign Affairs, DGACCP,2002 78 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 From this brief discussion of the main It is worth mentioning that the free destination countries for Portuguese circulation of workers and busines- emigrants throughout the nineteenth smen inside the European Union and and twentieth centuries, it is worth the suppression of internal borders highlighting once again the relevance within this political space contribute to of the bond that existed with Brazil losing track of intra-European mobility, as well as with the Portuguese ex- making almost impossible to estimate colonies in Africa and Asia, in that this its quantitative dimension. relationship may help to explain some Table 2 shows the yearly output of of the connections that exist between Portuguese emigrants in the decade migrations in the past and those of the 1992-2003. present. Intra-European migration underwent a strong retraction in the Immigration to Portugal: 1970s, in part due to the precedent The Forerunners oil crisis. Despite this, however, the Although relatively small in quantitative Portuguese did not cease departing to terms, mention should be made of some other destination countries, leaving of the oldest migratory currents to Por- their homeland at an average rate close tugal in the past. to 25 000 individuals per year. Some of these new emigrants have as The Englishmen and the Methuen Treaty destinations a number of the previously - Put into effect in the eighteenth century mentioned countries. Some others aim (1703) and signed by Portugal and Eng- at temporary jobs in European countries land, the Methuen Treaty established a like France, Switzerland and the United series of rules concerning commercial Kingdom for these ones have a marked trade between these two countries. manpower defi cit in some seasons of the The principal objectives behind this year. treaty included importing textiles from the territories of the British Empire
Table 2 Yearly Output of Portuguese Emigrants — 1992-2003
Year Number Year Number 1992 39 322 1998 22 196 1993 33 171 1999 28 080 1994 29 104 2000 21 333 1995 22 579 2001 20 589 1996 29 066 2002 27 358 1997 36 395 2003 27 008
Source: INE, Séries Cronológicas, Emigração – 2004 MARIA BEATRIZ ROCHA-TRINDADE 79 in order to meet the needs of the cor- Galego) became associated with certain responding Portuguese industry, as well low -qualifi cation jobs such as that of as to develop the vineyards of the Douro heavy-load porters and water-carriers, Valley region, in order to produce and but also with those owning or working sell Port Wine, which was essentially in restaurants and bars where, to this aimed for export to England. day, many Galicians still are well recog- As a result of this situation, a signifi - nized. cant number of English families settled down in the North of Portugal, consti- The First Immigrant Groups of the Twen- tuting a wealthy bourgeoisie often refer- tieth Century red to in Portuguese literature of the From the 1920s to the 1940s a wide nineteenth century. variety of nationalities arrived at the Por- Other causes were likewise involved, tuguese capital for a different number of some of which were directly related to reasons. They included: the fact that large production companies - Russians (commonly referred to in the fi elds of urban and interurban as «White Russians»), refugees during transportation, telecommunications the aftermath of the October Revolu- and mineral exploration, managed and tion in their country, who exercised operated by British enterprises, were artistic professions or professions related established in Portugal since the early to personal services. nineteenth century. - Poles, uprooted by successive political upheavals that affl icted Poland Immigration of Galicians over the decades, who were known in The Spanish region of Galicia, which Portugal, above all, for their professional lies directly adjacent to the province of activity in the wool industry. Minho, located at the northernmost tip - Chinese, who arrived at a time of Portugal, enjoys a special relationship when thousands of these nationals with this latter province, based on strong sought to emigrate to European coun- similarities in terms of geographic lands- tries and who, in Portugal, dedicated cape, historical and cultural traditions, themselves to the production and retail and even considerable linguistic affi nity, of ties, particularly as peddlers (Pereira, with this common language often refer- 2004:22-33). red to as Galaico-Português. - The very special case of a large Naturally subject to the same adverse number of European royal families economic situation that affected the who found themselves deposed of their Portuguese northern region during the thrones and lived in the Estoril-Cas- nineteenth century, Galicia became a cais coastal region West of Lisbon. It source of emigration not only to Latin was there that the royal families from America but to Portugal as well, parti- countries such as France, Spain, Italy, cularly to the main cities of Porto and Austria, Romania and Bulgaria settled Lisbon (Alves, 2001). down (Pacheco, 2001).2 The term «Galician» (in Portuguese, - During the 2nd World War, a 80 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 large number of refugees (namely of and closed group with regards to their Jewish origin) from German-occupied social contacts, although they do inte- countries passed trough Portugal to ract with the receptor society in their other destinations, an indeterminate day-to-day activities, at the individual number of them having settled level. permanently in this country.3 The case of those individuals who are spread out over the territory in a Contemporary Immigration: disperse manner, well outside of the British Citizens residential conglomerates where their From roughly the 1950s onward there compatriots are concentrated, is parti- were two types of movements of British cularly interesting because their level of citizens directed towards Portugal. interaction with the surrounding society The fi rst one relates to the collapse of is much greater as is their degree of inte- the British Empire following the end of gration within that same society. the Second World War, leading to the At the present time, a total of 16,784 repatriation of hundreds of thousands British citizens are legally registered as of civil servants and members of the living in Portugal. colonial Armed Forces, of which a signifi cant part subsequently retired.4 Other European Union Nationals The end of their professional careers Due to the preferential regulations and the comfortable level of their applying to European Union citizens retirement pensions were determining inside this geo-political region, they factors in the migration of many of these are free to establish residence and to individuals to Mediterranean European develop a professional activity within countries blessed with a fair climate and any country of this space; and they are a low cost of living. not subject to police control when tra- In the case of Portugal, many British velling across their terrestrial borders. citizens settled down in the Algarve, in This situation tends to facilitate the Southern coastal region of Portugal, intra-European immigration and, in the where they live off their income. case of Portugal, there are about 77,053 To these should be added a younger European Union citizens living among group of their compatriots who provide us (2004). Apart from the United King- services to the British community rooted dom nationals, which special case was there, working as real estate agents and discussed before, the main nationalities property administrators, owners of bars represented are Spaniards, Germans and and restaurants, providers of education French. and health services etc. who as citizens of European Union countries bear the Cape-Verdian Immigration right to freely settle therein. The movement of persons from the As a whole, the British communities Atlantic archipelago of Cape Verde into that make up this contemporary wave of Portugal began in visible numbers in the immigrants are a relatively autonomous 1960s. However, this movement could MARIA BEATRIZ ROCHA-TRINDADE 81 not be classifi ed as international migra- immigration fl ow over a period of four tion because at that time Cape Verde decades, the Cape-Verdian community was still under Portuguese sovereignty is now well established in Portugal, alt- and its citizens were legally Portuguese. hough it remains somewhat stratifi ed in This movement, which during the six- socio-economic terms. This situation ties is thought to have involved close to has led to the formation of groups with ten thousand individuals, owed much to different levels of interaction with the the lack of manual labour in Portugal at dominant society, with those groups at that time, a consequence of Portuguese the lower end of the integration scale emigration (particularly to Europe) and associated with less favourable profes- the mass mobilization of young men to sional, economic and social conditions. the war effort in which Portugal was This situation often translates into involved in its African colonies. rundown residential conglomerates, This situation continued even after particularly located on city outskirts, the independence of Cape Verde, with which lead to recreating the cultural the regular entry of Cape-Verdians into environment of this particular group’s Portugal (Carreira 1977; Lopes Filho country of origin (Ribeiro 2001; Horta 1980; França1992; Ferreira1997). 2003). Table 3 illustrates the quantitative Cape-Verdian immigration is a typical characteristics of this immigration fl ow, example of a diasporic migratory move- a signifi cant part of which is attributed ment rooted in past colonial relations to family reunifi cation. with a historical, linguistic and cultural Given the continuous nature of this affi nity with the receptor country.
Table 3 Other Lusophone African Immigrations Cape-Verdian Residents in Portugal Although not on the same scale or 1980-2003 of the same temporal scope as Cape- Verdian immigration, citizens from Year Numbers Year Numbers other Portuguese ex-colonies in Africa 1980 21,022 1992 31,217 (Angola, Guinea -Bissau, São-Tomé 1981 21,008 1993 32,763 e Príncipe and Mozambique) have 1982 20,957 1994 36,560 likewise emigrated to Portugal, after 1983 22,358 1995 38,746 the independence of these countries 1984 23,372 1996 38,546 in 1974 and 1975, as a labour-based 1985 24,959 1997 38,789 5 1986 26,301 1998 40,003 immigration (Rocha-Trindade 2001). 1987 26,565 1999 43,951 The estimated amount of Portu- 1988 27,106 2000 47,092 guese-speaking immigrants from Afri- 1089 27,972 2001 49,930 can countries (including their major 1990 28,796 2002 52,227 component of Cape-Verdians) legally 1991 29,743 2003 57,870 resident in Portugal amount to about Source: Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras / MAI 110,000 (2002). Compared to this, the number of Africans from other (non-lusophone) 82 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 countries is relatively small (6,337). have adopted Portuguese as its offi cial It is worth mentioning that three or language. four decades before there was a small- In more recent times, two factors came size movement of youths from that together that made Brazil an emigrant - region who came to Portugal with the sending country: the military dicta- objective of completing their studies in torship that ruled that country from this country, then the hub of a colonial 1964 to 1980 and the fi nancial insta- empire of a signifi cant size. bility that affl icted Brazil during the To sum up, the immigration of lus- 80-90s, causing infl ation to skyrocket at ophone Africans to Portugal owed much a rate of several thousand per cent per to the liberalisation of the job market to year, thereby effectively de-capitalizing unqualifi ed manual labourers, in con- both the country in general and its citi- junction with the existence of negative zens in particular. factors in their countries of origin, Europe and the United States are the namely the shortage of job opportuni- main destinations chosen by Brazilian ties and the political instability that in emigrants, with Portugal included some cases degenerated into civil war. among the preferred target countries, in large part due to its shared language Brazilian Immigration and common historical and cultural At the present time, Brazilian background with Brazil. 7 immigration is among the strongest In 1980, only about 3 600 Brazilian international currents of human immigrants were residing legally in Por- mobility, with Portugal as its fi nal tugal. This number swelled during the destination. In centuries past, Brazil 80s and 90s, with an annual number of served essentially as a receiving country legal entries during this period in the for emigrants, given the extent of its order of several thousands (for instance, vast territory, having, during various 21,000 individuals in 1999 alone). distinct periods in its history, received Table 4 (following(following page) showsshows the Portuguese, Swiss, Italians, Spaniards, statistics of Brazilian residents in Portu- Germans and Japanese as well as various gal in the last decades. other nationalities, thereby increasing During the initial period of this manifold the initial population of migratory fl ow, those individuals who Indians, Africans and Portuguese migrated to Portugal were often highly- that made up the core of the colonial qualifi ed professionals, namely doctors, population of Brazil. 6 dentists, computer scientists, designers, The Portuguese who settled down in technicians specialised in television and Brazil, whether as colonials or later on as advertising, artistic professionals and immigrants following the independence high-performance athletes. of that country in 1822, constituted More recently, however, a new and its dominant cultural force, thereby numerically denser wave of immigration justifying that that country, made up has taken shape in its way into Portugal, of more than 150 million inhabitants, this time made up of professionally less MARIA BEATRIZ ROCHA-TRINDADE 83 Table 4 Legal Brazilian Residents in Prime Minister on the 11th of July of Portugal 1980- 2003 2003, which process is still going on.8 Generally speaking, this community Year Legal Year Legal is relatively well-integrated within the Residents Residents Portuguese society, and in particular in the job market, where its members 1980 3,608 1992 14,148 work in the commerce and service sec- 1981 4,349 1993 16,168 tors, thanks to their easy-going manner 1982 5,016 1994 18,612 and the cordial relations they are able to 1983 5,870 1995 19,901 establish with the public. 1984 6,316 1996 20,082 There are, of course, exceptions to 1985 6,804 1997 19,990 this pattern, due to the concentration of 1986 7,470 1998 19,860 a few highly disadvantaged residential 1987 7,830 1999 20,887 nuclei. Signifi cant examples of these 1988 9,333 2000 22,678 include the Cruz de Pau area, located 1989 10,520 2001 23,541 to the Southern bank of the Tagus 1990 11,413 2002 58,813 River, and also some women who hold 1991 12,678 2003 66,471 professions of a somewhat dubious Source: Servico de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras/ MAI nature.9 Following a long period of migratory fl ow from Portugal into Brazil, Brazi- lian emigration to Portugal constitutes qualifi ed individuals, many of whom a rather unique situation in the fi eld entered this country illegally. This fact of international migrations that was became particularly self-evident during termed by the present author as ‘a Retri- the various processes of regularisation of buted Immigration’ (Rocha-Trindade illegal immigrants which, according to 2000:120-127). the Portuguese Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (the BordersBorders and ForeignersForeigners The Winds from the East Service), placed the total number of Up to now, all examples of emigration/ Brazilians residing in Portugal in mid- immigration provided in this article 2002 at more than 60,000. have been justifi ed to some extent by the Awareness that these numbers may existence of previous historical, cultural still underestimate the true volume of or even linguistic ties between the invol- Brazilian citizens living in Portugal, ved sending and receiving countries. and that there were perhaps as many as The same can not be said, however, of thirty thousand more of these citizens some of the more recent migratory cur- residing illegally in this country, led to rents that have Portugal as their fi nal the creation of a legalisation mechanism destination. specifi cally oriented towards these In fact, the processes of extraordinary individuals, thanks to an agreement of legalisation that took place in Portugal reciprocity signed by the President of the up until mid-2002, and the number Republic of Brazil and the Portuguese 84 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 of immigrants who were legalised in had no relationship to the ethnic Chi- this manner, brought the total number nese and Luso-Chinese individuals of foreign residents from roughly 200 formerly living in Mozambique, that 000 individuals in 1999 to slightly less came to Portugal in the 70’s when this than half a million at the present. These territory became independent; neither newly legalised immigrants include citi- to those formerly living in Macau and zens from virtually every country in the who migrated to this country, due world. Strangely, the largest proportion to the transfer of sovereignty of that of them is coming from Central and Portuguese-administrated territory in Eastern European countries. Southeast Asia, to the People’s Republic In fact, the Ukrainian immigrant of China (20th December 1999). community, with more than 65 000 Although this Chinese community members now living in Portugal, is cur- has a modest dimension when compa- rently one of the three largest foreign red with the migrant dominant nationa- national groups residing legally in this lities in Portugal (9 059 legal residents country, alongside their Cape-Verdian in 2003, with an estimated 4 000 illegal and Brazilian counterparts. immigrants), their visibility is rather Immigration from the Eastern Euro- high, due to their economic activities, pean countries has brought out a new, mainly in Chinese restaurants and inconvenient aspect: It is now known retail shops selling low-cost products for sure that travel agency-like criminal manufactured in China. Nevertheless, organisations in the countries of origin they confi gure a rather closed, family- provide false information to candidates based and almost invisible community to immigration, promising well -paid in social terms, as they do not interact and attractive jobs as well as speedy lega- individually with the receiving society lisation processes to whoever is willing (Rocha-Trindade et al., 2005). to pay a stiff fee to come to Portugal. Once the fee is paid, and the person is Portugal: Convergence and Divergence in found in Portugal, the organizers simply Migration Movements vanish. With roughly fi ve million Portuguese In other cases, organised foreign citizens presently living abroad, a fi gure gangs have been known to be active that represents 50 per cent of this in Portugal doing extortion to Eastern country’s actual resident population, immigrants under menace of physical Portugal must necessarily be defi ned, in violence, this being a current target for this perspective, as an emigrant-sending the Portuguese police action. country. On the other hand, however, A New Wave of Chinese Immigration approximately half a million foreigners A new migration fl ow began in the early are now residing legally in Portugal, a 90’s between the province of Zheijiang fact that has led us to consider it, at in the PRC at the South of Shanghai, the same time, an immigrant-receiving and Portugal. This immigration wave country (see Figure 1).10 MARIA BEATRIZ ROCHA-TRINDADE 85 From this perspective, it seems In this sense, the modern-day pre- important to attempt to establish those sence of these Portuguese-speaking connections that may exist between the immigrants from African countries various exit and entry movements that appears to be a logical consequence of have Portugal at its fulcrum. the prolonged, and relatively recent, As was previously mentioned, there is presence of the Portuguese in their a convergence between the entry of Por- respective countries of origin. tuguese-speaking African citizens (par- The case of Brazilian immigrants ticularly those of Cape-Verdian origin, shares some similarities with the pre- due to their visible numerical presence) vious example of African immigrants, and the old colonial ties between Portu- but there are also noticeable differences gal and that group of territories, all of between the two cases. The similarities which are independent countries today. reside essentially in the fact that Brazil These ties or bonds may be interpreted and Portugal have shared the same under the light of common historical language and a common history up and cultural references and strong until the time when the former won its linguistic affi nities, even in the case of independence, in the fi rst quarter of the individuals whose mother tongue was nineteenth century. the local Creole (and not Portuguese). Equally relevant is the presence of
Figure 1 Foreign Residents in Portugal 1980 - 2004
Source: Servico de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras, MAI, 2004 86 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 roughly one million Portuguese citi- existence of international migration zens and their respective descendants in currents between the sending and Brazil, as well as numerous expressions the receiving countries, other factors of diplomatic and cultural relations that are likewise thought today to play an have taken shape over the years between equally important role in fomenting these two States. these migratory currents, including the The main difference resides in the spread of information within family and fact that the economic and technologi- neighbourhood circles, the existence of cal gap that exists between Portugal and organised networks and the infl uence of the new Portuguese-speaking countries the media. in Africa is far greater than that which Another situation analysed was that exists between Portugal and Brazil. In of the British, a case that undoubtedly this sense, it would seem that the poten- have historical roots in the Portugal- tial for our country to attract Brazilian England relationship, but whose pre- immigrants should be signifi cantly sent-day development can, in part, be weaker that its potential to attract Afri- attributed to the promotion of travel cans – a supposition that experience has and real estate companies that present proven to be wrong — perhaps due to Portugal as an essentially desirable desti- the fact that a large number of Brazilian nation. citizens actually have a more or less dis- The same applies to the many thou- tant Portuguese ancestry. sands of Community citizens who pre- Some authors attribute the recent sently reside in Portugal, and who work wave of Brazilian immigration into in this country in a wide variety of fi elds, our country to a somewhat greater per- although in this case other attractive fac- meability of its borders to illegal entry tors may also be at play. On the one in comparison, for instance, with the hand, this is the natural result of the situation in the United States, which has globalisation process that affects the been a traditional destination country majority of productive activities; while, for this group of emigrants in the 20th on the other hand, it stems from the pri- century. Another explanation points vileged status to which European Union a fi nger at the power and infl uence of citizens are entitled in any part of this the media, referring to a wide-audi- geo-political space. ence broadcast by Rede Globo (Globo Of particular interest is the situation Network), a major Brazilian television that resulted from Portuguese emi- station, during which emigration to gration to other European countries, Portugal was described in a highly among them France, where during the favourable light. 1960s and 70s the total number of Por- Let us recall, to this effect, that in tuguese living in that country exceeded addition to those attraction/repulsion the one million fi gure. factors of an economic and demo- A large proportion of these emigrants graphic nature, that were once consi- settled down permanently in that coun- dered to be determining factors in the try; another portion opted to split their MARIA BEATRIZ ROCHA-TRINDADE 87 place of residence between France and permit documents; Portugal, travelling frequently between - Efforts by the receiving coun- these two countries; while the remain- tries to reduce the number of illegal der returned defi nitely to their country aliens through extraordinary legalisation of origin. processes may in fact serve as a stimulus The impact of the heavy intra- for the entry of further contingents of European migratory current was very illegal immigrants who come with the important for Portugal. From an hope that additional legalisation proces- economic point of view, the economic ses will take place; remittances sent from abroad to families - The transnational circulation back home or deposited in Portuguese of information regarding job opportu- bank accounts was a powerful driving nities (be they real or altogether imagi- force for economic development by way nary) for foreign workers constitutes an of investments of several hundreds of important element in the development thousands of new homes, commercial of international migrations; installations and new business ventures - The international prestige now established in Portugal.11-12 associated with the social, economic, Although there is not a total conver- political and cultural conjuncture that gence between Portuguese emigratory characterises European Union countries currents (whether classic or contem- will inevitably make this space a privile- porary) and the modern-day fl ow of ged target for the entry of immigrants immigrants from a wide variety of sen- from comparatively less favourable parts ding countries who now fi nd themselves of the globe. Despite the fact that Por- residing in Portugal, it is still possible to tugal is substantially less developed in establish some common characteristics economic terms than the average Euro- of a more generic nature between these pean country, it will continue to be an two movements: attractive destination for immigrants. - The purpose of Portuguese aut- - Illegal immigrants are initially a horities to promote the integration of large part of immigratory currents; immigrants into the receiving society - There are national and inter- means an enormous a sustained effort, national well-organised networks fully which is impaired by any incoming fl ow dedicated to promote illegal internatio- of new illegal immigrants. nal migrations, including the delivery of fake identifi cation, travel and work- 88 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 References Territórios, Itinerários e Trajectórias: 344. Almeida, Carlos; Barreto, António. Fafe: Ed. A. 1974. Capitalismo e Emigração em Pacheco, Cristina. 2001. Cascais- Portugal:332. Lisboa: Prelo (2ª ed.) Estoril, A Place of Exile, XX Century, 30s- Alves, Jorge Fernandes. 2001. 50s. Cascais: Câmara Municipal. Imigração de Galegos no Norte de Portugal Patarra, Neide Lopes (coord.) 1996. (1500-1900). Algumas Notas, Santiago Emigração e Imigração Internacionais de Compostela, Cátedra UNESCO. no Brasil Contemporâneo and Migrações Arroteia, Jorge Carvalho. 1983. A Internacionais, Herança XX, Agenda XXI Emigração Portuguesa. Suas Origens e – Programa Institucional de Avaliação Distribuição: 172. Lisboa: Instituto de e Acompanhamento das Migrações Cultura e Língua Portuguesa. Internacionais no Brasil. Campinas: Carreira, António. 1983. Migrações FNUAP,1996, vol. I: 207 - Anexos; vol nas Ilhas de Cabo Verde, Praia: Instituto II: 268 + Anexo. Cabo-Verdiano do Livro (1ª Ed., 1977) Ribeiro, José da Silva. 2001. Colá Ferreira, Lígia Évora. 1997. Cabo S. Jon, Oh que Sabe!: 411. EdiçõesEdições Verde, (bloco multimédia), Lisboa: Afrontamento. Universidade Aberta, CEMRI. Rocha-Trindade, Maria Beatriz; França, Luís de (Coord.) 1992. Roseta, Helena. 1988. O Sonho A Comunidade Cabo-Verdiana em do Emigrante. Lisboa: Série de 4 Portugal. Lisboa: Instituto de Estudos Videogramas, RTP2/ Universidade para o Desenvolvimento. Aberta. Godinho, Vitorino Magalhães 1974. − Rocha-Trindade, Maria Beatriz «L’Emigration Portugaise du XVème 1999. «Réseaux de Transnationalité. Le Siècle à nos Jours. Histoire d’une Cas Portugais» in Ethnologie Française, Constante Structurale» in Conjoncture Avril-Juin, 1999/2: 255-262. Economique et Structures Sociales: 253- − Rocha-Trindade, Maria Beatriz. 268. Paris: The Hague, Mouton. 2002. «Musealizar as Migrações» in Horta, Ana Paula Beja. 2003. História, nº 42. Lisboa: Fev. 2002:58- Transnational Networks ans Local Politics 63. of Migrants Grassroots Organizing iIn Rocha-Trindade, Maria Beatriz Post-Colonial Portugal: 26. University of 2002. «Portugal : Ongoing Changes Oxford: Working Paper Series. in Immigration and Governmental Lopes Filho, João. 1980. «O Policies» in Studi Emigrazione (148): Emigrante Cabo-Verdiano em Lisboa» 795-810. Roma: Centro Studi in Africa nº 9: 444-453. Lisboa: Julho/ Emigrazione. Setembro. Rocha-Trindade, Maria Beatriz et al. Martes, Ana Cristina Braga. 2000. 2005. The Chinese Business Communities Brasileiros nos Estados Unidos. Um estudo in Portugal – Final Report. Lisboa, sobre Imigrantes em Massachussetts: 204. IEEI/CEMRI, 2005, 200 p. (to be São Paulo: Paz e Terra. published). Monteiro, Miguel. 2000. Migrantes, Rossini, Rosa Ester. 1996. «O Emigrantes e Brasileiros (1834-1926) Retorno às Origens ou o Sonho do MARIA BEATRIZ ROCHA-TRINDADE 89 Encontro com o Eldorado: o Exemplo 5 The former Portuguese African colonies dos Dekasseguis do Brasil em Direcção became independent at the following dates: Guinea-Bissau, 10 September 1974; Cape ao Japão» in Emigraqção e Imigração Vert, 5 July 1975; S. Tome e Principe, 12 July Internacionais no Brasil Contemporâneo: 1975; Mozambique, 25 July 1975; Angola, 11 104-110. Campinas: FNUAP. November 1975. 6 The fact that Brazil possesses within itself Sales, Teresa. 1999. Brasileiros Longe the potential to become one of the major world de Casa: 240. São Paulo: Cortez powers in a few years and is already the richest Editora. and most developed country in Latin America has made it also an attractive destination for Serrão, Joel. 1972. Emigração immigrants from neighbouring countries, par- Portuguesa. Sondagem Histórica: 176. ticularly those that are less advantaged such Lisboa: Livros Horizonte. as Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru and Bolivia (in the Silva, Sidney Antônio da. 1997. latter case, see Silva, 1997). With regards to Asia, there is currently a very signifi cant fl ow Costurando Sonhos. Trajetória de um of Koreans, mainly into the State of São Paulo Grupo de Imgrantes Bolivianos em São (Patarra, 1996). Paulo: 294. São Paulo: Paulinas. 7 In numerical terms the United States, Ger- many and Italy are slightly ahead of Portugal in Villanova, Roselyne de; Leite, Caro- what concerns being the preferred destination lina; Raposo, Isabel. 1994. Maisons de country for Brazilian emigration (Sales, 1999; Rêve au Portugal: 208. Paris: Editions Martes, 2000). There is also the very special case of the emigration of Brazilians to Japan, Créaphis. strictly reserved to the direct descendents of Japanese immigrés (dekassegui nikkei) living in Notes Brazil (Rossini, 1996). 1 In recent times, when Portuguese emigra- 8 This positive discrimination in favour of tion became a very insistent theme for histori- illegal Brazilian immigrants was strongly con- ans, geographers and sociologists, its structural tested by the representatives of other Portu- character was emphasized by authors like J. guese-speaking foreign communities who claim Serrão, 1965; C. Almeida & A. Barreto, 1970; for themselves the right to the same treatment, V.M. Godinho, 1974; M. B. Rocha-Trindade, without success. 1975, J.Arroteia, 1983. 9 The image resulting from the practice 2 In the context of celebrations of 50 years of prostitution by some Brazilian citizens is after the end of the 2nd World War, an exhibi- actively lamented by this national community tion was organized in Estoril named «Cascais- and is a motive for concern among the authori- Estoril, A Place of Exile – 20th Century, 30s. 50s». ties of both countries, due to the unfair creation The large number of documents collected for of a stereotype of negative content that may this purpose provided the core of the Museu do encompass all Brazilian women. Exílio, in Cascais. 10 Statistical data pertaining to immigration 3 The Portuguese consul in Bordeaux frequently may show fl uctuations of a few (France), Aristides Sousa Mendes, had a major percent, even when referred to the same item role in making possible the escape of close to (for instance, number of Cape-Verdian residents 10 000 refugees by providing them with visitor’s in Portugal in 2001), according to the year these visas into Portugal, for humanitarian reasons, results are published. This is due to changing and without the consent of the Portuguese gov- applicable laws regarding legalization processes; ernment. This caused him to be expelled from and to processes initiated in a given year and diplomatic service and only recently gained the only being completed in the next one. public recognition as a hero, for the many lives 11 See, for instance, (Rocha-Trindade et al, he contributed to save. 1985; Villanova et al., 1994). 4 The main British colonies become inde- 12 The Bank of Portugal’s Annual Reports pendent at the following dates: 1947, India and show that these total annual remittances exceed Pakistan; 1963, Kenya; 1964, Malawi, Tanzania the net contributions that Portugal received and Zambia; 1965, Rodhesia. from the European Union. The ‘Franck Letter Collection’: A Socio-Historical Case Study of an Individual Migration Trajectory Inside a European Textile Route Claude Wey
Our present case study mainly describes and analyses the biographic pathway of Jean- Pierre Franck. Especially based upon a private collection of some 30 documents and of 30 letters which were sent by Jean-Pierre Franck and his family to their relatives in Wiltz in the Luxembourg Ardennes, our contribution will undertake to document and to analyse how the study of private correspondence can contribute to our understanding of individual migration and integration processes on the European scene at the end of the nineteenth and the fi rst half of the twentieth century. Our paper will also show letter writing as a key tool of migration strategies, especially during the European socio-politi- cal and economic crisis of the fi rst half of the twentieth century. Besides this aspect, it will attempt to raise some methodological issues about the interpretation of private letters and the social construction of the emigrant experience.
Introduction in building up a successful career as During the nineteenth century, the a director in the textile industry.3 His Luxembourg rural town of Wiltz was professional tour led him fi rst to the dominated by the professional com- Belgium textile centre of Verviers, from munities of the tanners and the weavers where it continued to the West German to which the Franck family had belon- town of Hückeswagen near Cologne. ged for generations. 1At the end of the From 1890 on, Jean-Pierre Franck eighteen-eighties, two young men of the settled down in Sweden, where he was Franck family as well as a member of the going to undertake his entrepreneurial Brück family left their small hometown challenge.4 Some documents of the in the Ardennes to emigrate to North- ‘Franck Archives’ notify that Jean-Pierre ern Europe. Mathgen Franck ended his Franck co-directed the ‘Erikson & migration itinerary in the Finnish town Franck Klädesfabrik’ in Norrköping and of Åbo/TÅbo/Turku,urku, wherwheree he became a lead- that later on he became the ‘direktör’ of ing manager of a textile plant; meanwhile the ‘Borås Yllefabriksaktiebolag’.5 Constant Brück had probably emigrated Beyond the professional trajectory of to Sweden.2 Jean-Pierre Franck, the utilized docu- Mathgen’s cousin Jean-Pierre Franck ments reveal quite a few interesting fi nished his European migration tra- details about the private life of Jean- jectory in Sweden, where he succeeded Pierre Franck and his family in Sweden. CLAUDE WEY 91 In the eighteen-nineties Jean-Pierre Formally our article is organized in - who continued to call himself by his three parts: Luxembourgish surname ‘Jemmy’ - 1. The fi rst part is centred on the married Octavie Ziegelé. Octavie and description and analysis of the docu- Jean-Pierre had two children, Vivi and ments which we used for our socio-his- Wilhelm.6 torical project. Like his father, Wilhelm decided to 2. The second part focuses on the make a professional career in the textile main topics of Jemmy Franck letters, industry. 7 Wilhelm married Märta Mag- which partly reveal his migration trajec- nusson in 1935. Wilhelm and Märtha tory as well as his biographic pathway. had three children, Björn, Margareta 3. The third part will be more of and Elisabeth-Monica.8 Wilhelm an analytical one. It will mainly try to Franck’s older sister Vivi, the daughter evaluate the present micro-historical of Jemmy Franck and Octavie Ziegelé, research. took in marriage Bengt Simmingsköld, who died prematurely in 1924.9 Vivi and The ‘Franck Letter Collection’: a descrip- her son, Bo Simmingsköld later lived in tive, quantitative and analytical state- Växjö, where Bo became the director of ment the ‘Glasforskningsinstitutet’.10 Our ‘Franck Archives’ are based upon Our present case study mainly descri- several archival unities, such as the bes and analyses the biographic pathway documents of the ‘City archives of of Jean-Pierre Franck. Especially based Borås’ which were collected by our upon a private collection of some 30 AEMI colleague Annikki Nikula-Benito documents and of 30 letters which were or the private documents collected sent by Jean-Pierre Franck and his family by Mrs Margareta Thorin, the grand- to their relatives in Wiltz in the Luxem- daughter of Jean-Pierre Franck. But - as bourg Ardennes, our contribution will we mentioned earlier - the main unity undertake to document and to analyse of documents which we utilised for our how the study of private correspondence research is constituted by some 60 docu- can contribute to our understanding of ments which are actually the property of individual migration and integration the Luxembourg Schiltges family. Some processes on the European scene at the 30 documents out of 60 are letters end of the nineteenth and the fi rst half which were sent by Jean-Pierre Franck of the twentieth century. Our paper will and his descendants to his relatives in also show letter writing as a key tool of Luxembourg. They represent the analy- migration strategies, especially during tical centre of the present case study. In the European socio-political and econo- our ‘Centre de Documentation sur les mic crisis of the fi rst half of the twenti- Migrations Humaines’ in Luxembourg eth century. Besides this aspect, it will we have classifi ed these letters under the attempt to raise some methodological following title: ‘The Franck Letter Col- issues about the interpretation of private lection’ (FLC). letters and the social construction of the emigrant experience. a) The letters count a total of 80 92 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 pages and are dated from 1887 to 1993. home. His fi rst letter was written in the Handwriting is used in 29 letters out Belgian town of Verviers and the 4 follo- of 30, and 8 letters out of 24 signed by wing letters were sent from the German Jemmy Franck are written in German textile centre of Hückeswagen near characters called ‘Sütterlin-Schrift’. In Cologne. The last three messages of this the remaining letters, the alphabetic fi rst letter group were posted by Jemmy characters of the standard European from the Swedish town of Norrköping. handwriting are used. So, to summa- Some 15 years later - in 1906 - , rize and characterize the quantitatively Jemmy sent 3 more letters from Norr- modest ‘Franck Letter Collection’ on a köping to his relatives in Luxembourg. purely archival level, we have to under- From 1915 to 1926, 13 letters were line some of its particularities. Besides sent from Borås to the Ardennes town four letters written in English and of Wiltz. During this third epistolary signed by Jemmy Franck or by Bo Sim- period, 11 letters were signed by Jemmy mingsköld - the grandson of Jean-Pierre and two messages were written by his Franck - the remaining documents and son Wilhelm. letters of the ‘Franck Archives’ are writ- In 1931 and in 1932 the Luxem- ten in German and switch occasionally bourg relatives of 70-year-old Jean- to French or to Luxembourgish. Pierre Franck received two letters: the Apart from this linguistic aspect, a fi rst one from Göteborg and the last one few other characteristics of the ‘Franck from Borås. Letter Collection’ should be noted. The ‘Franck Letter Collection’ counts Basically written in quite an awkward only four epistolary documents poste- German style, strongly infl uenced by rior to the 1930s. The messages - dating the Luxembourg idiom, including Lux- from 1944 to the beginning of the 1990s embourgish as well as French sentences, - were written by Bo Simmingsköld, the practising the ‘Sütterlin’ handwriting grandson of Jemmy Franck. and the European standardized hand- Consequently, the ‘Franck Letter Col- writing, showing an appreciable facility lection’ is extending over a chronologi- to use the English language, especially cal segment, which covers a major part Jean-Pierre Franck’s letters represent an of the fi rst and the whole of the second interesting and representative example industrial revolution. We can say that of the cultural and linguistic situation the ‘Franck Letter Collection’ consti- of a Luxembourger belonging to the tutes a modest example of trans-border lower middle class whose transnational family correspondence and relationship acculturation process took part during of the outgoing 19th century and of the the last third of the 19th century and the 20th century, and lasts a century. beginning decades of the 20th century. c) As far as the social fi eld of the cor- b) From the chronological point of respondence is concerned, Jean-Pierre view, the 30 letters can be grouped into Franck aS well as his son Wilhelm fi ve periods: Between 1887 and 1890, and his grandson Bo Simmingsköld Jean-Pierre Franck sent at least 8 letters addressed their letters to their closest CLAUDE WEY 93 Luxembourg relatives. 6 out of 24 let- epistolary correspondence at times of ters were sent by Jemmy to his parents political hardship such as the two world and 7 to his brothers. The other mes- wars, should be interpreted as the per- sages were addressed by Jemmy to his sistence of a model of family culture as closest Luxembourg relatives. They are well as a paradigm of inter-family rela- referred to as ‘Meine Lieben’, as ‘Liebe tionship which are typical of European Angehörige’, as ‘Liebste Leonie’, ‘Liebe middle class families. In other word, the Schwester und Schwager’ or as ‘Lieber ‘Franck Letter Collection’ represents a Alphonse’ and so on. On the other modest example of cultural practices hand, we don’t have any letters sent cultivated by the European middle to the Francks in Sweden by the Lux- class and lower middle class involved in embourg relatives. In other words, the migration processes before the generali- ‘Franck Letter Collection’ constitutes a zed use of international phone calls on a one way correspondence which repre- continental level. sents just one part of an inter-family trans-border relationship. e) With the exception of the fi rst fi ve letters which Jemmy wrote from the d) Four messages were sent by Walloon town of Verviers and from the Jemmy and by his son Wilhelm to Rhineland textile city of Hückeswagen, Alphonse Schiltges, who was a nephew Jean-Pierre Franck sent the other epis- of the former and a cousin of the latter. tolary documents from Sweden; 12 of Alphonse Schiltges, who was to become these letters were posted from Borås, 6 mayor of his home town and a member from Norrköping and one from Göte- of the Luxembourg Parliament, succee- borg. In other words, Jemmy Franck’s ded in conserving the family archives letters originate mainly from two throughout the second world war period, European regions. The fi rst geographic which was particularly traumatic for the unity could be defi ned as a trans-border inhabitants of the Luxembourg Arden- region close to the Luxembourgish nes. At present the family archives of the Ardennes and including the Walloon Schiltges apparently represent one of the industrial region of Liège-Verviers as rare private collections of migration let- well as the dynamic economic hub of ters of the Luxembourg Ardennes which the German Rhineland where the textile have survived the Nazi occupation. industry played an outstanding econo- They belong to Alphonse Schiltges’s mic part, during the whole nineteenth daughters Marie-Madeleine, Béatrice century and the fi rst half of the twen- and Odile Schiltges, who have kept in tieth century. The second geographic touch with the Swedish descendants and unity centres round an axis of Norr- relatives of Jean-Pierre Franck. köping - Borås: that is Swedish hubs of These archival statements lead us to the Scandinavian textile industry. the following socio-cultural conclusion: To conclude our analysis of the conserving family archives as well as descriptive, quantitative signifi cance of maintaining family relations through the ‘Franck Letter Collection’ we have to 94 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 underline the modest dimension of our historic material. Its unique particularity The latter topic represents a signi- consists in contributing substantially to fi cant part in Jemmy’s letters. As we a study of an individual migration expe- noted in the previous section of our rience seized in the economic context paper, the indication of the respective of the European textile industry and in residences - Verviers, Hückeswagen, the geographical context of the Luxem- Norrköping, Borås - in all the messages bourg Ardennes, the Walloon-Rhine- written by Jean-Pierre Franck allows land trans-border region and Sweden at us to get quite a reliable impression of the end of the nineteenth century and his migration experience. Beyond these during the fi rst decades of the twentieth indications Jemmy Franck’s letters quite century. This turns it into a very preci- often provide a detailed description of ous archival source. In other words, the his migration experience and his profes- ‘Franck Letter Collection’ can be used sional journeys and voyages throughout especially for a social historic case study Europe. focusing on the biographic pathway of We are well informed about his migra- a Luxembourg-born weaver technician tion route which led him to Sweden. In with a multilingual education - Jemmy a letter written on 20th October 1889 in Franck - who belongs to the pre-world- Hückeswagen, Jean-Pierre Franck tells war-two middle class and whose migra- his family about his decision to quit his tory destiny is closely related to an inner well-paid job in the Rhineland to try his European textile industry route. professional luck as a weaver engineer in The main biographic topics of Jemmy Norrköping.11 In an undated message Franck’s Migration Letters sent from Norrköping - which might Despite the modest quantitative have been written during the period dimensions of our archival source, I’ll of November 1889 and February 1890 propose to undertake a partial recon- - Jean-Pierre relates his migration trip struction of Jean-Pierre Franck’s migra- from Hückeswagen through Northern tion experience by describing the main Germany and Denmark to Copenhagen topics of his letters and by referring to and then to Malmö: some documents of the City Archives ‘Von Kopenhagen nahm ich wieder das of Borås. Jemmy Franck’s letters reveal Schiff bis Malmö, diese Reise dauerte c. quite a few interesting themes which 2 Stunden & hatten wir guten Wind so could be grouped under the following daß das Schiff ruhig ging & es eine wahre headings: Freude war. Dem Schiff folgten immer so ein • private themes including personal dutzend Vögel etwas größer wie eine Taube, and family related remarks; welche so über die Wellen fl ogen. In Malmö • professional and fi nancial informa- angekommen wurde Gepäck verzollt & ich tion; nahm eine Droschke zum Bahnhof (...) hier • statements and refl ections about his nahm ich direct billets bis Norrköping.’ 12 migration experience and his professio- nal journeys and voyages. (translation) ‘From Copenhagen I again CLAUDE WEY 95 took the boat to Malmö, the journey lasted exactly 3 o’clock in the morning. I was very about 2 hours and the wind was good, so warmly welcomed at the station and brought that the ship moved on smoothly and I really to the biggest hotel of the place, where a glass of enjoyed it. The ship was being followed by a champagne was already waiting for me – At 5 dozen or so birds which were a little bit taller o’clock I went to bed and slept till noon. After than pigeons and fl ew just above the waves. In lunch I was fetched from the hotel and brought Malmö I cleared my luggage through customs to the plant – I think I will need two months and took a hackney coach to the railway here before I’ll fi nd my way through, because station where I bought tickets to Norrköp- it is so big.’ ping.’ Despite the rapidity of his migration From Malmö, he took the night train journey, Jemmy noted down his views to Norrköping : and his impressions about Denmark ‘nun wurde ausgestiegen & am Bahnhof and Southern Sweden, insisting that his gegessen - da standen um einen großen Tisch new homeland seems to be far wealthier das hier benannt Smöerkabader d.h. alle and more urbanized than the Danish möglichen Sorten Fleisch, Käse, campot, Brod regions he has crossed before : & Kartoffeln nun nahm sich jeder einen Teller ‘Auf meiner ganzen Reise habe nicht & nahm von was & so viel er wollte & aß, viel besonderes gesehen, so daß ich zum ich machte natürlich wie die Andern, nahm Endresultad die ganze Welt auf einer Seite 1/2 Flasche guter Wein hierzu & bezahlte 5 wie auf der anderen als ganz egal betrachten Kronen, dann wurde wieder eingestiegen & muß. Ganz Dänemark, wenigstens so viel langten genau 3 Uhr Morgens hier an. Ich wie ich davon zu sehen bekam ist ohne Berge wurde am Bahnhof sehr schön empfangen (tunels habe ab Hanover keine gesehen) & & wurde ich zu dem größten hiesigen Hotel viele Tannenwälder auch wenig bevölkert gebracht, wo ein champagner (da schon) dann mal alle 2 Stunden bekam ich mal so breit stand - Um 5 Uhr ging ich schlafen & ein Bauernnest mit Strohdächern 1 Stock hoch schlief bis Mittag. Nach dem dîner holte man zu sehen. In Schweden dagegen ist es besser, mich ab & ging zur Fabrik - ich glaube ich viele Städte habe ich passirt & sehen diese eben muß 2 Monate hier sein ehe ich mich drin auch reicher aus.’ zurückfi nde so groß sie ist.’ (translation) ‘During the whole journey, (translation) ‘now we got off and had a I didn’t see anything special, so that as a fi nal meal at the station – there was a large table result, I must consider the whole world as being loaded with what they call here Smöerkabader, exactly the same, on this side as well as on the that is to say all sorts of meat, cheese, compote, other. Denmark, at least what I could see of bread and potatoes. Everybody took a plate it, has no mountains (since Hanover, I didn’t and helped himself with what he liked and see any tunnel) ; there are many fi r forests and with as much as he liked and started to eat. the country is poorly inhabited, only every two I did of course the same, added half a bottle hours or so did I see a village of peasants, with of good wine and paid 5 crowns. Then we thatched cottages about one storey high. In got on the train again and arrived here at Sweden, on the contrary, the situation seems to 96 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 be better, I came through many towns, which Jemmy also noted in the following actually looked richer.’ message : ‘Ich bestätige Ihnen meine Postkarte von In the following two letters written Katherineholm wohin ich eingeladen war zu in Norrköping during the fi rst half of einer Lustparthie auf dem Meere; wir sind 1890, Jean-Pierre Franck continued to die ganze Nacht auf dem Meere gewesen ach relate his new personal experiences by wie schön wie reizend wie prächtig wie nett !! exposing the sunny side of his social Gestern war ich eingeladen bei dem Consul and professional life in Sweden, which Swartling zu seiner silbernen Hochzeit, wo he already calls his ‘neue Heimat’, a for- Champagner & cherry wie Wasser fl oß; mula which could be translated by ‘new (...)- Alles ich auch natürlich im Schneppel fatherland’: & Cylinder & sonst alles weiß - Handschuhe, „Mir gefällt es ausgezeichnet hier, die Schlips etz & die dann alle in weiß Seide, gestrige Nacht haben wir auf dem Meere Atlas & decolletirt wie am Hofe.’ 14 zugebracht in einem Dampfschiff wo wir nach Bråvikshälsan fuhren & einen Ball (translation) ‘I confi rm the postcard I hatten - herrlich sag ich Ihnen. Heute abend sent from Katherineholm where I had been bin ich bei dem Vice Consul der Niederlande invited to a party on the sea ; we stayed out eingeladen, das geht immer großartig hier & on the sea for the whole night, oh how beauti- kommt mir, weil ein so großartiges Leben ful, how ravishing, how wonderful, how nice nicht gewohnt bin, herrlich vor. Wenn man !! Yesterday I was invited by Consul Swartling viel verdient muß man viel verzehren, werde to the celebration of his silver wedding, and jedoch nach meinen jetzigen Berechnungen champagne and cherry fl owed like water. jährlich 3000 frs. sparen können & gebe – Everybody was wearing a dinner jacket and Ihnen die Versicherung daß ich ein gemachter a top hat and then everything white – gloves, Mann bin. Sie können sich keinen Begriff bow tie etc., and the ladies in white silk, atlas machen wie das Leben hier angenehm ist.‘13 and low cut dresses like at Court.’
(translation) ‘I like being here very much, And Jemmy continued: ‘Ich kann mich we spent last night on the sea, on a steamship schon sehr gut in diesem Prunck schicken, that brought us to Bråvikshälsan where we denn das ist kein preußischer Wind, nein wir attended a ball – I tell you it was marvellous. haben auch Geld.’ To-night I am invited by the vice-consul of the Netherlands, everything is always gorgeous (translation) ‘I am already behaving very here and for me, who am not used to a gor- well in this splendour, because it is no fake, no, geous life, it seems fantastic. If you earn much we do have the money.’ money, you have to spend a lot, but according to my present calculations, I shall be able to A reading of these letters as well as of put aside 3000 francs a year and I assure you the remaining letters written by Jemmy that I am a really successful man. You cannot Franck between 1906 and 1932 gives nearly imagine how pleasant life is here.’ the observer the impression that Jemmy Franck is to stay in Sweden defi niti- CLAUDE WEY 97 vely from 1890 to his death, where he by Jean-Pierre Franck from Norrköping succeeds in building up a successful between 15th September and 19th Octo- professional career as a technician and ber 1906 to his brother living in Wiltz later on as a director of textile plants. provide a few hints of some fi nancial Nevertheless the lack of letters for the transactions and of possible fi nancial period from 1890 to 1906 forces us to a problems which Jean-Pierre Franck certain analytic caution concerning the might have had to face at this time. It biographic pathway of Jemmy Franck. seems that Jemmy Franck expected a Indeed, the absence of epistolary fi nancial transaction from Luxembourg documents for about 15 consecutive and begged his brother in a letter dated years should not be interpreted as a 15th September 1906 that their mother sign of Jean-Pierre Franck’s unproble- should not be told.17 Jemmy insisted matic socio-professional adaptation in that ‘dieses ist ein reines Unglück, was mir Sweden. passirt ist, es wird mich (...) viel Geld kosten, Looking at the short biography of doch hoffe einen Theil zu retten.’ the ‘direktören’ Jean-Pierre Franck which was published after his death in translation) ‘this is a real calamity I am December 1936 as a part of an obitu- enduring now, it will cost me a lot of money, ary in the ‘Borås Tidning’, we note that but I hope to be able to save part of it.’ the fi rst two decades of Jemmy Franck’s professional and social life can be In the following letter of 8th October, defi ned as an eventful and probably Jemmy again implored his brother ‘dass quite troubled period of building up meine Mutter nur nichts hiervon hört sonst glaubt his career.15 Jemmy left Sweden in 1898 sie, daß ich ein armer Mann bin, werde Sie jedoch and he worked for the next two years as in Kürze von dem Gegentheil überzeugen.’ 18 a director for ‘Hörsholms Yllefabrik’ in Denmark. Atter the turn of the century, (translation) ‘be careful not to let my Jemmy came back to Sweden, where he mother know about it, otherwise she will continued his professional career as a think that I am a poor man, but I will shortly leading manager of ‘Stockholms Ylle- convince you of the contrary.’ fabriks Aktiebolag’ before he founded the ‘Erikson & Franck Klädesfabrik’ in And Jemmy repeated the same request Norrköping with an associate in 1905. in the following letter which he sent eleven The obituary seems to imply that days later, but this time he added at the end of Jemmy backed out from the company his short letter that‘ Ich bin im Gange Aktien two years later. The reasons of the early Gesellschaft zu bilden.’ 19 departure are quite unknown, because the obituary text of the ‘Borås Tidning’ (translation) ‘I am presently building up of 14th December 1936 noted that the a joint-stock company.’ recently founded company‘vilken han dock överlät på sin kompanjon år 1907.’16 However confusing or revealing these Nevertheless, the three letters sent epistolary hints might be, it seems that 98 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 their negative infl uence on Jemmy social life of the Swedish upper-middle Franck’s professional trajectory were class, cultivating its ideological and cul- probably quite limited. Jemmy con- tural values, Jean-Pierre Franck relates tinued his professional trajectory as a the events of a successful Luxembour- director at ‘Ljungafors Klädesfabriks gish emigration in his messages.22 Aktiebolag’ in Svenljunga, before he On a purely familial level, Jemmy became a director of the ‘Borås Yllefa- Franck’s letters relate the main events briks Aktiebolag’ from 1913 until his which have determined the inter-gene- professional retirement in 1926.20 rational trajectory of family life to the Eleven letters written by Jemmy Luxembourgish relatives. Of course, marked the period when he directed Jemmy is pleased to announce the career the textile plant of Borås. Covering of his son Wilhelm, who studied weaver some ten years - the fi rst letter is dated engineering in the German textile hub 14th August 1915; the last one was sent of Aachen, before spending his profes- to Luxembourg on 7th July 1926 - this sional life at ‘Kilsunds Aktiebolag’.23 group of messages probably testifi es to Jemmy notes his professional travels the climax of Jean-Pierre Franck’s pro- throughout Europe as well as those fessional career. Jemmy Franck – whose of his son with great personal satisfac- strong point was obviously not modesty tion.24 Jemmy also occasionally visits his - was generally pleased during this period mother country. On the other hand, he to show off his professional success and promises his nephew - young Alphonse to parade as a ‘man with savoir-faire’. In Schiltges - to invite him to Sweden as his letter dated 19th August 1920 which his letter of 7th June 1920 shows: he sent from Borås to his brother who ’My dear Alphonse ! I have only received kept a butchery in the Luxembourg your letter and postcard but could not answer Ardennes, he wrote: you earlier because I have been so little at ‘ich reise jährlich c. 3 Monate und habe home lately. 800 Arbeiter und du hast 3 oder 4.’21 Your dear mother is quite right to be angry (translation) «I travel around for about with me because I did not go to see her during three months a year and I have 800 men my last journey to Luxemburg, but tell her working for me and you have 3 or 4.» that I had so little time! I had so long a jour- ney before me that I could not spare any time Indeed, the professional career of the for her, but the next time I am going to your Luxembourger Jemmy Franck repre- country again (I think it won’t last so long) I sents a perfect example of a personal shall not fail to see her and your father! migration success. Jemmy’s adaptation I see you should like to come and see us process in his new ‘fatherland Sweden’ here in Sweden this year, but I think it would permits his socio-cultural acceptance be better to wait a little longer, everything is by the Swedish industrial notabilities, so uneasy now, and just travelling in these which is truly remarkable for a descen- times verry diffi cult. Your aunt Octavie is not dant of a modest handicraft family of at home during the summer months, she and the Luxembourg Ardennes. Living the Wilhelm are going to Warberg, a watering CLAUDE WEY 99 place here in Sweden in order to recover her of their family just before the outbreak health, and as to me, it is impossible to know of World War II. whether I am here or in Russia or at another But even the dark period of the place in the wide world. That fact alone Second World War couldn’t break the explains you how diffi cult and uncertain it relationship between the Simmigsköld would be for you to come here this year, but family and their Luxembourg relatives. I hope these funny times are going over soon, The probably most moving document and then, we should be very happy to see you of the ‘Franck Letter Collection’ testifi es here and show you our dear Sweden ‘a meng to this statement. Bo Simmingsköld Hunger’. sent in 1944 a message to the ‘Luxem- Your uncle Jemmy 25 bourg Consulate’ in London in order Your aunt and Wilhelm send you their best to transmit28 news to his Luxembourg compliments, and we all beg you to remember relatives news from the members of the us to your dear parents.’ Schiltges family who were victims of the deportation from Luxembourg to Jean-Pierre Franck wrote : ‘we should Germany.27 These repressive measures be very happy to see you here and show of deportation against Luxembourg you our dear Sweden ‘a meng Hunger’’. IInn antifascists were organized by the Nazis the last part of the sentence Jean-Pierre during the German occupation of Lux- Franck switched from English to Lux- embourg during World War Two. embourgish. ‘A meng Hunger’ could be Bo wrote the following sorrowful translated by ‘and my chickens’. message:‘If it is possible I ask you respectfully From the mid-1920s on, the epis- to bring the message to Mr. Schiltges Senior, tolary messages sent to Luxembourg Wilts Luxembourg, that we have got the news cease to describe an everlasting success from his son and his family who were taken story of a Luxembourgish emigrant in away to Germany by the Germans, that they Scandinavia. The premature death of are still alright. We got a letter from them his son-in-law Bengt Simmingsköld in 20.10.44. Please send also the kindest regards 1924 and the death of his wife Octavie from their relatives in Sweden.’ in 1929, as well as his personal health And so the Simmingsköld family problems lead him to his professional continued to keep in touch with the retirement in 1926.26 All these tragic Schiltges branch of Wiltz again from events represent the irreversible signs of 1944 on, to the 1990s, a time when Bo his own life cycle coming to an end after welcomed the Schiltges’ sisters in the 74 years - in 1936. town of Växjö.29 As we know, the death of Jean-Pierre Franck didn’t stop the relations and the Jean-Pierre Franck’s migration experience : correspondence between his descendants an anecdotal phenomenon or a representa- and their relatives in Luxembourg. As tive case study of the European migration we know, Jemmy’s daughter Vivi Sim- history ? mingsköld and her son Bo Simmings- Instead of proceeding to a fi nal conclu- köld visited the Luxembourgish branch sion, we suggest a short analytic evalua- 100 AEMI JOURNAL 2005 tion of Jean-Pierre Franck’s biographic young men of the Wiltz weaver com- pathway as well as of the ‘Franck Letter munity who tried their professional Collection’ for the scientifi c fi eld of his- luck in Scandinavia. The same destina- toric migration studies. tion had been chosen some 270 earlier It should be quite unfair to reduce by Walloons as well as by inhabitants the off-the-path migration experience of the Northwestern part of the Duchy of a Luxembourg weaver technician to of Luxembourg: they had emigrated to a mere anecdotal phenomenon apt to the Swedish province of Uppland to attract just the curiosity of local histo- contribute to the ‘take off’ of Swedish rians. In fact, Jemmy Franck’s migra- forgery.30 We also know that at the tion experience is a signifi cant example beginning of the 19th century, a member which helps to illustrate the structural of a well-known tanner family of the diversity of migration processes in the Belgian as well of the Luxembourg Luxembourg Ardennes of the outgoing Ardennes – the Servais - emigrated to 19th century. In a certain way it provi- Denmark. des historic evidence that Luxembourg Did this historical context really migration processes should not be redu- infl uence the migration process of ced to a few migration macro-trends young Jemmy? Apart from the fact that such as the overwhelming transatlantic he was probably informed about these emigration to Northern America and local historical data, he was probably the trans-regional migrations to Bel- more affected by a recent social back- gium, France or to the industrialised ground which was literally determined Southern part of the Grand-Duchy. by migration processes. In fact, young Indeed, Jemmy Franck’s migration Jean-Pierre Franck - who had probably experience constitutes a social historic been educated in the textile centre of example of an ‘off the main stream Sedan in the French Ardennes - lived migration trajectory’. It also represents in a geographic environment as well as a micro-historic example of a quite in a social familial milieu where migra- unstudied socio-historic phenomenon: tion processes constituted a structural that of an individual experience inside function. For instance members of the a European secondary migration route Franck family emigrated to Northern which led him to Sweden, at a time America as well as to Java (Indonesia), when Sweden represented in the Grand- Jemmy’s brother Nicolas Franck worked Duchy of Luxembourg much more a for a while in France before he went to case of an emigration hub than of an the Belgian city of Liège where he joined immigration target. But it would be false his uncle and his aunt at a time when to present Jemmy’s decision to emigrate his brother Jemmy worked in the nearby to Scandinavia as an uncommon and textile town of Verviers. And at the same outstanding decision of a Luxembourg time their sister Lenie made personal individualist. projects which consisted in applying for As we noted at the beginning of our a domestic job in Western Germany.31 paper, Jemmy Franck is one of three Further on, at a time when he was CLAUDE WEY 101 working in the textile hub of Hückes- Notes wagen - after having transited through 1 See Jean Ensch, «La population de Wiltz en 1864», in: Harmonie Grand-Ducale Municipale Wiltz. the textile town of Düren in Western Livre d’Or 1794-1994, Luxembourg, 1994, 707-776, Germany - Jemmy Franck was proba- especially 746; see also ‘Descendants of Pierre bly informed about the commercial Franck’, in: http:// www.deltgen.com connections which existed between the 2 See Will Schumacher, Wéltzer Leggt a Wéltzer textile centres of the German Rhineland Geschichten, Esch-sur-Alzette, 1993, 55-58. and the Northern European or Scandi- 3 Will Schumacher, op. cit., 55-56. 4 navian textile hubs. As he had already Ibid.. 5 «Dir. J. P. Franck», in: Borås Tidning, 14 December learnt that two other young men - Con- 1936; see also „Bevölkerungsziffer und industrielle stant Brück and Mathgen Franck - had Tätigkeit‘, in: Philharmonie de Wiltz 1794-1969, 34-37, moved from the Luxembourg town of especially 35-36. 6 See the genealogy Jean-Pierre Franck and his family Wiltz to Sweden and to Finland, young elaborated by Margareta Thorin, granddaughter courageous Jemmy decided to realize his of Jean-Pierre Franck, 20 pages, archives of the private and his professional dreams in CDMH/Dudelange/Luxembourg. 7 «Dödsfall», in: Borås Tidning, 27 October 1952. Scandinavia. And so he did ! 8 See the genealogy Jean-Pierre Franck …op. cit.. In a certain way, the migration expe- 9 Letter 21, Jean-Pierre Franck to his family, rience of Jean-Pierre Franck represents a Borås, 12th July 1924, quite particular and individual and even private archives of the Schiltges family, copy of the letter in the archives of the CDMH/Dudelange/ anecdotal experience. But in a socio- Luxembourg: FLC L 21. historical context, our description and 10 See «Bevölkerungsziffer und industrielle analysis of the private correspondence Tätigkeit», in: op. cit., 35-36. 1111 Letter 5, Jean-Pierre Franck to his family, Hück- of a Luxembourg emigrant to Sweden eswagen, 20th October 1889, seems to represent far more than an private archives of the Schiltges family, copy of isolated socio-historic curiosity, but the letter in the archives of the CDMH/Dudelange/ Luxembourg:FLC L 5. a quite representative example of an 12 Letter 6, Jean-Pierre Franck to his parents, individual migration trajectory inside Norrköping, undated, private archives of the Schilt- an inner-European industrial textile ges family, copy of the letter in the archives of the route. Taken in this context, Jean-Pierre CDMH/Dudelange/Luxembourg: FLC L 6. 13 Letter 7, Jean-Pierre Franck to his parents, Franck’s migration experience represents Norrköping, 22nd March 1890, private archives of a historical case study which illustrates the Schiltges family, copy of the letter in the archives the structural complexity and diversity of the CDMH/Dudelange/Luxembourg: FLC L 7. 14 of the migration phenomena in contem- Letter 8, Jean-Pierre Franck to his parents, Norrköping, 31st May 1890, private archives of the porary social history ! Schiltges family, copy of the letter in the archives of the CDMH/Dudelange/Luxembourg: FLC L 8. 15 «Dir. J. P. Franck», in: Borås Tidning, 14 Decem- ber 1936. 16 Ibid.. 17 Letter 9, Jean-Pierre Franck to his brother (Christian name not specifi ed), Norrköping, 15th September 1906, private archives of the Schiltges family, copy of the letter in the archives of the CDMH/Dudelange/ Luxembourg: FLC L 9. 18 Letter 10, Jean-Pierre Franck to his brother 102 AEMI JOURNAL 2005
(Christian name not specifi ed), Norrköping, 8th 28 Letter 27; the message, dated 15th November, October 1906, private archives of the Schiltges was transmitted by the Consulate of the Grand- family, copy of the letter in the archives of the Duchy of Luxembourg in London to Alphonse CDMH/Dudelange/Luxembourg: FLC L 10. Schiltges Senior, private archives of the Schiltges 19 Letter 11, Jean-Pierre Franck to his brother family, copy of the letter in the archives of the (Christian name not specifi ed), Norrköping, 19th CDMH/Dudelange/Luxembourg: FLC L 27. October 1906, private archives of the Schiltges 29 Letter 29, Bo Simmingsköld to Béatrice Rich- family, copy of the letter in the archives of the ard-Schiltges, Växjö, 14th November 1989 and Letter CDMH/Dudelange/Luxembourg: FLC L 11. 30, Bo Simmingsköld to Béatrice Richard-Schiltges, 20 Letter 24, Jean-Pierre Franck to his family, Växjö, 26th March 1993, private archives of the Borås, 7th July 1926, private archives of the Schilt- Schiltges family, copies of the letters in the archives ges family, copy of the letter in the archives of the of the CDMH/Dudelange/Luxembourg: FLC L 29 CDMH/Dudelange/Luxembourg: FLC L 24 ; see and FLC L 30. also «Dir. J. P. Franck», in: Borås Tidning, 14 December 30 See Léon Le Febve de Vivy, Documents d’histoire 1936. précoloniale belge (1861-1865), Bruxelles, 1955, 50- 21 Letter 15, Jean-Pierre Franck to his brother 52 ; see Bernt Douhan, Arbete, kapital och migration. Nicolas Franck, Borås, 19th August 1920, private Valloninvandringen till Sverige under 1600-talet, Studia archives of the Schiltges family, copy of the letter Historica Upsaliensia 140, Uppsala, 1985 ; see also E. in the archives of the CDMH/Dudelange/Luxem- M. Braekman, «L’émigration wallonne en Suède», in : bourg: FLC L 15. Belgia 2000, mensuel, septembre 1984, 40-47. 22 See Letter 25, Jean-Pierre Franck to his family, 31 Letter 7, Jean-Pierre Franck to his parents, 22nd Göteborg, 13th May 1931 and Letter 26, Jean-Pierre March 1890, private archives of the Schiltges family, Franck to his sister and his brother-in-law, Borås, copy of the letter in the archives of the CDMH/ 18th October 1932, private archives of the Schiltges Dudelange/Luxembourg: FLC L 7. family, copies of the letters in the archives of the CDMH/Dudelange/Luxembourg: FLC L 25 and FLC L 26. 23 Letter 22, Jean-Pierre Franck to his family, Borås, 15th June 1925, see Letter 23, Wilhelm Franck to Alphonse Schiltges, Borås, 2nd January 1926, pri- vate archives of the Schiltges family, copies of the letters in the archives of the CDMH/Dudelange/ Luxembourg: FLC L 22 and FLC L 23 ; see also «Dödsfall», in: Borås Tidning, 27 October 1952. 24 Letter 25, Jean-Pierre Franck to his family, Göteborg, 13th May 1931, private archives of the Schiltges family, copy of the letter in the archives of the CDMH/Dudelange/ Luxembourg: FLC L 25. 25 Letter 14, Jean-Pierre Franck to his nephew Alphonse Schiltges, Borås, 7th June 1920, private archives of the Schiltges family, copy of the letter in the archives of the CDMH/Dudelange/ Luxembourg: FLC L 14. 26 Letter 23, Wilhelm Franck to Alphonse Schilt- ges, Borås, 2nd January 1926 and Letter 24, Jean- Pierre Franck to his family, Borås, 7th July 1926, private archives of the Schiltges family, copies of the letters in the archives of the CDMH/Dudelange/ Luxembourg: FLC L 23 and FLC L 24. 27 Letter 27, Bo Simmingsköld to the Consulate of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg in London, London, 26th October 1944, private archives of the Schiltges family, copy of the letter in the archives of the CDMH/Dudelange/Luxembourg: FLC L 27. Notes on Contributors
Jan Ekberg is PProfessorrofessor in EEconomicsconomics at The CentrCentree of Labour MMarketarket PPolicyolicy RRese-ese- arch (CAFO), Växjö university. His research fi elds are economic effects of postwar immigration to Sweden and the immigrants position in the labour market. Ekberg has also worked as an expert in the Government Commission concerning issues about immigration to Sweden.
Solveig Fagerlund is Associate PProfessorrofessor at School of HHumanitiesumanities at Växjö UUniver-niver- sity, Sweden. Her doctoral thesis for Lund University was on ‘Handel och vandel. Vardagslivets sociala struktur ur ett kvinnoperspektiv. Helsingborg ca 1680-1709.’ Her research on emigration from Stensjö in Döderhults parish is fi nanced by ‘Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien’.
Irena Gantar Godina, Ph.D. is research counsellor at the Scientifi c Research Center of the Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute for Slovenian Emigration Studies in Ljubljana, Slovenia and Assistant professor of History at the Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana. Her publications include ‘Masaryk and Masa- rykism in Slovenia’ (1987), Neo-Slavism and the Slovenes, (1994). In recent years she has been involved in projects on Slovene in Slavic Countries in the 19th Century and at the beginning of the 20th Century.
Katarina Hjelm has her Ph.D in Community Medicine from Växjö University. Her thesis was on Migration, health and diabetes mellitus: studies comparing foreign- and Swedish-born diabetic subjects living in Sweden. She is presently working at the Institute for Health Science at Växjö University on subjects related to migration and health.
Olavi Koivukangas is ProfessorProfessor and DDirectorirector of the IInstitutenstitute of MMigration,igration, Turku, Finland, since 1974. He has a Ph.D in Demography, Australian National University, Canberra, 1972 and a Ph.D. in History, University of Turku, 1986. He has published widely in the fi eld of international migration, especially on Finns and Scandinavians in Australia and New Zealand.
Johan Svanberg is a doctoral student in historyhistory at Växjö University,University, Sweden.Sweden. HisHis thesis focuses on labour immigration to Svenska Stålpressnings AB in Olofstrøm (present Volvo) after the Second World War. It is a local work-place study discuss- ing division of labour and job sharing related to class, ethnicity, gender and genera- tions. Maria Beatriz Rocha-Trindade holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the Université René Descartes, Sorbonne. She is Professor at the Universidade Aberta/Portugal and Director of the Centre for the Study of Migrations and Intercultural Relations (CEMRI). She has published extensively on migration issues in Portugal and abroad. At present she is responsible for the course ‘Sociology of Migration’ and scientifi c co-ordinator of the Master Degree Program in Intercultural Relations. Maria Bea- triz Rocha-Trindade has been awarded the French Ordre Nationale du Mérite.
Claude Wey is Secretary of the Scientifi c Board of the «Centre de Documentation sur les Migrations Humaines / Dudelange / Luxembourg». His latest publications and articles include ‘Luxembourgers in Latin America and the Permanent Threat of Failure’ ’, (2003), ‘Une brève présentation de l’oeuvre historiographique d’Arno Mayer’ (2004) and ‘Luxembourg immigrants and their descendants in Argentina, 1880-1940’ (2004).