Nils Holgersson et le judaïsme…
Beaucoup connaissent certainement le célèbre roman suédois « Le Merveilleux Voyage de Nils Holgersson à travers la Suède ». Certains, comme moi, l’ont découvert grâce à un dessin animé diffusé le mercredi après-midi dans les années 80.
Il racontait l’histoire d’un enfant de fermier, méchant et indiscipliné, à qui un tomte jette un sort en le réduisant à une taille minuscule. Pour se racheter et ainsi retrouver sa taille normale, il est amené à traverser une série d’épreuves au cours d’un long voyage avec des oies sauvages, loin de sa famille.
Son auteur, Selma Lagerlöf, était une femme de lettre suédoise et ancienne institutrice. Elle fut la première femme à recevoir le prix Nobel de littérature.
Elle avait également un lien particulier avec Jérusalem, avant la création de l’état d’Israël. En 1900, ses voyages en terre sainte l’ont inspiré pour écrire « Jérusalem », un roman consacré à la vie d’une communauté d’émigrés suédois à Jérusalem.
Mais son lien avec le judaïsme s’est aussi illustré de façon héroïque quand elle sauva des nazis, Nelly Sachs, une poétesse juive allemande qui l’admirait (et qui reçut également le prix Nobel de littérature en 1966).
Plus tard, Israël honorera Selma Lagerlöf en baptisant à son nom une rue de Jérusalem…
Article du FORUM JUIF SCANDINAVE (SCANDINAVIAN JEWISH FORUM)
Selma Lagerlöf is very popular in Israel, and was very popular in Jewish circles in Europe during the interwar period.
Her books have been translated into both Yiddish and Hebrew, and there is also a classic comic strip in Hebrew based on Nils Holgersson.
Selma Lagerlöf (1858 –1940) was a Swedish author. She is most widely known for her children’s book Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige (The Wonderful Adventures of Nils).
Selma Lagerlöf had close personal ties to Jerusalem. She made her first of two trips to Jerusalem in 1900 when she visited the American Colony. Selma Lagerlöf’s novel Jerusalem made the colony famous. This was to become the inspiration for Lagerlöf’s book called Jerusalem. She won the Nobel Literature prize in 1909 for her book, published in 1901-1902 She was also the first female writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. This work was her first immediate success. Her books were translated into 34 languages..
During the Holocaust Selma Lagerlöf took a very clear position against Nazism. Selma Lagerlöf rescued almost singlehandedly the German-Jewish author, and later brought Nobel Prize winner, Nelly Sachs, to Stockholm. Nelly Sachs was a big fan of Selma Lagerlöf and the two had long been corresponding with each other. Sachs came to stay in Stockholm, where the majority of her works were written
Shortly after Jerusalem became the capital of the newly independent state of Israel, Selma Lagerlöf was honored with a street named after her in the city. So important has this Swedish writer been for both Israel and the Jewish people.
According to Jewish tradition, it is said that whoever saves a life, saves an entire world. Selma Lagerlöf should not only be remembered for her great literary works, but also for her great humanitarian commitment
· Jerusalem (1902)
· Jerusalem The Holy City : Jerusalem II (1918)
Sources:
– https://www.scandinavianjewishforum.com/b-sweden-ii
– https://www.babelio.com/auteur/Nelly-Sachs/85390
– https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selma_Lagerl%C3%B6f
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Olivier
Administrateur du site Ashkenazes Francophones
