Julie Lindahl

Cognoscenti contributor

Julie Lindahl is a writer and democracy activist. She is the author of "The Pendulum: A Granddaughter's Search for her Family's Forbidden Nazi Past."

Recently published

Election helpers are seen as they count the last votes in the municipality of Stockholm at the Stockholm City Hall on September 14, 2022. Never before has a Swedish government relied on the support of the anti-immigration and nationalist Sweden Democrats, the big winners of the vote. (Photo by Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images)

A letter from Sweden: The far right is shifting public norms

What happens in Sweden matters in America and vice versa, writes Julie Lindahl in this reflection on the reemergence of the far right in Europe -- and lessons for the...

Cognoscenti

Oct 26, 2022

Julie Lindahl’s grandfather wears the dark coat in the foreground. (Courtesy of Julie Lindahl)

My Nazi grandfather wanted to cleanse his legacy. What his story tells me about this historical moment

Attempts to control the way we remember history are a sign of hypernationalism, writes Julie LIndahl. Our democracy is in trouble.

Cognoscenti

May 20, 2022

V-E Day Celebration in Times Square, New York City, May 1945. (National Archives/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

On The 75th Anniversary Of VE Day, We're Still Fighting To Protect The Dignity Of Every Human Life

Our best tribute to the dead and the survivors of the war 75 years ago, is to do everything we can to protect the dignity of every individual, writes Julie...

Cognoscenti

May 8, 2020

Protesters gather in Ludvika, Sweden in May 2018 to voice their opposition to the Nordic Resistance Movement, a neo-Nazi political group. (Courtesy)

How One City In Sweden Fought Back Against White Supremacy

A couple of years ago, the city of Ludvika, Sweden was under siege by neo-Nazis. Writer and activist Julie Lindahl explains how the citizens of the city fought back, and...

Cognoscenti

Aug 13, 2019

A person stands in front of Stars of David that are displayed in front of the Tree of Life Synagogue with the names of those killed in Saturday's deadly shooting in Pittsburgh, Monday, Oct. 29, 2018. (Matt Rourke/AP)

How Should We Respond To Rising Anti-Semitism, Racism And Xenophobia? By Sharing Our Stories

When the stories we tell lean into the winds of modern crises, while also remaining rooted in meticulous research and documented history, we open new space for action and change....

Cognoscenti

Nov 2, 2018

City workers drape a tarp over the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Emancipation park in Charlottesville, Va., on Aug. 23, 2017. (Steve Helber/AP)

I Am The Descendant Of White Supremacists. Here Are Some Thoughts On Recent Events

Perhaps this is a chance to know ourselves in a more measured way; to recognize how thin the line is between civilization and barbarism, even in America, writes Julie Lindahl....

Cognoscenti

Aug 30, 2017

3 Questions For America, In Memory Of The Many, And The One

We must put our ears to the ground, writes Julie Lindahl, and listen for the quiet whisperings of the dead.

Cognoscenti

Dec 2, 2016

The Mirror Of Ourselves: Facing History In Order Not To Repeat It

After spending six years uncovering her grandfather's role in the Holocaust, Julie Lindahl writes of "the plague of the bystander" and offers a warning for the times we live in.

Cognoscenti

Aug 9, 2016