Before the Holocaust, Jews were a significant part of the population in Lithuania where they numbered around 240,000, including approximately 100,000 in Vilnius, or about 45% of that city's pre-World War II population (Vilnius was also once known as the "Jerusalem of Lithuania"). A large Jewish community also existed in Latvia. In comparison, Estonia and the Nordic countries have had much smaller communities, concentrated mostly in Denmark and Sweden. The following is a list of prominent North European Jews, arranged by country of origin: Denmark Mogens Ballin, painter Victor Bendix, composer, conductor and pianist Susanne Bier, film director Kim Bodnia, actor Harald Bohr, mathematician and footballer (Jewish mother) Niels Bohr, physicist, Nobel Prize (1922) (Jewish mother) Victor Borge, entertainer Edvard Brandes, politician, critic and author, minister of finance from 1909 to 1910 Ernst Brandes, economist and editor Georg Brandes, author and critic, father of Danish naturalism Marcus Choleva, chief executive officer of KFI Dagmar Cohn, illustrator Esther Gehlin, painter Meïr Aron Goldschmidt, author and editor Heinrich Hirschsprung, industrialist, art patron (Den Hirschsprungske Samling) Arne Jacobsen, architect and designer (Jewish mother) Abraham Kurland, Olympic wrestling medalist Arne Melchior, politician and former Transport Minister and Minister for Communication and Tourism Marcus Melchior, chief rabbi of Denmark, father of Arne Melchior Michael Melchior, rabbi and Israeli politician Ivan Osiier, seven-time Olympic fencer Lee Oskar, harmonica player, member of War Herbert Pundik, journalist Raquel Rastenni, jazz and popular singer Edgar Rubin, Gestalt psychologist Dan Zahavi, philosopher Nikolaj Znaider, violinist, conductor Estonia Jüri Alperten (1957–2020), conductor, pianist and music teacher Eino Baskin (1929–2015), actor and theatre director Avi Benjamin (born 1959), composer Ben Berlin (1896–1944), jazz musician Maria Dangell (born 1974), singer and pianist Aaron Feinstein, chess player Moses Wolf Goldberg (1905–1964), chemist Heinrich Gutkin (1879–1941), businessman and politician Idel Jakobson (1904–1997), NKVD investigator Louis Kahn (1901–1974), architect Anna Klas (1912–1999), pianist Eri Klas (1939–2016), conductor Mihhail Lotman (born 1952), philologist and politician Juri Lotman (1922–1993), semiotician Zara Mints (1927–1990), literary scientist Vladimir Padwa (1900–1981), pianist and composer Ita Saks (1921–2003), translator and publicist Hagi Šein (born 1945), journalist, film director, screenwriter and professor Benno Schotz (1891–1984), sculptor Samuel H. Shapiro (1907–1987), politician Emmanuel Steinschneider (1886–1970), physician Leonid Stolovich (1929–2013), philosopher David Vseviov (born 1949), historian Finland Mathilda Berwald, singer Max Dimont, historian and author Ida Ekman, soprano singer Abba Gindin, Finnish-born Israeli football player Kim Hirschovits, ice hockey player Ruben Jaari, businessman Max Jakobson,