Allan Corduner

Allan Corduner – “Defiance” London Premiere – Arrivals – Odeon, Leicester Square – London, UK, 2009 – Keywords: European Premiere of Defiance – False – – Photo Credit: Solarpix / PR Photos

Birth Name: Allan D. Corduner

Place of Birth: Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden

Date of Birth: 2 April, 1950

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Allan Corduner is a British actor.

Allan is the son of Lilian and Lars “Lasse” Corduner. Allan’s father was born in Helsinki, Finland, to a Jewish family, originally from Ukraine and Poland, that moved to Stockholm, Sweden, shortly after his father’s birth. Allan’s mother, who was also Jewish, was born in Berlin, Germany, and was a refugee who moved to the U.K. because of the Nazis in the 1930s, before World War II.

Allan’s parents were both Ashkenazi Jews. While he is sometimes said to have Sephardi ancestry on his father’s side, Corduner is usually an Ashkenazi name. Allan grew up in England, and had a secular Jewish upbringing.

Allan is married to Finnish actor and writer Juha Sorola.

Allan’s paternal grandfather was named Alexander “Alex” Corduner. Alexander was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

Allan’s paternal grandmother was Ethel “Ecko” Gottstein (the daughter of Haim Itzka Gottstein and Gnendel Levit). Ethel was born in Helsinki, Finland. Haim was born in Suwalki, Poland, the son of Mordechai Gottstein. Gnendel was born in Helsinki, the daughter of parents from Poland, Abraham Levit, who was from Nowogrod, Lomza, and Lea.

Allan’s maternal grandfather was surnamed Zentler. Allan has said, “My maternal grandfather was taken from Berlin in November 1941 on one of the first transports to Riga, and within minutes of his arrival, lined up on the edge of a freshly dug trench with hundreds of others and shot dead. His crime? Being Jewish.”

Source: Genealogy of Allan’s father (focusing on his own mother’s side) – https://www.amitys.com