BACKGROUND INFORMATION (3) Raoul Wallenberg was born on August 4, 1912, in Stockholm, Sweden. His family included bankers, diplomats, and officers. Since his father has died before he was born, Wallenberg was raised and taken care by his grandfather, who was a distinguished diplomat. The plan was for Wallenberg to be a banker, but later on he revealed more interests in architecture and trade.
Raoul Wallenberg graduated with honors in Russian in 1930, and studied architecture at the University of Michigan in the U.S. in 1931. After he graduated with a bachelor degree of Science in Architecture, he returned to Sweden and was assigned to Palestine by his grandfather. |
BEFORE THE ACTION (4)
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PLANNING FOR ACTION (2)
Hungary was home to more than 700.000 Jews when the country chose to stand by Germany during World War II. Germany objected when Hungary tried to demand peace between the Allies after their army lost in several battles, and took over the country in 1944. Adolf Eichmann had the idea of forcing the Jews into concentration camps, so he came to Hungary with order from Hitler to dispose the Jews. Even though the ambassadors gave Hungarian Jews citizen rights under Hitler's orders, extra help was needed from other neutral countries. (9)
Meanwhile, the U.S. Government’s War Refugee Board and representatives of the World Jewish Congress (organizations that participated in the task of saving Jews from Nazi persecution) realized that the Swedes were deeply engaged in saving the Jews in Hungary. Therefore, they came together with a plan that suggested Wallenberg to help the Jews escape. He agreed without hesitation, despite the personal dangers involved. "If I can help, if I can save a single person, I will go." |
TAKING A STAND
By the time he arrived, Eichmann already deported more than 400,000 Jews to concentration camps in Poland. Wallenberg soon established relationships within the Hungarian government, Budapest police and even Eichmann himself among the Nazis. The Arrow Cross Party that was anti-Semitic fascist gained power by the summer of 1944 in the country, which made the Jews of Budapest faced more danger of death. Wallenberg then took brave rescues under those Arrow Cross murder actions along with the deportations from Eichmann.
His first mission had to deal with Swedish protective passports, which the German Hungarian bureaucracies had a weakness of flashy symbol. He thus designed those with high contrasting colors blue and yellow, with Sweden's three crowns in the middle and completed them with stamps and signatures. He also hired 400 Jewish workers to set up the embassy of the Jewish quarter in order to speed up the process. This guaranteed them freedom from restrictions within the country of the Nazi's control.
His first mission had to deal with Swedish protective passports, which the German Hungarian bureaucracies had a weakness of flashy symbol. He thus designed those with high contrasting colors blue and yellow, with Sweden's three crowns in the middle and completed them with stamps and signatures. He also hired 400 Jewish workers to set up the embassy of the Jewish quarter in order to speed up the process. This guaranteed them freedom from restrictions within the country of the Nazi's control.
(6) Before Raoul Wallenberg became the leader of the special department and even before he arrived, the Swedish Red Cross leader Valdemar Langlet rented buildings, so called as "Swedish Research Institute" and "Swedish Library" in the name of the Red Cross. For Wallenberg’s second mission, he established 32 safe houses, which in another word are safe hiding places for the Jews with such labeled as "Swedish Library" and "Swedish Bank". Those safe houses in result saved more then 12,000 people.
For those Jews who were already on trains to Auschwitz, Wallenberg distributed new passports by standing on the car to anyone who could reach them, as well as medicines and food. Eichmann, who had vowed: "I am going to kill that Jew dog Wallenberg,” commanded German soldiers to kill him. However, even they were impressed by his brave action that they purposely aimed too high after been ordered to shoot him down.
For those Jews who were already on trains to Auschwitz, Wallenberg distributed new passports by standing on the car to anyone who could reach them, as well as medicines and food. Eichmann, who had vowed: "I am going to kill that Jew dog Wallenberg,” commanded German soldiers to kill him. However, even they were impressed by his brave action that they purposely aimed too high after been ordered to shoot him down.
Besides, he threatened the Nazis in the name of war crimes after the war was over when most people believed Hitler would lose. And when Eichmann ordered thousands more Jews been circled up, Wallenberg marched in and saved 300 more people with passes and transported them into save houses. Although countless Jews saved from Auschwitz were killed in the street after the Russians closed the city during the final days of Wallenberg's mission, his actions strongly affected those 100,000 Jews who survived in Budapest. Those Jews remained after the liberation of Budapest in February 1945 mainly because Wallenberg's efforts.
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INFLUENCE Wallenberg was arrested by the Soviet forces on January 17, 1945 after the Russians arrived in Budapest. It was apparent that Wallenberg disappeared after April 1945 when the Russians indicated that he wasn't in the Soviet Union. Based on new evidences from the Swedish and America researchers, they found out that the Soviets claimed that Wallenberg was executed on July 17, 1947, but many eye witness reported that they saw him after until the 1980s besides there were no reliable proofs. His disappearance and death still remained mysterious even until nowadays.
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PRIMARY SOURCE
Sandor Ardai, one of the drivers working for Wallenberg, recounted what Wallenberg did when he intercepted a trainload of Jews about to leave for Auschwitz:
“He climbed up on the roof of the train and began handing in protective passes through the doors which were not yet sealed. He ignored orders from the Germans for him to get down, then the Arrow Cross men began shooting and shouting at him to go away. He ignored them and calmly continued handing out passports to the hands that were reaching out for them.
I believe the Arrow Cross men deliberately aimed over his head, as not one shot hit him, which would have been impossible otherwise. I think this is what they did because they were so impressed by his courage. After Wallenberg had handed over the last of the passports he ordered all those who had one to leave the train and walk to the caravan of cars parked nearby, all marked in Swedish colours.
I don't remember exactly how many, but he saved dozens off that train, and the Germans and Arrow Cross were so dumbfounded they let him get away with it.”
“He climbed up on the roof of the train and began handing in protective passes through the doors which were not yet sealed. He ignored orders from the Germans for him to get down, then the Arrow Cross men began shooting and shouting at him to go away. He ignored them and calmly continued handing out passports to the hands that were reaching out for them.
I believe the Arrow Cross men deliberately aimed over his head, as not one shot hit him, which would have been impossible otherwise. I think this is what they did because they were so impressed by his courage. After Wallenberg had handed over the last of the passports he ordered all those who had one to leave the train and walk to the caravan of cars parked nearby, all marked in Swedish colours.
I don't remember exactly how many, but he saved dozens off that train, and the Germans and Arrow Cross were so dumbfounded they let him get away with it.”