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Scanpix Sweden / Reuters
People attend the centennial commemoration of the birth of Raoul Wallenberg in Sigtuna, Sweden, on Saturday.
The 100th anniversary of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg’s birthday was celebrated Saturday with a call for a day on the Swedish calendar to honor the man who saved thousands of Jews during World War II but whose own fate remains a mystery.
“Wallenberg is an excellent symbol for a Sweden and Europe with solidarity, openness and tolerance,” Democracy Minister Birgitta Ohlsson wrote in an opinion piece in Dagens Nyheter.
Wallenberg, born Aug. 4, 1912, has been remembered throughout the year thanks to efforts of a Swedish national committee established to draw attention to his life and deeds, Ohlsson wrote. However, she argued, his work “deserves an annual Swedish remembrance.”
Attila Kisbenedek / AFP - Getty Images file
A Hungarian woman touches the memorial stone of late Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg in St. Istvan park of Budapest, Hungary, on Wednesday.
Several memorial celebrations were planned in Stockholm on Saturday, with guests including Crown Princess Victoria attending a memorial for Wallenberg.
In May, Sweden issued a postage stamp honoring Wallenberg.
But Ohlsson wrote that she is worried the memory of Wallenberg could fade.
“In a country where anti-immigrant parties are gaining ground, right-wing movements are formed and populist groups become more visible, it is increasingly important that each nation talks about the individuals who make a difference for humanity,” she wrote.
International memorials
Wallenberg was remembered internationally.
President Obama recently signed into law a bill bestowing the Congressional Gold Medal upon Raoul Wallenberg.
President Barack Obama on July 27 signed the Raoul Wallenberg Centennial Celebration Act, passed by Congress to honor the diplomat with the Congressional Gold Medal. The U.S. mint is now authorized to design and print the medal, which will be presented in the Congress, according to a White House statement.
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On Friday in Moscow, about 50 people -- including members of the Jewish community, historians, and rights workers -- gathered for a somber commemorative ceremony in Moscow's Memorial Synagogue at the Holocaust and Jewish Heritage Museum, according to Radio Free Europe. Diplomats from Sweden, Hungary, the Netherlands, Germany and Israel were among those who spoke. A new documentary film on the secret services was shown.
Other events were held in Israel and Hungary.
Fate unclear
As Sweden's envoy to Hungary during the war, Wallenberg, then age 32, prevented the deportation of 20,000 to as many as 100,000 Jews to Nazi concentration camps by issuing them protective Swedish government passports.
Wallenberg also talked occupying German officers out of a plan to obliterate Budapest's Jewish ghetto.
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Wallenberg was last seen on Jan. 17, 1945, in Budapest, when he drove off to meet Soviet authorities to discuss protection for Jews once the Red Army drove out the Nazis. Soviet intelligence agents abducted the Swedish diplomat.
Reports of his death are inconsistent.
The Soviet Union claimed that Wallenberg, incarcerated at Moscow's Lefortovo prison, died on July 17, 1947, of a heart attack, the New York Times wrote in 2000. However, he reportedly was interrogated six days after the date Russia claims Wallenberg died, according to others studying his case. A special commission investigating victims of Russian leader Joseph Stalin's political terror said he was executed at Lubyanka prison at KGB headquarters.
"The family wants now to get the truth," says Cecilia Ahlberg, Wallenberg's great-niece, said Friday in a BBC interview in which Wallenberg's half-sister, Nin Lagergren, 91, agreed.
"We want all the facts about his whereabouts in the Soviet Union, what happened and when it happened," Ahlberg said.
This article includes reporting by NBC News' Jim Gold.
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Leave a Comment:
It's high time that Steven Speilberg pay tribute to this world figure, instead of the likes of Oscar Schlinder. Shalom, Raoul Wallenberg
When are we going to remember the other countless people who have died around the world? Stalin killed more than Hitler. Why are his victims forgotten?
jon, Stalin's victims are not forgotten, but the Nazis killed off half of the Jews in the world.
hEY jonathank1,
Read the books of Solyenitzin... see the peature films made after his books... like A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich...
BTW there is no place to "compite" or compare between killed people who is more remembered...
No one (even Stalin) did nothing comparable to what the nazis did. It's not a matter of 'numbers'...
After all of this time the Russians need to release all the KGB files they have on Wallenberg so that the truth about what happened to him can be known. In fact, the Russians really need to release all of the KGB archives from that era. The only way to truly put the past behind them is to come clean and admit what was done.
To all of the Jewish readers of this post. Please do not buy into this pathetic attempt of Obamas in honoring Wallenberg. His words are meaningless. Yes, Wallenberg deserves this award and he should have recieved this award decades ago, but the words out of Obamas mouth mean nothing to him and he is ready to sell you down the river in support of his true muslim roots. He is desperate to get your votes and he doesn't deserve them after his treatment of Netanyahu. A true allie president would not have snubbed him the way Obama did.
He does not believe Israel has the right to protect itself from the onslaught of attacks from the muslims that occur everyother day
He has done so much damage to Israel during his term as president it isn't even funny. He does not stand with you and this is a pathetic attempt to pander to the Jewish vote which he so desperately needs. He has supported the muslim brotherhood who wants the destruction of Israel. He is a wolf in sheeps clothing.
"...this is a pathetic attempt to pander to the Jewish vote which he so desperately needs."
Actually davefromdanapointca, the really pathetic thing is the non-relative, anti-Obama crap and pandering for votes that you've inserted into this thread.
The only thing pathetic here is your comment. If you had half a brain and the most basic of reading comprehension, you would have noted that CONGRESS came up with this, not Obama. Hell, if you weren't so eager to jump up on your podium and let idiocy slip from your lips, the name itself, 'Congressional Gold Medal', would have clued you in. But no, you had to show up, mouth off with some retarded crap, then slink away feeling proud of your achievement. Well done.
Well said Chris.
Chris from Yucaipa,
Prove Dave wrong. Please offer up some facts. Rev Wright is the most America Hating minister other than Louis FarrakanI have ever heard of. Obama has a consistently cool and minimalist (to be nice) in his approach to Israel. This wimpy awards show of pageantry bears that out. Lets hope we don't see his wife whispering into her hubby's ear, "All this for a
flagmedal?". Smart money is on that she's thinking it. That's how their white house garden grows.Of course Obama is pandering. In the weakest way. Besides most Swedes don't give bits for this guy. They've fell in love with the Religion of
"PC'Peace. The few Jews they have leaving. You don'thave to browse You tube to find up loaded reports of Swedish News agencies.Besides: since he is bringing up "holocaust stuff" . "Holocaust Stuff"...againnnnn..."
This reinforses the prujudices of his left-leaning constituency" that is oh so fond of reminding us how sick they are to hear "yet another Holocaust thing." TV shows now have cameo one-liners to make jokes about the "over abundance of Holocaust documentaries" and giggle. So it goes.....
An example of a substantive gesture from the current administation would simply be acknowledge that Jerusalem is the Capitol if Israel. Both Houses of our Legislature voted to do so long ago. Its time for the president to make it so. Then, move our embassy there. Democratic President Clinton pardened the weather underground bombers & Brinks robbers. Democratic President Obama can and should Free Jonathan Pollard. He's served longer time.
As for for "pithy" commentary, no deeper than tatoos: YOU SAY IT BEST:
sarcasm noted.
So prove him wrong
Why in the f*ck would I need to prove things that are common sense?
He claims that:
-Obama is a Muslim
-That this is Obama's attempt to pander to the Jewish vote, when in fact this was something crafted by Congress, co-sponsored equally by 301 Dems and Repubs. He simply agreed with it and signed it into law.
The sheer stupidity you show with the comment ""All this for a
flagmedal?" shows you really don't give a sh*t about truth, it's all about the one-liner rhetoric you can vomit up. It's sad that people like yourself still claim that those were the words she said, not based on an audio clip of it, but on what some amateur lip reader THINKS she said.And finally the little quip about that idiot Jeremiah Wright. Wow, you guys really can't let go of a well chewed bone. Sorry, but I don't need disprove a retarded post. Both of yours pretty much show their idiocy enough where I don't need to.
Chris,
Over the last year, obama has done nothing but pander for votes to groups that were turning their backs on him. I will give you a couple of the latest and greatest from him. When he was running and after he got elected he stated several times that he believed the definition of marriage was between one man and one women. Now he all of the sudden changes that to be more gay friendly because he wants their votes so desperately. Because of that many blacks said they won't vote for him. Remember that prop 8 here in California got passed because the black vote put it over the top. Well he needs the black vote again so this week he signed into executive order a bill that lowers the bar for black students. I have seen a lot of insulted black commentary since he did that. I hope this backfires big on him. Lets also keep in mind his order not to deport the illegal children of illegal aliens and to allow them to get lower tuition as well as employment. This president doesn't care about the hard working American at all. He will sell his own kids if he thought it might get him reelected.
Well the Jewish vote is swinging to the right for good reasons. His snubbing of Netanyahu has pissed off the Jewish voters and his demanding that Israel give back the territories they captured when they were attacked by the arabs. Israel has a right to exist and this president doesn't seem to think so. His support of the muslim brotherhood is support for terrorist organisations such as Hezbollah and Al Queda.
Obama is a muslim. He went to muslim schools in Indonesia, his father was a muslim, he has his own turban which he wore in the infamous picture of him visiting Qaddafi. He talks about his muslim heritage and faith in his book. He definately isn't any type of christian I know of.
And talking about well chewed bones there chris, When are you democrat dogs going to bury all of your well chewed bones? Or is it what is good for the goose ISN'T good for the gander. Hypocrite.
Imagine that, Chris. You lecturing me about rhetoric and vomit.
Again u come up short on content; high on vulgarity & froath.
Well? Ergo: Obama didn't, but would have if he cared.
He doesn't, but he'll pin it on himself.
NBC already has.
It is also high time that all the prison records are made available so that what actually happened to Mr. Wallenberg can be made public. His family deserves to know, his country deserves to know, all the people who survived due to his high-minded and brave actions deserve to know--the world deserves to know.
What a great, and INCREDIBLY BRAVE man.
Hey Sweden, it's about time to honor such a unique person with a day in his name. A sample of humanity for a lost humanity.
For a country that remained "neutral" during world war 2, but continued to trade with Germany to supply its war machine with coal, iron ore and industrial supplies, it seems rather hypocritical now that they would embrace a diplomat who risked his own life to do what he did independent of his country's stance.
We should all commemorate this man's heroic deeds, but he was no representative of the Swedish government in doing what he did.
Last Iconoclast, war is never black and white. Even some Americans would have opted out of participation in WW2, and many could have cared less about the fate of Jews in Europe. Yes, Sweden gave some aid to Germany, but it also, despite its neutral status, shared military intelligence with the Allies, assisted in the training of soldiers who had been Danish and Norwegian refugees to help them liberate their homelands, and made its airbases available to the Allies in 1944. Anti-fascists were welcome in Sweden, and in 1943, many thousands of Danish and Norwegian Jews were brought to Sweden instead of being sent to death camps. You think the "officially neutral" Swedish government knew nothing of these things? You are mistaken.
This should embarrass the Russians (nee) Soviets. Oh, wait...nothing embarrasses them...
Even in the darkest of hours on this earth, many small but bright lights shone out. Many people helped save the lives of Jewish people in the war including Germans...go to the Yad Vashen memorial in Jerusalem. There are thousands of trees planted there in thanks and memory to those who did. They came from all over Europe and put their lives and their families at risk doing so. Many were caught and executed by the Nazis. Many people quietly went about saving lives the best way they could. Have they been forgotten, perhaps, should they be, no never!! Regardless of which country they came from there were 2 things they took to heart...Humanity and respect for fellow humans not matter who they were, where they came from, or what religion they practised....Something at times, that is truly lacking in this world.....
But does Sweden have the moral fortitude and gonads to squarely lay the blame for Wallenberg's demise on Soviet Russia? No, didn't think so. An inconvenient truth, much like their "neutral" profiteering during the war.
Bless Raoul Wallenberg. I'd forgotten how young this hero was. He certainly was wise and wily beyond his years. It's odd that the article failed to mention all of the reported sightings of the man through the years as late as the sixties and/or the early seventies. I'm afraid we'll never really know what happened to this man.
No good deed goes unpunished...
Putin the new Stalin should do something Civil and Honest for once, and tell the World what Uncle Joe did to Mr Wallenberg, Beside that the Soviets kidnapped a Foreign National Diplomat in a Foreign Land and criminally transported him to Moscow to Torture and Execute. Putin, Putin, Putin, Why do you act like a Punk?
Yeah! Come on Russia, there is no one left alive in your nation who was involved, so let us know (or at least the family) what you did to him for the horrendous crime of meeting with your emissaries. It was Stalin and his already discredited henchmen, and all are dead. There could possibly be a witness or two still surviving, but they were by no means in charge. What do you have to lose? The world knowns he was murdered in your country, and by your country: but in what city, when, by what organization, and on what trumped up charges? The names of the villains would be really nice, but we don't really expect you top be that forthcoming.
@Retired Air Force-2342355- Agree with you 100%. But we don't need to wonder about names fo villains involved in this tradgedy. I do not know the names of those that actualy pulled the trigger, but main culprits are Stalin and his chief of NKVD (later KGB) Lavreinty Beria. An order to kill a foriegn diplomat can only come from that high up.
modern European history is full of wars with modern war weapons of heavy metal. Mining techniques for mining coal is pure heavy labor in European during those times. And that is just coal. When reviewing iron ore mines in Europe, it doesn't look like they produce enough raw iron ores to produce iron or steel to support War WWI or War WWII (makes job to explain easy for you). So, if there are accounts of Jewish persecution with concentration camps, where are the slave labor camp to provide heavy labor for cheap iron ores for WWI?
you guys need to review mining technology by looking at mining safety technology time line. Blind faith in God should not be apply to blind faith in history of Europeans. There are various factor that provide facts to discredit such blind faith on a subject not about God.