The Monthly Herald remembers...

Raoul Wallenberg                                                                                                        By Jan Larsson

"His intervention gave hope to victims, encouraged them to fight and resist, to hang on and bear witness. It aroused our collective consciousness. Remembering his life should be an inspiration to others to act; for our future generations to act; for all of us to act."

Kofi A. Annan 
UN Secretary General 

By now, people in most parts of the world have heard about Raoul Wallenberg's extraordinary rescue action on behalf of the Hungarian Jews during World War II. Recent documentaries about him, produced in a number of countries, have contributed to public awareness of his role. But the 1985 American TV miniseries “Wallenberg,” which has been seen by many millions of people all over the globe, has been particularly important in this regard. During my lecture tours both in Sweden and abroad as part of the international effort to secure Raoul's release from the Soviet Union, I have often been asked how it was possible to save such a large number of people—about 100,000—from the Nazi executions. The most important answer: Raoul Wallenberg was the right man in the right place, given the situation then prevailing. Although he was not the heroic type in the ordinary sense, he was a fearless, skilled negotiator and organizer. He was, moreover, a good actor, a talent that served him well during his clashes with the Nazis. He could also show two different personalities.

 

 

 

 

 

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