August 4
WALLENBERG DAY
It was 1912, the scene was Stockholm, Sweden. The event was the birth of a child named Raoul Wallenberg. Three decades later, Raoul made his mark in history.
Wallenberg grew up to become an architect but this was not how he became famous. The upper-class Swedish gentleman also imported luxury goods from Hungary; and in his business dealings, learned of the plight of Hungarian Jews at the hands of the Nazis.
Unlike others of his stature and position in society during World War II, Wallenberg went to work to save thousands ... ultimately rescuing at least 100,000 Jews from certain death ... 65,000 of them from the Budapest ghetto. Were his motives purely humanitarian? This is one question that will never be answered. In 1945, Soviet troops entered Budapest and arrested Wallenberg. Although no one actually knows what happened to this brave individual, Tass, the Soviet press agency, reported that he died in prison two years after his arrest.
Raoul Wallenberg has been honored posthumously by the U.S. government. In 1981 the U.S. House of Representatives voted to award Mr. Wallenberg with honorary American citizenship, only the second person ever to receive such recognition (Winston Churchill was the first). He has also been immortalized in books, film and in a miniseries on television.
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
No portion of these files may be reproduced without the express, written permission of 440 International Inc.
