‘He was a humanitarian hero,’ Embassy’s press secretary said
President John F. Kennedy is attributed with saying, “One person can make a difference and everyone should try.” That’s the attitude that Raoul Wallenberg embodied.
Aug. 27 is Raoul Wallenberg Day, Sweden’s national day for equal rights and civil courage, in honor of the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary.
As part of the celebration of Sweden’s 250th anniversary of Jewish life, the Embassy of Sweden in Washington, D.C., hosted an Aug. 27 screening of the feature film “Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg.” The 1990 historical drama details one of the most extensive and successful rescue efforts during the Holocaust and the man behind it all.
“He’s a humanitarian hero,” Alexandra Bro, the embassy’s press officer, said. “He is celebrated in Sweden and across the world.”
“He’s an inspiration,” David Lunderquist, the Embassy of Sweden’s press counselor, added.
“[Raoul Wallenberg Day is] also something that bridges Sweden and the USA,” Lunderquist said, because Wallenberg had been recruited by the United States’ War Refugee Board in June 1944 to travel to Hungary. His actions had been financed by an American organization.
As a diplomat, Wallenberg was tasked to do what he could to assist and rescue Hungarian Jews, according to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. His work with the War Refugee Board prevented the deportation of thousands of Hungarian Jews.
By the time he got to Budapest in July 1944, the Hungarians and Germans had deported almost 440,000 Jews from Hungary and sent nearly all of them to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where 320,000 were immediately killed by the Nazis, and the rest endured forced labor, according to the USHMM. That left 200,000 Jews in Budapest.
Before the film, the embassy staff showed video testimony from Holocaust survivor Agnes Mandl Adachi, who worked for Wallenberg and spoke to the stressful, challenging circumstances in Budapest: “You had to do everything so fast. It was not always easy.”
She described Wallenberg’s visits to the town’s two orphanages when bombs rained down overhead.
“He picked up those crying kids, and he would start making animal noises and telling them stories just to calm them down,” Mandl Adachi recalled. “He visited them as much as he could, always with candies in his pockets just to make the kids happy. … His big, big heartbreak was when … one day, he arrived and found the children all dead.”
But he persevered. Wallenberg persuaded the Swedish government to issue “protective Swedish passports” to Hungarian Jews. He sheltered 13,000 Jewish residents of Budapest in buildings marked by Swedish flags and regularly endangered himself to protect them against armed Hungarian fascists.
“Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg” includes a scene in which the diplomat hands out passes to Jews aboard deportation trains and demands their release.
The staff of the Embassy of Sweden showed the film to offer a broader picture of who Wallenberg was, what he did and the United States’ role in these rescue operations. Lunderquist said he hopes that the film inspires attendees to stand up against injustices.
“Everybody is not Wallenberg, but everybody can do something when they face injustice or intolerance,” he said.
As a result of his efforts, Wallenberg was arrested by the Soviet police and brought as a prisoner to Moscow in January 1945, mere days after the Red Army liberated Budapest. More than 100,000 Jews remained there largely due to Wallenberg’s and his colleagues’ actions. Wallenberg was never released.
“I think this movie highlights that … there were a lot of people that didn’t believe in [Wallenberg] or believe that he would be able to conduct his mission, and he proved all of them very wrong,” Bro said. “The movie showcases exactly what we want the audience to walk away with: that one person can make a huge difference.”
Also on Aug. 27, the embassy displayed an exhibition titled “stoltjude” — or “Proud Jew” — based on an eponymous Instagram account run by the Jewish Youth Federation of Sweden. On the account, Jewish youth of many backgrounds and experiences share their thoughts on their Jewish identity, childhood memories and dreams.
“This year marks the 250 years since we established Jewish life in Sweden,” Lunderquist said. “This is a big celebration. … We, as a Swedish embassy, would like to highlight this year and make it about [a] positive celebration of Jewish life in Sweden and how the Jews have contributed to the Sweden that is today.”
