#WeWantToKnow
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Holocaust in Hungary, as well as the 80th anniversary of Raoul Wallenberg’s humanitarian mission to Budapest, to protect the last surviving Jewish community in Europe.
We are searching for any information you may have about:
- His life and person
- His contacts and life-saving actions in Budapest
- His subsequent fate as a prisoner in the Soviet Union
Please distribute this appeal widely in your respective professional and private networks, and on social media, at home and abroad. The more people view the appeal, the greater will be the chance to discover individuals who still have valuable information to share!
Please contact us with information or questions at info@wewanttoknow.net
We are proud to announce the launch of a new international appeal for information about Swedish diplomat and Holocaust hero Raoul G. Wallenberg (1912-?)
With this project, we aim to document Raoul Wallenberg’s life and work in a more formal way, in the hope of creating a permanent and tangible record of his humanitarian activism.
At the same time, we intend to highlight the full spectrum of the official Swedish rescue effort in Hungary (1944-45), including the many unsung heroes of the resistance, private individuals, as well as the various local and international agencies, diplomats and representatives of civil society who contributed to its success.
The collected data, such as written and oral histories, witness accounts, photographs, artifacts, and other types of documentations will be made available to the public through exhibits, including digital collections, and is to serve as a repository of remembrance and research for future generations. The collection will also serve researchers in their efforts to provide answers to the remaining questions about Wallenberg’s mission and his fate.
Video Transcript
July 1944 – 31-year-old Swedish diplomat Raoul Gustav Wallenberg arrives in Budapest, Hungary. His assignment – to save the last surviving Jewish community in Europe from Nazi persecution. Wallenberg and his dedicated team of aides work tirelessly to distribute Swedish protective passports – the famous yellow “Schutzpass”. Wallenberg creates safe houses, soup kitchens and even a hospital for persecuted Jews. He works with other diplomats and with the Hungarian resistance to stop Jewish deportations and save people from marauding bands of ruthless Nazi thugs. As a direct result of these efforts, most of the 100,000 Jews left in the Hungarian capital survive the war.
But then tragedy strikes. The young hero becomes a victim himself. When he contacts Soviet occupation forces to seek protection for the Jews under his care, he is arrested and taken to Moscow. Wallenberg disappears without a trace. Soviet authorities repeatedly lie about his whereabouts. In 1957, Soviet officials announced that he died suddenly ten years earlier, in a Moscow prison, but offered no reliable proof. To this day, the full circumstances of his fate remain unknown. His family has fought for almost eight decades to learn what happened to Raoul.
Wallenberg’s legacy lives on as a symbol of exceptional courage and compassion in the face of evil. He has been honored posthumously with numerous awards, including being named an honorary citizen of the United States, Canada, Australia, Israel and Budapest. His memory serves as a reminder of the importance of standing up for what is right, even in the face of great personal danger. During his six months stay in Hungary in 1944/1945 and his subsequent imprisonment in the Soviet Union/Russia, Wallenberg came in contact with many different people. Perhaps you, or your relatives, have important details or information about the following:
● Raoul Wallenberg’s contacts and activities in Budapest in 1944-45
● The precise circumstances of his imprisonment and death
● The location of his grave
● Historical, authentic witness accounts, documents, photographs, diaries, notes and/or drawings of this period held in private or public archives
Raoul showed us that one man can make a difference. Russian and other international archives contain important documentation that have so far not been shared with researchers or Raoul Wallenberg’s family. There is no greater pain than to live with the unsolved disappearance of a loved one. Raoul and his family have a right to the truth. Let’s do Raoul Wallenberg justice together and uncover the truth about his fate.
#WeWantToKnow International Public Appeal about Raoul G. Wallenberg is a joint project of the Raoul Wallenberg Honorary Citizen Committee, Tel Aviv University and the RWI-70. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the following individuals and organizations:
Israel
Dr. Ronit Kampf
Liana Baranskyi
Dr. Nurit Carmel
Prof. Mark Keil
Heddi Keil
Ayelet Grunberg
Students of Bezalel, Jerusalem
Students of Junior High schools, Ra’anana/Herzlia
Sweden
Ambassador Erik Ullenhag
Cecilia Åhlberg
Max Federmann
Switzerland
Louise von Dardel
Matilda von Dardel
Canada
The Hon. Irwin Cotler
George Preger
Ann Weiszman
Jude Ellen
Simone Hanchet
Website & Technical support
Kathryn Birstein
Sound
Bensound.com
Organizations
Tel Aviv University (TAU), Tel Aviv
The Embassy of Sweden, Tel Aviv
The Raoul Wallenberg Academy, Stockholm
OVED for Human Rights, Toronto
The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR), Montreal
Keren Kajemet Leisrael – Jewish National Fund, Stockholm
The Holocaust Memorial Center, Budapest
SVT Kulturnyheterna, Stockholm