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“Evil must be rejected,” Zoltan Balog, minister for human resources and social affairs, said at the event. “Those who knew how to confront hate and who saved lives were perhaps unable to prevent the evil and the destruction, but their memories should be cherished as strongly as possible,” he added.
Budapest, where Wallenberg was stationed in July 1944, is also the last known place of his whereabouts. Soviet troops drove out the German and pro-Nazi Hungarian forces on January 17, 1945. It is unknown exactly how or where Wallenberg died, but official Soviet records indicate he perished in a Moscow prison in 1947.
The year 2012 was declared as “Wallenberg Year” by the Hungarian government, yet, there have been few events marking the Year except for a Swedish travelling exhibit entitled “To me there’s no other choice,” which was available to the public for a brief time in Budapest earlier this year.
Recently, Hungary has seen an increase in anti-Semitic incidents. In one case, pig’s feet were placed on a Wallenberg statue. A Jewish cemetery was also defaced just last month. Moreover, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has ordered that monuments and parks be dedicated and erected in tribute to Miklos Horthy, a former ally of Hitler and a leader during World War II.
The worsening situation in Hungary prompted Nobel peace laureate Elie Wiesel to return the country’s top honor which had been bestowed upon him, with Wiesel accusing Hungary of “whitewashing” the past.
” As we mark Wallenberg’s centennial tomorrow we should ask ourselves if the world would react differently today to the plight of a hero’s disappearance” stated Ezra Friedlander, CEO of The Friedlander Group who established the Raoul Wallenberg Centennial Celebration Commission, the entity that successfully advocated for the Congress to pass legislation authorizing the Congressional Gold Medal to be presented to Wallenberg in honor of this milestone.
“We must never forget that Wallenberg’s heroic action resulted in 100,000 Jewish men, women and children being saved—entire generations that have continuted the chain of life” continued Friedlander pooting out that his grandfather, the previous Liska Rebbe ZT’L was saved by Wallenberg and recalling how his grandmother, the Liska Rebbitzen always told him that “zeide was saved by the Swidesh diplomat Wallenberg when he found refuge in the “shutzhouses”.
Wallenberg sacrificed his life for the Jewish people. May he always be venerated for his sacrifice.