Commemorative Events
The World Remembered Wallenberg on the 61st Anniversary of his Disappearance. The 61st. anniversary of the disappearance of the ”Hero without a Grave” was remembered in Buenos Aires with the attendance of approximately one hundred people, summoned by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation. Read the report
Holocaust Remembrance Day for the Greek Jewry. Under the auspices of the Consulate General of Greece in New York, The American Sephardi Federation with the Sephardi House, The American Friends of the Jewish Museum of Greece, and The Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce, The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation marked the commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day for the Greek Jewry, as designated by the Greek Parliament, the European Union, and the United Nations, in a ceremony attended by 400 guests. Read the article
Exhibition ”Ein Visum furs Leben.” The opening of the exhibition ”Ein Visum furs Leben” (Visas for Life), of the Israel Foreign Ministry, took place on January 26th at the Vaterunser Kirche in Berlin, Germany. Pastor Annemarie Werner, leader of the congregation, and Baruch Tenembaum, founder of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, hosted the event. Read the report
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation Now in Chinese Territory. The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation has developed new representation in China. Xu Xin, professor of the Department of Religious Studies/Department of Philosophy and Director of the Center for Jewish Studies at Najing University, has graciously accepted the offer as representative of the new development in China. Read the article
Saviors On The Screen: Holocaust Day Memorial Film Marathon. From April 24th to April 25th, the Jewish Community Center and the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation presented ”Saviors on the Screen,” a Holocaust Memorial Film Marathon. A diverse audience that included students and survivors attended the screenings of four films that depicted the Holocaust through the rescuers’ perspective. Read the article
Screening of ”Journey to Jerusalem.” The Jewish Community Center and the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation presented ”Journey to Jerusalem,” which narrates the story of two German children escaping the Nazi regime and arriving safely in Jerusalem with help from Bulgarians. The film is determined to educate the audience about the Bulgarian involvement with the saving of more than 50,000 Jews during World War II. The screening of the film was part of the Bulgarian – American Festival for the Arts and Culture. Read the article
The Wallenberg Foundation pays tribute to five Saviors of World War II. The IRWF honored five Saviors of Portuguese speaking countries, together with the Consulates of Portugal and Brazil in New York, on Holocaust Remembrance Day. The homaging ceremony took place on Wednesday, April 26th at the Brazilian Consulate. Read the article
Eduardo Propper de Callejón Honored by the IRWF. In conjunction with the Instituto Cervantes and the Spanish Consulate in New York, the IRWF paid tribute to Diplomat and savior of the Holocaust Eduardo Propper de Callejón at the Institute’s branch in New York City. The event had a tremendous turnout with approximately 180 people in attendance. Read the Article
Catholic Saved Thousands During Holocaust. In honor of Father Marie Benoit’s actions to save thousands of lives during the Holocaust, the IRWF sponsored a mass on December 1st, the fortieth anniversary of Benoit’s designation as a ”Righteous Among the Nations,” at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church. Members of the IRWF gathered in the Church’s Hall afterward to greet guests and provide further information on Holocaust saviors. Read the article
Wallenberg’s Birthday Commemorated in New York. The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation celebrated Raoul Wallenberg’s 94th birthday with a series of activities around the world. In New York, two different events were planed to commemorate such a special occasion. On Friday August 4th, friends and volunteers of the IRWF gathered to place flowers at the Hope monument. Some of the visitors included Agnes Adachi, a woman saved by Wallenberg; Lars Ostling and Helen Daun Rosengren, Consul for Economic and Commercial Affairs and Information Officer of the Consulate of Sweden; as well as Baruch Tenembaum and Elin Borg, the founder and a Swedish volunteer of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, among many others. Read the article
Child’s Day in the Raoul Wallenberg Center. Child’s Day was celebrated in Argentina on August 13th. On the occasion the Wallenberg Foundation visited the Wallenberg Center located in ”La Juanita” neighborhood in Gregorio de Laferrere, headquarters of the Movimiento de Trabajadores Desocupados de La Matanza (Unemployed Workers Movement of La Matanza), a non-governmental organization led by Toty Flores and Soledad Bordegaray. Read the article
Minister of Culture Remembers Raoul Wallenberg. The ceremony organized by the IRWF took place on August 4th, in Buenos Aires. The event markrd the 94th anniversary of thr diplomat’s birth. The tribute took place next to the statue that commemorates the ”Hero without a Grave,” located on the corner of Figueroa Alcorta and Austria. Read the article
Congreswoman Remembers the Saviors of the Holocaust. On the 94th anniversary of Raoul Wallenberg’s birth, Member of Congress Elisa Carrió (ARI) remembered the Saviors of the Holocaust. The ceremony, organized by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, took place at the Hannah Arendt Institute, a non-profit organization presided by Carrió.
Wallenberg Musical Performed in New York. A staged reading of the musical Wallenberg was presented to a full house on Sunday, September 17th and Wednesday, September 20th as part of the 2006 New York Musical Theater Festival. Based on the true story of Raoul Wallenberg, the musical has a book and lyrics by Laurence Holzman and Felicia Needleman, the 2006 winners of the prestigious Kleban Award, and a musical score by Benjamin Rosenbluth. The production is directed by Emmy Award winner Annette Jolles.
The Wallenberg Foundation Greets Pope Benedicto XVI. A delegation of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF), led by its founder Baruch Tenembaum, greeted Pope Benedict XVI on September 27th at the Vatican. On the occasion, the Pontiff was presented with the educational program ”Father Alfonso Durán.” Read the article
Campaigns
Letters to President Vladimir Putin. The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation reached out to its some 200 members, who include Heads of State and Nobel Laureates, and to all individuals urging them to send letters to the President of Russia, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, asking him to resolve Raoul Wallenberg’s mystery. Within a few weeks, copies of letters sent to the office in Russia have been received at the foundation’s offices, including one signed by the Presidente of Croatia, Stepan Mesic, who urged his Russian coleague to give closure to the mystery. Read the article
Putin Received over 22,000 Requests to Liberate a Prisioner. The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation presentd a 425 pages document with the interim result of their signature campaign to President Vladimir Putin, as well as to other leaders around the world and the United Nations. The ongoing ”100,000 Names for 100,000 Lives” campaign has already accumulated over 22,000 signatures in an effort to solve the mystery of Raoul Wallenberg. Read the Article
Wallenberg Day in the United States. The state of Michigan proclaimed October 5th as Raoul Wallenberg Day, signed by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm, following a campaign launched by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation. Governor of Maine John E. Baldacci and Governor of Illinois Rod R. Blagojevich also joined the campaign in memory of the Swedish diplomat’s humanitarian efforts to save tens of thousands of lives in Hungary during World War II. Read the Article
Raoul Wallenberg Day in Buenos Aires. On September 14, the Buenos Aires City Congress passed a law proclaiming August 4th as ”Raoul Wallenberg Day.” For the first time in South America, a capital city dedicates one of the calendar days to remember the deeds of the diplomat that saved tens of thousands of lives during the Holocaust. Read the article
Educational Initiatives
Tribute to Raoul Wallenberg in New York. Agnes Adachi, who aided WW II hero Raoul Wallenberg, spoke to students at the Raoul Wallenberg School, in Brooklyn, New York on January 24th. Adachi, 87, joined members of the IRWF in a unique commemoration of the ”Hero without a Grave,” who was captured by the Soviets on January 17th, 1945. Read the report
Holocaust Day Seminar. The Raoul Wallenberg Foundation was invited to speak at the Holocaust Program organized by The Israel America Foundation. Abigail Tenembaum talked about the Saviors phenomena before an audience of about 60 men and women, many of them survivors of the Holocaust. The seminar was held at the Workmen’s Circle in Manhattan. Other speakers included survivor Simon Taylor and filmmaker Gabriela Moraru, as well as excerpts of the film ”Unsung Heroes” about Jewish people who saved Jews from the Nazi regime. The seminar concluded with the lighting of 6 candles in remembrance of the 6 million Jewish people who perished during the war.
Ben Olander’s Inspirational visit to New York City. Ben Olander, a renowned Swedish folk singer, educated many students during his visit to New York City. In association with the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, Ben featured two schools a day for four consecutive days spreading Holocaust awareness to children as young as eight years old to young adults as old as twenty-one years of age. His message was clear, concise, and riveting, guiding students towards one united goal: to be kind to others, to be accepting of the people who appear different, and to stand up for what we believe in, constantly fighting against evil. Read the article
Folk Artist Returns Home to Promote Understanding Through Song. After completion of his inspirational and successful tour of New York City schools, renowned Swedish folk artist Ben Olander brough his lectures back to his home country of Sweden under the auspices of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation. Olander gave presentations in schools and government institutions around Sweden through November.
Wallenberg at School Educational Program. Rabbi Dario Bialer represented the IRWF at the ”International Congress for Leadership, Creativity, and New Trends in the Classroom.” The event took place in Argentina before hundreds of educators, scholars, school principals, and education professionals from Latin America. Rabbi Bialer lectured on the educational programs developed by the Wallenberg Foundation.
Educators Distinguished. The ”Wallenberg at School” educational program marked its fourth year since it was instated. To close the year’s intense cycle of activities, the team of volunteers working for the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation met on December 28th at the premises of the institution to make a toast. Read the article
Awards
President of Croatia Received Wallenberg Award. In a ceremony attended by high dignitaries, the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF) presented Mr. Stjepan Mesic, President of Croatia, with the Raoul Wallenberg Award 2006 for his concern for the fate of Raoul Wallenberg and other saviors of the Holocaust. The event was held at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Croatia to the United Nations during President Mesic’s visit to New York to attend the General Assembly. Read the article
Wallenberg Foundation Receives Accolade in Buenos Aires. On September 23rd, the ”Biblioteca Popular Madre Teresa” (Mother Teresa Popular Library) presented the IRWF the ”National Award Mother Teresa,” for its efforts aiming at ”building up bonds of friendship, justice and memory among peoples, in the search of the truth and the importance of dignity of human being, as well as for developing and spreading educational projects, promoting solidarity and citizen courage values, like the Holocaust Saviors did”. Read the article
Governor Blanco Gives Special Recognition to IRWF. Governor of Luisiana Kathleen Babineaux Blanco signed an official statement recognizing the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation in acknowledgement of the 61st anniversary of Raoul Wallenberg’s disappearance. Read the article
Wallenberg Foundation’s Founder Received Polar Star. King Carl XVI Gustaf from Sweden decided to grant the recognition to Argentine Baruch Tenembaum. The award recognizes the contribution made by the founder of the Raoul Wallenberg International Foundation to keep alive the memory of the Swedish diplomat who saved tens of thousands of people persecuted by Nazism. This distinction also rewards Mr. Tenembaum’s efforts for fostering dialogue among different religions. The Order was presented by Arne Rodin, Swedish Ambassador in Argentina. Read the article
