December 2006

Wallenberg Foundation founder receives Polar Star

King Carl XVI Gustaf from Sweden decided to grant the 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.

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Buenos Aires Herald. Wallenberg Foundation founder receives Polar Star

The left-hand photo shows International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation founder Baruch Tenembaum receiving the Swedish Royal Order of the Polar Star decoration from Swedish Ambassador Arne Rodin while former Swedish envoy Peter Landelius looks on – the other photo shows Tenembaum chatting with Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo leader Estela Barnes de Carlotto, Santa Fe Governor Jorge Obeid (who arrived from Santa Fe shortly after the award itself) and Rodin.

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The Times. Gerald Ford – July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006

Decent and dependable Republican who helped to steady the United States after the shocks of Watergate and Vietnam

Gerald Ford was unique in the history of the United States as being the only man to occupy both the vice-presidency and the presidency without being elected to either office. Nevertheless, he played an indispensable role in guiding the country’s political life back to solid ground when the Vice-President, Spiro Agnew, and the President, Richard Nixon, had been forced from office after being exposed as having broken the law of the land.

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JANUARY 17 – Raoul Wallenberg Day Commemoration

The Jewish Federation of Winnipeg and Gray Academy of Jewish Education have developed a program to commemorate Raoul Wallenberg Day. This year, students will acquire experience and knowledge about human rights abuses in Sub-Saharan Africa.

More Info

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Haaretz.com. New research bares Vatican criticism of Nazi-era pope

New research reveals rare criticism from within the Vatican of Holocaust-era pope Pius XII for his silence in the face of the destruction of European Jewry. Pius XII is controversial due to claims that he knew of the genocide as early as the early 1940s but did not act to stop it. In 1999, the Vatican appointed the International Catholic-Jewish Historical Commission to investigate the charges against Pius XII, however the panel disbanded after it was refused access to archival material.

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The Jerusalem Post. Pope John XXIII lobbied to save Jews

An Israeli scholar has discovered evidence that a Vatican emissary and future Pope tried to challenge the Catholic Church’s perceived indifference to the Nazi mass murder of Europe’s Jews during World War II.

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Catholic Saved Thousands during Holocaust

In honor of Father Marie Benoit’s actions to save thousands of lives during the Holocaust, the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF) sponsored a Mass on Dec. 1, 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.

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The Budapest Times. House of Terror seeks out Holocaust heroes

Motive behind the campaign questioned

A television media campaign has resulted in 550 interviews for a new database on Hungarians who helped Jews during the Holocaust. The project under the leadership of Maria Schmidt, director of the House of Terror museum brought forth 1,165 responses from those who helped Jews in Hungary during the Holocaust, resulting in 550 interviews for a new database on Hungarian life savers.

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Lifelong Champion of Major Holocaust Hero Dies

Sebastião de Sousa Mendes, son of Portuguese diplomat and Holocaust rescuer Aristides de Sousa Mendes died in Scottsdale Arizona today, at the age of eighty-three.

He dedicated the better part of his adult life to vindicating his father who was wrongfully and severely punished by then Portuguese dictator Antonio Oliveira Salazar, for having disobeyed the dictator’s explicit orders by saving an estimated thirty thousand refugees from the concentration camps in June of 1940, while he was a diplomat in Bordeaux, France. This was the largest single rescue act of the entire Holocaust.

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Catholic News Service. Argentine priest who helped found Wallenberg Foundation dies

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (CNS) — Father Horacio Moreno, an Argentine priest who championed interfaith dialogue and helped found the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, died of natural causes in Buenos Aires Nov. 16. He was 88.

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Raoul Wallenberg’s Day in Sweden

Motion to the Swedish Parliament

Raoul Wallenberg was born on August 4th 1912 in Stockholm. For future generations he will be remembered as the man who saved tens of thousands of Jews from dying in German Nazi concentration camps, while risking his own life. His actions ended when he was kidnapped in Hungary and taken to a prison in the Soviet Union, where he was probably tortured and maybe finally executed.

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”Partners of Hope” – Honoring Bravery and Humanitarianism: Stories of Rescue During the Holocaust

The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation presents ”Partners of Hope”, a concert to commemorate the Holocaust and recognize those who displayed extraordinary courage to save Jews from genocide. The concert will take place on February 5, 2007 at Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern Auditorium at 8 pm.

More Info

See the invitation and ticket information here

Calendar of Events

JANUARY 17

  • Remembering Raoul Wallenberg: Holocaust Survivors Share Their Stories. New York. USA. Park East Synagogue and The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation invite you to a special event on occasion of the 62nd Anniversary of Wallenberg’s disappearance with a musical performance of ”Prologue” & ”Messages for Raoul Wallenberg” by composer Terry Winter Owens, featuring Soprano Patricia Sonego with Reizen Ensemble. Wednesday, January 17th 2007, at 7.30 p.m. at Park East Synagogue at 164 East 68th Street – (Between Lexington and 3rd Ave.) – New York. RSVP: email: irwf@irwf.org – Tel: (212) 737-3275 / email: info@pesyn.org – Tel: 212.737.6900
  • Mass in Honor of Raoul Wallenberg. New York. USA. Following a suggestion of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, the Church of Sweden will dedicate a mass to Raoul Wallenberg on the anniversary of his disappearance. The church is located at 5 East 48th Street, New York. For more information, please contact the church at 212-832-8443 / 8444.
  • Wallenberg is remembered in his native country. Stockholm, Sweden. The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation and the Holocaust Survivors of Sweden will hold a ceremony at the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial in Stockholm. For more information, please contact Livia Frankel at livia.frankel@swipnet.se.
  • Raoul Wallenberg remembered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation organizes a homage near the statue of Raoul Wallenberg located in Figueroa Alcorta Ave. and Austria St., Buenos Aires. Rabbi Sergio Bergman will talk on Wallenberg´s honor on the occasion of the 62 anniversary of his disappearance.
  • ”Raoul Wallenberg, one man can make a difference,” Paris, France. Symposium dedicated to the actions and ideals of the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg who, in the last months of WWII, saved thousands of Jews in Budapest. The symposium will be held at the Swedish Center, located at 11, rue Payenne, F-75003 Paris, from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
    A sculpture dedicated to Raoul Wallenberg, and signed by Gustav and Ulla Kraitz, will be inaugurated at the Hotel de Marle patio during the occasion.
  • ”Good evening , Mr. Wallenberg” (Godafton, herr Wallenberg), Paris, France. The film narrates the actions of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who fights to save a group of arrested Jews while trying to stop the total destruction of the Jewish ghetto. The screening of the movie will take place at 7:00 pm at the Swedish Center, 11, rue Payenne, F-75003 Paris.
  • Raoul Wallenberg Day Commemoration. The Jewish Federation of Winnipeg and Gray Academy of Jewish Education have developed a program to commemorate Raoul Wallenberg Day. This year, students will acquire experience and knowledge about human rights abuses in Sub-Saharan Africa.
    More Info:     http://www.jewishwinnipeg.org/content_display.html?ArticleID=205310
  • 62nd Anniversary of Raoul Wallenberg’s Disappearance – Budapest, Hungary. A commemoration organized by the Raoul Wallenberg Association of Hungary will take place at Wallenberg street, at the Raoul Wallenberg memorial plaque, at 4.00 pm. Mr. Gyorgy Kaiser, member of the Association’s executive board will deliver a speech.
  • International Rescuer Day 2007. Jerusalem, Israel An event in honor to Raoul Wallenberg will take place in Jerusalem. Speakers include Israeli author Aharon Applefeld; Dr. Mordecai Paldiel, Director of Yad Vashem’s Righteous Among the Nations project; Larry Pfeffer, Jerusalem Working Group, and Dr. Becky Kook. A musical performance of Yiddish songs written during the Holocaust will complement the speakers. For more information, contact Larry Pfeffer at pfeffer@actcom.co.il
  • Exhibit dedicated to remembering of Raoul Wallenberg. Berlin, Germany. Barbara Ehrt’s paintings will be accompannied by Pastor Willibald Jacob’s lecture about his work with the Adivasis in India. Pastor Jacob and Ms. Ehrt could have been disciples of Raoul Wallenberg, as their activities and dedication for righteousness and respect for humanity and understanding show. Both are involved – with intensive dedication – to interfaith dialogue and cultural understanding. The event will take place at 7 pm at Vaterunser-Church located at Detmolder Street 17, Berlin – Wilmersdorf.

JANUARY 21

  • Screening of ”Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg” – Vancouver, Canada. The Swedish and the Jewish communities join forces in a tribute to the Swedish diplomat and hero, Raoul Wallenberg, who saved the lives of as man as a hundred thousand people during World War II. An honorary citizen of Canada, USA and Israel, he would have celebrated his 95th birthday this year. The day Wallenberg disappeared, as well as his birthday, are marked in many places around the world, so The City of Vancouver has marked the
    occasion by proclaiming a ”Raoul Wallenberg Day.” Deputy Mayor Kim Capri will speak as will a member of ”The Second Generation” Jewish group of relatives to Holocaust survivors. The event is sponsored by Consulate of Sweden, Second Generation Group, Swedish Charitable Association and Liberty Bakery. January 21, 2007, 2pm, Vancity Theatre, 1181 Seymour Street, Vancouver.

January 26

  • ”One Person can Make a Difference.” New York. USA Presentation of the educational program ”One Person can Make a Difference” to middle school social studies teachers. The program was developed by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation. The presentation is organized by the Direction of School Improvement & Social Studies of the Regional Learning Support Center 3 of the New York City Department of Education.