His own relatives back in Sweden, owners of the most powerful economic group of their country, led at that time by Marcus and Jacob Wallenberg, also seemed to have chosen silence rather than any meaningful measures to extricate their cousin from the Soviet Union.

Even the United States, co-sponsors with Sweden of Wallenberg’s risky mission, did not apply any sizable pressure on Stalin.

THE STRUGGLE for his release was by and large a solitary endeavor led by Raoul’s half-brother, Prof.

Guy von Dardel, until his passing in 2009. Nowadays, Raoul’s half-sister, Nina Lagergren, age 97, is still waiting for him to come back home, and the search for answers is mainly conducted by Prof. von Dardel’s daughters, Louise and Marie.

The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation was established with a mission to preserve and divulge Raoul’s legacy as a rescuer and to remind the world that he is still a victim and as such, he deserves all our efforts to be redeemed.

One way of remembering him is through our Houses of Life program, which identifies physical places in Europe that gave shelter to the victims of Nazism, mainly children left by their parents before being deported to the death camps. So far, we have located more than 500 Houses of Life in Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland, Albania, Greece and Denmark, and the numbers are growing by the day. Our aim is to affix a commemorative plaque in each of those Houses of Life, to remind visitors and passersby that people had been saved there by courageous rescuers.

Raoul Wallenberg was not alone in his rescue efforts, but he was singular in terms of his determination and efficacy. What he achieved in his short-lived mission in Budapest (which lasted seven months) is flabbergasting.

Thanks to his courage, ingenuity and resourcefulness, he managed to save scores of lives. He spared no means to achieve his goal, using all kind of tactics and methods and on many occasions, putting his own life in jeopardy.