17 January 2018
The President of the Russian Federation
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
23, Ilyinka Street
103132 – Moscow
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Dear Mr. President,
In a new anniversary of the disappearance of Swedish World War II hero, Raoul Wallenberg, we respectfully address you, as we did during the last decade, on behalf of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF), an educational global-reach NGO based in New York City.
Once again, we respectfully ask your government to inform the truth about the fate of Raoul Wallenberg and his driver, Vilmos Langfelder, both detained by the Soviet Army on 17 January 1945 and gone missing since then.
Raoul’s parents, as well as his step-father are buried in Sweden. His sister, Nina Lagergren, is alive and deserves to visit her brother’s grave. We also fondly remember Raoul’s half-brother, the late Professor Guy von Dardel, a great friend of our foundation; a man who devoted most of his life to bringing Raoul back home, alas, to no avail.
Our central mission is to preserve and spread the courageous legacy of Raoul Wallenberg and his likes, namely, women and men who reached-out to others in need, regardless of race, religion or nationality of rescuers and rescued ones alike.
Among our members are well over 300 heads of state (former and incumbent), Nobel prize laureates and distinguished personalities from all walks of life, including Pope Francis, Jorge Bergoglio, who joined the ranks of our NGO when he served as Archbishop of Buenos Aires.
Once more we draw to your kind attention a letter sent to our foundation by Mr. Alexander Darchiev in 2006. Mr. Darchiev, today Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Canada, was then Deputy Chief of Mission of the Russian Federation in Washington DC. Below, we copy the mentioned letter for your perusal. As you can see Mr. President, the high-ranking and experienced diplomat was clear and unequivocal in stating that Mr. Wallenberg died, or most likely perished in the USSR on July 17, 1947. He emphasized that the death of Mr. Wallenberg lies with the USSR leadership of that time and on Stalin personally.
Upon receipt of Mr. Darchiev’s letter we made it public and we passed it on to the media and to the Russian authorities, without any major result.
A few years ago, our NGO offered a significant financial reward of 500,000 Euros to any person or entity able to come-up with scientifically verifiable information regarding the fate and/or whereabouts of Raoul Wallenberg and Vilmos Langfelder. We are certainly not seeking an investigation into the circumstances of Wallenberg and Langfelder’s detention and disappearance. These events occurred long ago amidst a particular historical context, in the wake of humanity’s bloodiest war. Our sole aim is to bring closure to a human tragedy.
Dear Mr. President, both the undersigned would be willing to fly specially to Moscow, at your convenience, in order to meet with you and your staff and coordinate all the necessary arrangements to facilitate Raoul Wallenberg’s return home. We strongly believe that Raoul Wallenberg deserves our recognition and that Russia, as a world leader, deserves to play a key role in this human endeavor.
Thanking you in advance for your kind attention, we remain at your disposal should you require any additional information from our end, we remain,
Most respectfully,
Eduardo Eurnekian
Chairman
Baruch Tenembaum
Founder
www.raoulwallenberg.net
