Christopher Huh explores the life of Raoul Wallenberg
The Board of the Wallenberg Foundation, a New York based NGO that develops educational programs and public awareness campaigns based on the values of solidarity and civic courage, ethical cornerstones of the Saviors of the Holocaust, unanimously decided to support the creation of My Name is Raoul, a book by Christopher Huh, a second-generation Korean-American Christian teenager. The book will deal with the story of WWII hero, Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat that helped save the lives of thousands of persecuted people in Budapest.
“I want to make a graphic novel that will bring attention to his life. Not only about the things he did, but who he was. Raoul Wallenberg’s story is one of courage and compassion. Being born into a well-off and prestigious family, he could have lived a comfortable life. But he put himself in danger to save people who had no connection with him. Today, hundreds of thousands of people around the world owe their existence to Raoul Wallenberg. I often wonder why Raoul Wallenberg at age 31, left his comfort and went to Budapest to save people he didn’t even know. What moved him? What would he say if he was still alive today?”, says Christopher
Christopher, who attends Rocky Hill Middle School in Clarksburg, Maryland, started drawing and writing his first book, Keeping my Hope, when he was 14 years old. Created entirely with just paper and pencil, it took him about a year and a half and a thousand hours of research on World War II and the Holocaust to complete the book.
Keeping my Hope is a historical fiction graphic novel which circles around the life of Ari, a teenager whose entire life is turned upside down by the horrors of the Holocaust. He and his family are torn apart and moved to Auschwitz, where the reader gains an inside look at what the prisoners in concentration camps suffered. However, even with these atrocities, the power of friendship shines through and gives Ari hope to keep surviving sorrounded by the darkest blizzards of terror. Keeping my Hope spreads the message of how powerfully racism and prejudice can affect those around us.
“My goal is to see My Name is Raoul in every public library and school in America.”, he adds from his home suburban Maryland.
“This is a paramount example as well as a great experience for a young man of his age”, states Eduardo Eurnekian, Chairman of the Wallenberg Foundation.
About Christopher Huh
Video. Interview to author Christopher Huh
Work plan
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/874379099/my-name-is-raoul-a-graphic-novel-by-christopher-hu
Christopher Huh’s website
http://keepingmyhope.com/
The Times of Israel. Korean-American Christian teen teaches the Shoah
http://www.timesofisrael.com/korean-american-christian-teen-teaches-the-shoah/
Amazon. Keeping my Hope
http://www.amazon.com/Keeping-My-Hope-Christopher-Huh/dp/147934883X
Christopher book at Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ChristopherHuhOfficial
