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  • Inconsistent criteria for ‘righteousness’

    Who is righteous enough for Yad Vashem raises a legitimate claim In the past few years, we at the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation have submitted a large number of well-documented dossiers to Yad Vashem dealing with hitherto unknown or poorly substantiated cases of rescue. A significant proportion of those cases were crowned with success, namely […]

  • Who left Raoul Wallenberg behind?

    Sixty-nine years after his disappearance, both Sweden and Russia have the chance to rehabilitate their shameful silence about the heroic diplomat. On January 17, 1945, 69 years ago, Raoul Wallenberg left Budapest, together with his personal driver, Vilmos Langfelder, for a meeting with the Soviet commander, Marshal Malinovsky, at Debrecen. Wallenberg’s idea was to discuss […]

  • Swedish king, U.S. treasury secretary unveil Raoul Wallenberg congressional gold medal

    Medal inscribed with ‘hero of heroes’ beneath the likeness of Swedish diplomat who rescued thousands of Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew unveiled the Raoul Wallenberg Congressional Gold Medal. The medal unveiled Thursday morning at the U.S. Treasury in Washington is inscribed with “hero […]

  • Raoul Wallenberg: Savior and victim

    A Swedish diplomat saved the lives of many Hungarian Jews in the Holocaust, but his fate since he was abducted by the Soviets in 1945 is unknown. 100 years after his birth, a call to remember an outstanding rescuer of Jews. Raoul Wallenberg, one of the greatest heroes of the 20th century, was born 100 […]

  • Not all disobedience is created equal

    Journalist Eyal Press set out to examine what makes people come forward during ‘dark times’ to defy authority in order to prevent evil acts. But not all his moral heroes necessarily belong in the same august group Beautiful Souls: Saying No, Breaking Ranks, and Heeding the Voice of Conscience in Dark Times, by Eyal Press […]

  • Remember Raoul Wallenberg

    In reaction to ”The woman who hid Anne Frank has died at the age of 100”, by Nir Chason (Ha’aretz, Jan 13, 2010). Both Miep Gies and her husband Ian, were heroes. Amidst a tangible risk to their own lives, they hid Anne Frank and her family. Gies’ death at the age of 100 is […]

  • Scandinavian shame

    Back on August 4th., the world celebrated the 97th birthday of a Swedish hero, Raoul Wallenberg. At the same time, the Norwegian Royal Family and Government are throwing a one-year celebration in tribute to their writer Knut Hamsun, a Nobel laureate who betrayed his own people during WWII. While his fellow countrymen fought against the […]

  • Raoul Wallenberg Foundation slams Norway for ‘vindicating Nazis’

    Norway’s controversial decision to honor novelist and Nazi-sympathizer Knut Hamsun came this week under harsh criticism from the international foundation for Raoul Wallenberg – a Swedish diplomat who disappeared after saving tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Holocaust. The once celebrated author, who supported Norway’s Nazi occupation regime during World War II, was […]

  • We shall not give-up our struggle

    In response to ”Raoul Wallenberg’s parents committed suicide out of despair after he disappeared”, by Gila Dekel (”Ha’aretz, March 3, 2009). The suicide of Raoul Wallenberg’s parents brings home the human tragedy of the family of a man who saved scores of Jews from the Nazi destruction machinery. The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation has been […]

  • A hero without a grave

    In response to ”Raoul Wallenberg parents committed suicide out of despair following his disappearance”, by Gila Dekel (Ha’aretz, March 3rd., 2009), we would like to underscore and emphasize the fact that major dramatic events took place, linking this affair no more and no less than Joseph Stalin himself. After more than 60 years, one can […]

  • His tracks have vanished

    64 years ago, on January 17th., 1945, Raoul Wallenberg was abducted by the Soviet forces in Budapest. His tracks have vanished ever since. In the months that preceded his abduction, the young Swedish diplomat, succeeded with a great deal of resourcefulness and courage, to save tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Nazi monster. […]

  • Tycoon’s family honors Polish Shoah rescuers

    ”Today I’m not here to talk about business and economics,” smiled tycoon Yosef Maiman. ”I came here after a 20-hour flight to close a family circle and honor the Slavinsky family that saved my family during the Holocaust and that I heard so much about during my childhood in Peru.” Maiman spoke last night at […]

  • It is never too late to honour the Righteous

    Henk Drogt was a hero. He deserves to be the named Righteous by Yad Vashem and the younger generations have the right to know his feats. A word of praise should go to the EL AL pilot who unveiled the story. Lately, Yad Vashem announced the bestowal of the title of Righteous to a Polish […]

  • A worthy educational proposal

    Education is a powerful tool, especially at an early age. If carefully implemented, President Sarkozy`s initiative would prove to be an excellent inoculation against the advent of a future genocide. Our Foundation has accumulated a vast experience in developing Holocaust educational programmes to the youngsters. We believe that the lessons of the Holocaust should be […]

  • Honor due to Raoul Wallenberg

    January 16 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Every year, all Americans dedicate the day to the memory of this great fighter for equality and human rights. The great irony is that just one day later we commemorate a great American tragedy. The heroism of another (honorary) American citizen, who fought for human rights, just […]

  • A saviour is a saviour

    Regardless of his pyschological motivations, Victor Kugler was a hero who had put his life at risk to hide Anne Frank. He was one of the corageous saviours who confronted evil by reaching others to those in plight. Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who saved 100,000 Hungarian Jews, was not alone. Thousands of saviours around […]

  • WWII Romanian soldier joins righteous among nations

    Yad Vashem yesterday posthumously honored a Romanian reserve officer who blocked the deportation of Romanian Jews to Nazi death camps during World War II. Theodor Criveanu joined the Righteous Among the Nations group of non-Jews who rescued Jews from the Nazis. His son, Willie Criveanu, accepted the award on his behalf. Six million European Jews […]

  • Israel marks Holocaust Remembrance Day with siren, memorial services

    Marking Holocaust Remembrance Day, Israel fell silent as a two-minute siren wailed across the country Monday morning followed by memorials at the Knesset and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority. Names of Holocaust victims were read aloud at ”Every Person Has a Name” memorials held at both locations. The central theme for […]

  • Beisky’s court of the righteous

    Before completing work on the film ”Schindler’s List” in 1993, director Steven Spielberg’s secretary phoned Justice Moshe Beisky. She invited him to participate in the filming of the final scene, in which some of the Jews who were rescued in the Holocaust thanks to the efforts of German industrialist Oskar Schindler are seen visiting his […]

  • 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 […]

  • Honor due to Raoul Wallenberg

    Letters to the Editor January 16 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Every year, all Americans dedicate the day to the memory of this great fighter for equality and human rights. The great irony is that just one day later we commemorate a great American tragedy. The heroism of another (honorary) American citizen, who fought […]

  • Dantas’ Legacy

    We have read in your newspaper (”Ha’aretz Supplement – April 7th., 2006) an interview with the President of Brazil, better known as Lula. Here’s a quote: ”Also should not be forgotten the legacy of the Brazilian Ambassador to Paris, Souza Dantas, who during the War extended Brazilian visas to hundreds of Jews, and by so […]