Raoul Wallenberg
A Servants Heart
Raoul Wallenberg was born in 1912, to a wealthy and distinguished Swedish family. He was responsible for the deliverance and protection of over 100,000 Jewish lives, during the World War II slaughter. He was a bright light in the bottomless pit of darkness throughout Hitler’s appalling, horrifying massacre. At age thirty two, in 1944, Wallenberg, who at the time was a successful businessman, was appointed as the Second Secretary of the Swedish Legation in Budapest. His courage and determination was evident, as time after time he shoved his way past SS Officers, to hand out Swedish protective passes’ and Shultz passes, which he had created. These passes would protect the Jews from death. He pushed the Arrow Cross and SS soldiers around boldly and pulled Jews off of the trains headed for Auschwitz, who were packed in like animals. ‘He bluffed his way through," said Tom Lantos, one of Wallenbergs helpers, who accompanied him to the trains, "He had no official authorization. His only authority was his own courage. Any officer could have shot him to death. But he feared nothing for himself and committed himself totally. It was as if his courage was enough to protect himself from everything.” Wallenberg fearlessly put his life in danger to save the Jews. His love for people, selfless attitude, determination, and faith in Christ truly made him a Man Of Courage and gave him a servant’s heart. In January 1945, Adolph Eichmann ordered a entire massacre in the largest ghetto, where thousands of Jews, most whom Wallenberg himself had saved earlier, lived. Wallenberg, receiving word of the massacre, sent a message through an ally Arrow Cross soldier, to General Schmidthuber, the sole person who could cancel the slaughter, telling him that he would be held personally responsible for the massacre, and would be hanged as a war criminal after the war was over. General Schmidthuber listened and canceled the Pogrom. More then 70,000 Jewish lives were saved that day, on account of Wallenberg’s courage. Two days later, the Russians arrived, and discovered 97,000 Jews in Budapest’s two Jewish ghettos. All in all, 120,000 Jews were left in Budapest after the Nazi extermination in Hungary. After the Russians arrived, on January 13th, Wallenberg turned himself in to them, explained who he was, and asked to meet with Soviet marshall Malinovsky, to make arrangements to help the thousands of Jews who were left without food and other necessities of life. After being interrogated for four days, he received permission, and he and his main chauffeur, Vilmos Langfelder, were escorted to Malinovsky by a carful of Russian officers. Neither man was ever seen again in the free world. It is assumed that they spent the rest of their lives in a Soviet prison. Though the Russians claim he died of a heart attack in 1947, witnesses tell a different story. Prisoners released after 1947, testify to having seen Wallenberg in various Russian prisons in the Soviet Union for many years after his so called death of a heart attack. In 1957, personal doctor of Maj Von Dardel, Dr. Nanna Svartz, attended a conference in Moscow, Russia. While there, she met a Russian colleague, Dr. Alexander Miasnikov, and asked him privately if he knew anything about Wallenberg. He admitted to her that he did and confidentially said that Wallenberg was in extremely poor condition and in a mental hospital. Dr. Svartz was elated to hear that Wallenberg was alive, and pursued the matter with the Swedish government, who contacted Soviet officials on the issue. But the Russian premier emphatically denied the accuracy of the statement, and insisted that Raoul Wallenberg had died of a heart attack in 1947. Dr. Miasnikov told Dr. Svartz afterwards that she shouldn’t have reported his comments to the Swedish officials. He died suddenly in 1965 of an alleged heart attack. Wallenberg willingly served others all his life, whether it was working in a soup kitchen, finding milk powder for a young mother and her child, or making important phone calls to government officials. He worked twenty hours a day, getting only four hours of sleep most nights. He truly lived to serve and help others. Full of humility, courage, compassion, and love, this man is an example to all. He was a light in the darkness, an Angel of Mercy, a man of great courage, a man with a servant’s heart. He was Raoul Wallenberg.
"Here is a man who had the choice of remaining in secure, neutral Sweden when Nazism was ruling Europe. Instead, he left this haven and went to what was then one of the most perilous places in Europe. And for what? To save Jews. He won this battle and I feel that in this age when there is so little to believe in - so very little on which our young people can pin their hopes and ideals - he is a person to show the world, which knows so little about him. That is why I believe the story of Raoul Wallenberg should be told ..." - Attorney Gideon Hausner, chairman of Yad Vashem and Prosecutor of Adolf Eichmann
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He was like a Moses from the north, who came to us in the most terrible days. His noble and courageous deeds truly shone like a bright light in that abysmal darkness. Just remembering his goodness and his sacrifice for our sake, somehow helped to heal my own emotional and spiritual wounds.~A Jewish woman who was one of the many people Wallenberg rescued~
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