Photographs of the Raoul Wallenberg Memo

Photographs of the Wallenberg Memorial

This is a photograph of the memorial in Budapest honouring Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews during the Nazi era. The memorial consists of an information plaque describing Wallenberg’s heroic actions and a bronze statue of Wallenberg dressed in a coat, positioned between two blocks of pink Swedish granite. On the granite there is an image of a man stabbing a snake decorated with swastikas. This image also shows part of an inscription written in Latin by the Roman poet Ovid: “Donec eris felix multos numerabis amicos tempora si fuerint nubila solus eris” (until you are lucky, many friends you have, once the sky turns cloudy, alone you remain).

The memorial was created by Hungarian sculptor Imre Varga. The inspiration for the monument came from a monument that was created by Pal Patzay and erected in Budapest in 1949 but then removed by the Communists before it was even dedicated. It had consisted of a man holding a snake, as in Varga’s later monument.

Raoul Wallenberg was born into a prestigious family of diplomats in Sweden in 1912. He studied architecture and business, and, at one stage, worked in Palestine, where he established many connections with Jewish people. He was arrived to Hungary in July 1944 as Sweden’s special envoy and used his position to save Jews from the Nazis. He managed to save 10,000 Jews by giving them protective documents and housing them in Swedish-owned buildings.

In 1945, after Budapest was liberated from Nazi occupation, he was arrested by the Soviet Red Army under suspicion of espionage, taken into detention, and subsequently disappeared. There are a number of theories about what may have happened to him, but none have been officially confirmed. Most reports have claimed that he was killed in 1947, although the question of who killed him remains a matter of debate. Due to his heroic actions, Wallenberg received many humanitarian honours including being designated by Israel one of the Righteous Among the Nations and being named an honorary citizen of the United States, Hungary, Australia, and Israel.

Relevant Links

Teaching Suggestions

These photographs can be used in General History and Jewish History lessons when discussing the Holocaust, bystanders, the Righteous Among the Nations, and Soviet attitudes to the Holocaust under the Communist regime. They can also be used to discuss the concept of memorials.

Art teachers can use this resource to discuss the different ways of designing and creating memorials.

Discussion Points

Observations

What is this?
What languages are used?
Where is this located?
What colours are used?
What materials are used?

Reading Between the Lines

Although this memorial was only built in 1987, its history goes back to 1949. Read this article to find out more.
What do snakes represent? Why do you think the artist chose to depict the Nazis as a snake?
The sculptor of the memorial, Imre Vagra, chose this quote from the Roman poet Ovid to put on the memorial: “Until you are lucky, many friends you have, once the sky turns cloudy, alone you remain.” Why do you think he chose this quote?
Varga created other Holocaust memorials.
Search online for his others memorials and compare them.
Which do you think is the most powerful?
What is the purpose of memorials such as these? Do you think that these type of memorials are still relevant today? Why or why not?
Raoul Wallenberg was awarded the title Righteous Among the Nations. Read more about these designations here.
What kinds of dilemmas were faced by people who were later designated Righteous Among the Nations?
This memorial is a tribute to Raoul Wallenberg who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Nazis. How did he save them? Diplomats like Wallenberg and other powerful figures had the capability to save many Jews. Could regular people have done the same thing?
The Japanese official Chiune Sugihara was another diplomat who saved Jews in the Holocaust. Learn about his story and compare it to Wallenberg’s. What are the similarities and differences?

Connections

When talking about the Righteous Among the Nations, many people refer to the Mishnaic text, “Whosoever saves a single life, saves an entire universe” (Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4:5).
What do you think this quote is trying to say?
Use Google Images to look at different memorials to Raoul Wallenberg around the world.
Which do you think is the most powerful? Why?
People all over the world are suffering today.
Having learned about Raoul Wallenberg and his sacrifice for others, what can you as an individual, your family, school, or community do to help these people?
Look at what some of these Jewish aid organisations are doing for ideas.

Creative Ideas

Research another person who was awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations, and create a monument in their memory, considering what you think makes a monument most powerful. The monument can be physical or a tribute in the form of artwork, multimedia, etc.

Link to NLI Website