The IRWF, in response to President Barak Obama’s televised message exclusively dedicated to Raoul Wallenberg on the occasion of his centennial, produced a special video thanking the President for his heartfelt message and support. The message was delivered by the Chairman of the IRWF, Mr. Eduardo Eurnekian.
To watch the video, click here

Hungarian Foreign Minister pays tribute to Raoul Wallenberg

On Monday, May 14 Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Janos Martonyi, visited Raoul Wallenberg’s memorial statue in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mr. Martonyi was invited by the IRWF as part of its ongoing schedule of activities for the centennial celebration of Raoul Wallenberg’s birth. Foreign Minister Martonyi laid a floral arrangement and called for a minute of silence to pay tribute to the diplomat who accomplished one of the most extraordinary humanitarian feats in modern history.

Other notables at the memorial service included Pál Varga Koritár, Ambassador of Hungary in Argentina; Oscar Vicente, Chairman of the NGO Casa Argentina in Israel Holy Land; Nicholas Tozer, Member of the Board of the Wallenberg Foundation, New York; Thomas Kertesz, saved by Wallenberg in 1944; and Robert Urban, representing Mr. Eduardo Eurnekian, Chairman of the Wallenberg Foundation.

To read more, click here

Centenarian to be honored for saving Jews in WWII

Abe Meth, a Hungarian Jew who was saved from Nazi persecution by Raoul Wallenberg in 1944 and who aided Wallenberg’s subsequent rescue efforts by forging Schutzpasses for other Jews, will turn 100 years old this year on June 3^rd. The IRWF celebrated his birthday by awarding him with a letter of recognition for his lifetime of accomplishments and for his efforts during WWII that helped save thousands of Jewish lives.

To read more, click here

“He exemplifies the best of the rescuers”

Following the commemoration of the centenary of the birth of Raoul Wallenberg, one of the Righteous Among the Nations who saved thousands of Jews in World War II, a homage to Argentina was held, which was attended by directors of the Foundation Raoul Wallenberg and the Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi, among others. Nicholas Tozer, general secretary of the Foundation, spoke to Radio Jai, and was a part of the initiative to achieve “a more consolidated democracy,” which uses educational programs in primary schools to explain to children about the need to combat anti-Semitism.

The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation makes a significant announcement at the International Academic Conference “Raoul Wallenberg – the Humanitarian of the 20th Century”, held in Moscow

The announcement was made on May 28th, 2012 before the plenary of the Conference by Pastor Annemarie Werner, the representative of the IRWF in Berlin. The packed audience attending the conference included scholars, diplomats, researchers, and government officials from various countries.

To read more, click here.

KinderBlock 66: Return to Buchenwald has been accepted to the Sarasota and the Arizona Film Festivals. The documentary will also be screening at Buchenwald in April.

Block 66 was a division of the Buchenwald concentration camp where European Jewish children from all over the continent were transferred into in early 1945. The block was led by Antonin Kalina, a Czech Communist, and his deputy, Gustav Schiller, a Polish Jew. The youths in the block did not work and were protected against being sent out of the camp. The block leaders watched over the children and cared for them to the extent possible, seeing in these youths hope for the future. They strove until the last days of the war and beyond to keep them from danger and alive. On April 11, 2010, sixty-five years later, several of the surviving boys from block 66 returned to Weimar and to Buchenwald. KinderBlock 66 is their story.

The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (“IRWF”) has made KinderBlock 66 one of its key projects, and will be accepting tax-deductible contributions earmarked for its production. Click here to find out how.

To read more about the film click here

Article published in The Jerusalem Post

An article written by the Founder of the IRWF, Mr. Baruch Tenembaum, and its Chairman, Mr. Eduardo Eurnekian, was published this month in The Jerusalem Post. The article was written for the April 18^th commemoration of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day).

To read more, click here

IRWF Lights A Candle At Holocaust Remembrance Program

Invited by the Delegation of Argentine Jewish Associations, the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation attended the Holocaust Day and Heroism Remembrance Act, on the 69th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The event took place at the Teatro Coliseo in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Representing the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation and its founder, Baruch Tenenbaum, Chairman Eduardo Eurnekian lit a memorial candle for the millions of Jews killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Among the speakers at the event was President of the Supreme Court of Justice, Ricardo Lorenzetti, as well as Israeli Ambassador Daniel Gazit. In his speech, Gazit focused on the Righteous Among the Nations, with particular emphasis on the legacy of Raoul Wallenberg and the humanitarian lessons that emerge from his heroic actions during the Holocaust.

To read more, click here

The real legacy of the victims of the Armenian Genocide

An article written by the IRWF’s Chairman, Mr. Eduardo Eurnekian, was published this month in The Jerusalem Post. The article was written for the April 24^th commemoration of the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

To read more, click here

Holocaust Hero, Raoul Wallenberg, Re-discovered in Australia

Melbourne – A Holocaust Hero, a Swedish Student, Raoul Wallenberg (1912 – ) is surprisingly ‘re-discovered’ in Australia by this alum of his American university. His life, now 100 years since his birth, inspires individuals who can make a difference.

To read more, click here.

“Heart of Stone – Heart of Flesh”:
A dramatic play by Eli Yossef, about the life and feats of Raoul Wallenberg, made its premiere in Kiryat Gat, Israel.
The play was performed by Shalon High-School students, who had previously attended one of Mr. Eli Yossef’s many lectures about Wallenberg on behalf of the IRWF. The class paved the way to the student’s participation in this initiative, proving the importance of instilling Raoul Wallenberg’s legacy in the hearts and minds of the youngsters. The audience included the Mayor of Kiriat Gat, Mr. Abiram Dahary; the Cultural Attaché of the Embassy of Sweden, Ms. Anette Shary; the Head of the Diaspora Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Shmuel Ben Shmuel; and Mr. Danny Rainer, Vice-president of the IRWF.
To read more click here

Raoul Wallenberg in Testimonies:
We are reaching out to all those who were rescued by Raoul Wallenberg to write their stories. We want to record the testimonies of those who are still alive and were saved by Raoul Wallenberg or by any of his initiatives. We will compile and publish all their writings in an e-book format.

Filming the Camps, From Hollywood to Nuremberg
We were honored to be invited to the private reception of the exhibit Filming the Camps, From Hollywood to Nuremberg.  Hollywood directors John Ford, George Stevens, and Samuel Fuller filmed the realities of war and the liberation of Nazi concentration camps. Their documentation provides an essential visual record of WWII. This show presents rare footage of the liberation of Dachau with detailed directors’ notes, narratives describing burials at Falkenau, and the documentary produced as evidence at the Nuremberg trials, among other historic material. Now, for the first time in the U.S., this material is being made available to a general audience. The exhibition, curated by historian and film director Christian Delage, was designed, created, and circulated by the Mémorial de la Shoah (Paris, France).
Andrea Cukier, Program Coordinator of the IRWF, attended the event in the name of the organization where she met with the exhibit’s speakers Baron Eric de Rothschild, M. Philippe Lalliot, Consul General of France in New York, and Christian Delage, Curator of the exhibit.

New E-Book:
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation is pleased to add a new e-book to its collection, “Destino y obra de Camoens” by Jorge Luis Borges.
To read the book click here

New Stamp:
The international Raoul Wallenberg Foundation issued a postage stamp in tribute to Jan Karski in Israel.
Jan Karski was a liaison officer of the Polish underground who infiltrated both the Warsaw Ghetto and a German concentration camp to see first-hand what was happening to the Polish Jews. He carried the first eyewitness accounts of the Holocaust to Anthony Eden, the British foreign secretary, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, the President of the United States. He did everything in his power to inform the world about the genocide in Europe.
In honor of his efforts on behalf of Polish Jews, Karski was made an honorary citizen of Israel in 1994. On June 2, 1982, Yad Vashem recognized Jan Karski as a member of Righteous Among the Nations.
To read more about Jan Karski click here
To see the stamp click here

KinderBlock 66, accepted at two film festivals:
KinderBlock 66: Return to Buchenwald has been accepted to the Sarasota and the Arizona Film Festivals. The documentary will also be screening at Buchenwald in April.
The Block 66 was a division of the Buchenwald concentration camp where European Jewish children from all over the continent were transferred into in early 1945. The block was led by Antonin Kalina, a Czech Communist and his deputy, Gustav Schiller, a Polish Jew. The youths in the block did not work and were protected against being sent out of the camp. The block leaders watched over the children and cared for them to the extent possible, seeing in these youths hope for the future. They strove until the last days of the war and beyond to keep them from danger and alive. On April 11, 2010, sixty-five years later, several of the surviving boys from block 66 returned to Weimar and to Buchenwald. KinderBlock 66 is their story.
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (“IRWF”) has made KinderBlock 66 one of its key projects, and will be accepting tax-deductible contributions earmarked for its production. Click here to find out how.
To read more about the film click here

The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation is proud to present a new commemorative stamp dedicated to the memory and literary legacy of Franz Werfel.

Franz Werfel (1890-1945), Austrian poet, modernist playwright, and novelist, was born in Prague, the son of a Jewish merchant. During World War I, Werfel served for several years on the Russian front as a soldier in the Austrian army. A friend of authors Max Brod and Franz Kafka, Werfel later moved to Vienna and Berlin. He was forced to leave the Prussian Academy of the Arts in 1933. His 1933 novel, Die vierzig Tage des Musa Dagh (The Forty Days of Musa Dagh), detailed the mass murder and expulsion of Armenians from eastern Anatolia in 1915 and received much attention in the United States. It stood as a warning against future acts of mass murder and won lasting respect from Armenian communities throughout the world.

NEW IRWF’S E-BOOKS

The IRWF has added three new titles in Spanish to its E-book collection. Those are:

• Memoria de un Medico (Memories of a Doctor) by Alberto Kaplan
• La mira en Andrómeda (Eyes over Andromeda), by Alberto Kaplan
• Camino de Buenos Aires (Road to Buenos Aires), by Alberto Kaplan

To read more, click here (In Spanish)

Sweden reopens the investigation into the fate of the diplomat who saved 100,000 Jews

Born 100 years ago, Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish Angel, saved tens of thousands of Jews from certain death in Nazi-occupied Hungary thanks to his courage, cunning and diplomatic skills. Many people today still regret not knowing the fate of the diplomat, whose supposed death at the hands of the Soviets is still shrouded in mystery.

To read more, click here (In Spanish)

Letter from the Editors

02/04/2012

To the director:

The Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg gave an emotional speech on the International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust on 27^th of January. The premier expressed his “deep regret” for the Norwegian participation in arrests and deportations of Jews in Nazi-occupied Norway during World War II.

“The murders were committed, no doubt, by the Nazis. But they were Norwegians who carried out the arrests. Norwegians who were driving trucks. It happened in Norway, ” he said.

In 2009 Norway celebrated with great pomp the 150th birthday of writer Knut Hamsun (1859-1952). Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1920, Hamsun was an ardent supporter of Adolf Hitler. In 1940 he welcomed the Nazi invasion, and in 1943 he dedicated his Nobel Prize to Joseph Goebbels, propaganda minister of the Third Reich. In May 1945 he signed a laudatory obituary of Adolf Hitler, in which he described Hitler as “a warrior for mankind.”

The Norwegian royal family attended the inauguration of the celebration, which was accompanied by brass bands and a musical. A memorial statue of the writer was also inaugurated, and it was announced that the construction of a museum dedicated to his memory would begin. Also, an announcement was made that an honorary postage stamp was issued in the writer’s honor. All of this happened while Norway was President of the International Working Group for Cooperation and Education, Remembrance, and Research of the Holocaust .

Mr. Stoltenberg has been Prime Minister of Norway since 2005. We wonder if his words allude to Knut Hamsun, or if we have to wait seven decades to say.

Eduardo Eurnekian
President

Baruch Tenenbaum
Founder

Remembering Raoul Wallenberg: A necessary example of tolerance

The last time Raoul Wallenberg was seen alive by his friends and colleagues was on January 17th 1945. He left his safe house in Budapest to meet the commanders of the Red Army, which was besieging the city. Wallenberg and his driver, Vilmos Langfelder, were arrested, and then they disappeared into the maw of the Gulag.

To read more, click here.

I want to open this newsletter by inviting you all to watch the short film “Porcelain Unicorn”, which, we believe, illustrates Raoul Wallenberg’s values of humanity and solidarity in a degree that words cannot achieve. In only three minutes, filmmaker Keegan Wilcox managed to remind us why we should continue to dedicate our lives to shed light onto the inspiring stories hidden behind the tragedy of the Holocaust and other genocides.

We reach the end of 2011 with a great sense of pride for having done our part as an institution, but most of all for having found contemporary examples among regular people like you. A catholic nanny, Sandra Samuel, risked her own life to save that of a Jewish child, Moshe Holtzberg, during the terrorist attack perpetrated against Chabad House in Mumbai, in 2008. We were honored to pay tribute to Sandra and look forward to continue recognizing contemporary heroes in the future.

Education has been one of our main devices since 2003. In 2011 we achieved a new height in terms of the quality and reach of our “Raoul Wallenberg at School Program,” which has been presented in high schools and universities in Argentina, Israel, and the United States.

Preservation has also become an importance instrument in recent years. The collection of oral history interviews with Wallenberg Survivors we have been documented and finally published in 2011 has been greatly recognized by the community and utilized by students and educators across the nation. This public appreciation and the many requests for materials have inspired us to digitalize the Foundation’s entire archive. Such a task does not only include photos and newspaper articles, but also letters by heads of states, important dignitaries, and inspiring figures.

Research has produced some of the most satisfactory accomplishments of the foundation as we succeed in bringing to light the stories of unknown rescuers such as Paul and Helene (Leni) Pissarius, who provided shelter to a Jewish family for 27 months during WWII. The couple has been honored with the Righteous Among the Nations award thanks to the IRWF’s relentless investigations.

Finally, I would like to welcome Eduardo Eurnekian, a notable entrepreneur and philanthropist of Argentine-Armenian descent as the new President of the IRWF. It is with his collaboration that we have been working towards recognizing Armenians who rescued Jews during the Holocaust and Turks who rescued Armenians during the 1915 Genocide. We hope that, by acknowledging the heroic deeds of rescuers during the Armenian Genocide we can help build a path towards reconciliation between the Turkish and the Armenian people.

As always, these daunting tasks have only been possible thanks to your contributions, which we received with gratitude and admiration.

Warm Regards,

Baruch Tenembaum

Founder

The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation

On Tuesday January 17, the Jewish Community Center of Manhattan, in collaboration with the IRWF, organized a screening of the film THE RESCUERS, by Michael King. As part of Raoul Wallenberg’s Centennial, the documentary focuses on the feats of diplomat rescuers, with special emphasis on Raoul Wallenberg’s incredible work.

Kayla Kaufman , who was saved along with her family by Wallenberg, shared her experiences during the Holocaust in a Q & A session after the event. She was introduced by Andrea Cukier from the IRWF. The discussion was moderated by Isaac Zablocki, the Director of Film Programs at the JCC in Manhattan.

To read more, click here

Raoul Wallenberg Award Scholarships Awarded

On Tuesday January 17, The University of Tel Aviv and the IRWF hosted the event “The Legacy of Raoul Wallenberg” on the 67th anniversary of the diplomat’s disappearance. The “Raoul Wallenberg 2012 Award Scholarships” were awarded during the occasion to doctoral students Orna Keren-Carmel and Yehonatan Alsheh

To read more, click here

Wallenberg included in Important Message at UN

Thanks to the request by IRWF, the UN Secretary-General mentioned Raoul Wallenberg in his message for the UN International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

To read more, click here

Eduardo Eurnekian becomes Chairman of the IRWF

Argentina-based businessman Eduardo Eurnekian has become the Chairman of The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF)

Wallenberg Foundation salutes President of Chile

In a letter written to the president of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, from the Raoul Wallenberg Foundation through its President Eduardo Eurnekian and its founder Baruch Tenenbaum, the head of state welcomed the initiative to celebrate the holiday of Chanukah at the Palace of La currency.

To read more, click here (In Spanish)

Document backs claims KGB stopped Wallenberg probe

STOCKHOLM — A newly discovered Swedish document details how the KGB intervened in the early 90’s to put a halt to an investigation into World War II hero Raoul Wallenberg’s fate, two U.S.-based researchers said Monday.

To read more, click here.

Letters to the Editor: Remembering Wallenberg, the savior of Jews

On January 17 at a public ceremony in Budapest Raoul Wallenberg was remembered as the savior of thousands of Jews and others persecuted by the Nazis during World War II. Surprisingly, as reported by the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post, among those present was the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

To read more, click here (In spanish)

Turkey raises the pitch of its threats to France by the law on the Armenian genocide

Under the new legislation passed in France, anyone who denies that the killing of Armenians in 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Empire was genocide shall be sentenced to a year in jail or a fine of 45,000 euros.

To read more, click here. (In Spanish)

Anniversary of vileness and destruction, but also of nobility and redemption

This International Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust is unique this year because it brings together two opposed anniversaries of symbolic representation. 2012 marks the 70th anniversary of the completion of the Wannsee Conference, where Hitler sealed the mortal destiny of millions of Jews, and the 100th anniversary of Raoul Wallenberg, an aristocrat Swede who saved tens of thousands of Jews from Nazi genocide. If Wannsee evokes the most sinister and dark of the human condition, Wallenberg evokes the most heroic and high.
To read more, click here. (In Spanish)

The exhibition Righteous from Croatia organized by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, Casa Argentina en Israel Tierra Santa, and the National Museum Zadar, was inaugurated on November 8^th, 2011, in the city of Zadar, Croatia. His Exellency Yosef Amrani, Ambassador of the State of Israel in Croatia; the Honorable Zvonimir Vrancic, Mayor of Zadar; and Ms. Renata Peros, Director of the National Museum Zadar, all took part in the opening ceremony.

To read the letter click here.

Marcos Aguinis publishes article that is the result of his investigations prompted by the IRWF

“Let’s be clear.  This is not about Jews forcibly converted by the Christians in Armenia, but about Armenian Christians forcibly converted to Islam.  And just as many Jews in 15th Century Spain did not accept forced conversion and clandestinely maintained their true heritage (these were the original “marranos”), we now have Turkish Armenians attempting the same heroic deeds.  I first heard about this from the Raoul Wallenberg Foundation and then set about to find more information that I could share with you.”

To read the letter click here

Eduardo Eurnekian hails Sarkozy statements on Genocide

Raoul Wallenberg Foundation Honorary Chairman, Argentina-based businessmanEduardo Eurnekian and the Founder Baruch Tenembaum addressed a letter to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, hailing his statements on the Armenian Genocide.

To read the letter click here

Austrian Government gives awards to IRWF Founder, Baruch Tenenbaum

The Austrian government  awarded Baruch Tenenbaum and other distinguished personalities in Argentina for their “commitment and dedication to human rights and to nondiscrimination”

The winners received the Spanish edition of the book that collects all the events of the exhibition “Lost Neighbors” held in 2008 to commemorate the  70 years of Kristallnacht, (the Night of Broken Glass). To read the article in Spanish click here

Following an initiative of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, governors across the U.S. have declared October 5th, 2011, as Raoul Wallenberg Day in their States.

The 2011 proclamations have an additional importance as this year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the day in which Raoul Wallenberg became the second person in history to be awarded Honorary U.S. Citizenship by the United States Congress.

The IRWF is grateful to the States of Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Utah, and West Virginia for joining   its efforts to honor the courage and heroism of Raoul Wallenberg and to spread the humanitarian message of his feats.

For more information click here.

RAOUL WALLENBERG FOUNDATION HAILS NICOLAS SARKOZY STATEMENTS ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

One of the ongoing projects of the IRWF is investigating and honoring rescuers related to Armenia – Armenians who rescued Jews during Holocaust; and Turks who rescued Armenians during the Genocide.  Therefore, it was with great interest that the news on the French President’s recent visit to Armenia were closely followed at the IRWF.

“The Armenian genocide is a historical reality. Collective denial is even worse than individual denial” – said President Sarkozy in Yerevan. Related to this and other important declaration made in Armenia, the IRWF sent an official letter to President Sarkozy saluting his efforts and determination to talk about this important matter.

To read the letter click here.

LEGADO, A FILM PRODUCED BY THE IRWF WAS SCREENED IN CHICAGO

On October 30^th the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies in Chicago presented “Legado,” an award-winning documentary produced by the IRWF. Screened in front of the full auditorium, “Legado”tells the story of the Jewish colonization in Argentina. The Chicago presentation also counted with the participation of Rabbi Dr. Victor Mirelman, a leading expert in the history of the Jews in Latin America, who introduced the film and lead a post-screening discussion.

For more information click here.

RAOUL WALLENBERG FOUNDATION RELEASES E-BOOK ON GENOCIDES

As part of its growing collection of the e-books, the IRWF published the excerpts from the book “The Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence” by professor Ervin Staub, one of the leading scholars in genocide and violence prevention studies, who as a young boy in Budapest was rescued by Raoul Wallenberg.

With the title “The Turkish Genocide Against the Armenians” the e-book discusses this complex subject from the perspectives of history and cultural differences, highlighting the role of the bystanders.

To read the e-book click here.

IN THE PRESS:

THE FSB SHOULD OPEN UP THE WALLENBERG FILES

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, the current chief of the?Federal Security Service’s registration and archives directorate, Lieutenant General Vasily Khristoforov, emphasized that he, too, considers Wallenberg a hero and that FSB officials are doing everything to uncover more documentation. He strongly denied withholding any information that would shed light on the truth.

To read more click here.

In focus: Armenia

TANER AKÇAM V. TURKEY

This week I have been in Strasbourg, France attending meetings at the Council of Europe on some specific issues related to democracy and human rights in Turkey. On Monday I attended a lecture on the situation of religious minorities in Turkey, held by Strasbourg University. I tried to explain to the audience the importance for Turkey of confronting the past, in order to become a better democracy.

To read more click here.

HUMAN RIGHTS COURT RULES TURKEY CANNOT CRIMINALIZE GENOCIDE RECOGNITION

STRASBOURG—The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday unanimously ruled that the recognition of the Armenian Genocide cannot be criminalized in Turkey. The verdict stemmed from a case brought to the court by noted scholar Taner Akcam.

To read more click here.

EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS RULES IN FAVOR OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE SCHOLAR TANER AKCAM

Washington, DC – Today, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Turkish government’s prosecution under Article 301 of its penal code with respect to Dr. Taner Akçam’s public views on the Armenian Genocide violated Akçam’s right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, reported the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly).

To read more click here.

PUBLISHER, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST RAGIP ZARAKOLU ARRESTED

ISTANBUL, Turkey—Turkish police have arrested Ragip Zarakolu, a well-known human rights activist and director of the Belge Publishing House, and chair of the Publishers Association “Freedom to Publish” Committee of Turkey.

Zarakolu was taken into custody on Oct. 28, during a large-scale manhunt in Istanbul against Kurdish and human rights activists.
To read more click here.

PRESS RELEASE – REPLY TO “WALLENBERG POSSIBLY OUTLIVED DEATH DATE” AP ARTICLE
by Dr. Vadim Birstein  and
Susanne Berger

Re: Associated Press Article, September 26, 2011 “Wallenberg Possibly Outlived Death Date“ (by Arthur Max and Vladimir Isachenkov)
In the above named article Lt. General Vasily Khristoforov, Chief of the FSB Registration and Archival Collections Directorate, makes several statements we would like to address as follows:
1. It is an undisputed fact that Russian officials have withheld critical information from researchers for decades, including from the Swedish-Russian Working Group that investigated the Raoul Wallenberg case from 1991-2001.
To read more click here.

STORY OF PORTUGUESE RESCUER IN NEW FEATURE FILM SUPPORTED BY THE IRWF
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation is proud to be one of the Associated Producers of “The Consul of Bordeaux” a feature film that tells the fascinating life story of Portuguese diplomat rescuer Aristides de Sousa Mendes.
Aristides de Sousa Mendes (July 19, 1885 – April 3, 1954) was the Consul-General of Portugal in Bordeaux, France, during the WWII. In 1940, after the Nazi occupation, he found himself confronted with the reality of unseen numbers of refugees desperate to escape to neutral Portugal.
To read more click here.

In focus: Armenia

ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO TURKEY FOR THE RETURN OF RELIGIOUS PROPERTY
ZENIT, Rome – The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation has welcomed the decision of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to return to religious minorities hundreds of properties confiscated by the Turkish state since 1936. The publication of the decree of restitution of property was announced by the Turkish prime minister on Sunday August 28. The decree provides for the restitution of property to Greco-Orthodox, Armenian, Catholic and Jewish organizations.
To read more click here.

TURKEY SHOULD REMEMBER ITS PAST CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, SCHOLAR SAYS
PanARMENIAN.Net – Taner Akcam, an associate professor of history at Clark University, referred to changes needed in Turkey’s policy to achieve greater regional role.
“Crimes against humanity is a very important international legal norm. As a legal term, it was used for the first time on May 24, 1915 in connection with the Armenian genocide, and it comprised the moral and legal background for the Nuremberg trials as well as the more recent Yugoslavian, Rwandan and other international prosecutions of war crimes. This is common knowledge, but what is not so commonly known is that the expression was first drafted as crimes against Christianity,” prof. Akcam writes in an article published by The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.
To read more click here.

To read more click here.
To read the E-book click here.

THE IRWF BUENOS AIRES CELEBRATES WALLENBERG’S BIRTHDAY
On Thursday August 4, 2011, the IRWF Buenos Aires celebrated what would be Wallenberg’s 99^th birthday together with the students of “Mariano Moreno” school.
The presentation counted with the special participation of Rabbi Sergio Bergman who related the story of life and deeds of the great hero without a grave to the students of 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th grade.

To read more click here. (In Spanish)

REPORT: ‘RUSSIA LIED IN WALLENBERG PROBE’
A new book containing statements from a cellmate of missing Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg proves that Russian officials deliberately withheld information about the fate of the man credited with saving thousands of Jews from the Holocaust, researchers allege.
“They’ve been caught red handed,” historian Susanne Berger told The Local of the Russian actions. “This ranks as one of the most significant findings in the Raoul Wallenberg case in the last 50 years.”

To read more click here

NEW IRWF’S E-BOOKS
The IRWF has added three new titles in Spanish to its E-book collection. Those are:

La comunidad judía de Coro 1824-1900. Por Isidoro Aizenberg
En el nombre del Nombre. Por Elena Cohen Imach
Freud: el judío. Por Moisés Kijak

Click on the titles to read the books online.

In the press:

THE BRITISH ‘SCHINDLER’ WHO SAVED AUSTRIAN JEWS
source: BBC News
In March 1938, a Church of England vicar set out to save the lives of hundreds of desperate Austrian Jews facing persecution by the Nazis by baptizing them as Christians, to help them flee the country.
The controversial work of the Reverend Hugh Grimes – which began the day after Nazi Germany annexed Austria – is little recognized yet it led to what could be called Britain’s own “Schindler’s list”.
To read more click here.