On the centennial of his birth, Aeropuertos Argentina 2000, the company that manages the airport, and the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation pay tribute to the “Hero without a grave”.

The placement of the bust of Wallenberg in Punta del Este is part of a global campaign that aims to deploy Wallenberg busts in numerous public spaces of major cities worldwide.

During the Holocaust, Wallenberg saved the lives of thousands of people persecuted by the Nazis only to dissapear into the Soviet Gulag on January 1945.

“The lives of those rescued by Wallenberg are the main tribute to his memory. Today we are honored to add this bust to the one which was unveiled last year at the Ezeiza International Airport, in Buenos Aires.” said Eduardo Eurnekian, Chairman of the Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.

The piece is a work of artist Beñat Iglesias Lopez.

The foundation is named after Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat in Budapest who saved thousands of European Jews during World War II and mysteriously disappeared in 1945 after being arrested by Russian police. The IRWF is offering a reward of up to US$ 500,000 to anyone who provides relevant information about Wallenbergs last days and the possible place of his remains.)

The two IRWF leaders visited Bratislava and were accompanied by the representatives of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Slovakia to a meeting with Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič. Tenembaum and Eurnekian presented Slovak head of state with the Centennial Raoul Wallenberg Medal, mark the anniversary of Raoul Wallenberg’s birth. The medal was given in symbolic recognition of Slovaks who during World War II helped to save their Jewish neighbors from the Holocaust.

The Wallenberg Centennial Medal pays tribute to the Slovak Holocaust Rescuers who helped save the lives of persecuted people during one of the most tragic chapters of modern history. Messrs. Eduardo Eurnekian and Baruch Tenembaum, Chairman and Founder of the IRWF, respectively, attended the ceremony.

“This distinction is a feeble attempt to emphasize the courage of more than 500 Slovak men and women who, at great personal risk, remained true to their high standard of personal morals, stretching a caring hand to those in need, sharing with them their struggle, their passion and their tragedy.”, stated Eurnekian.

The mission of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation is to develop educational programs and public awareness campaigns based on the values of solidarity and civic courage, ethical cornerstones of the Saviors of the Holocaust.

“The guiding example of the Rescuers remains an everlasting beacon of hope that teaches us that individuals can make a difference, even in the most stressing and dangerous situations.”, Tenembaum said.

The President of the Jewish Communities of Slovakia, Igor Rintel, and Israel Ambassador, Alexander Ben-Zvi, were among the attendants.

The year 2012 marked the centenary of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who helped save the lives of thousands of persecuted people during the Holocaust.

Wallenberg disappeared after being arrested by the Soviet army in January 1945. In tribute to his heroic legacy the Raoul Wallenberg Foundation has carried out numerous activities around the world with the support of more than 300 heads of state.

The Wallenberg Foundation announced a reward of 500.000 dollars for any person or entity that can provide solid verifiable information on the whereabouts of Wallenberg and his chauffeur, Vilmos Langfelder. The announcement was made at a meeting with UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon.

As part of the celebrations President Barack Obama became the first US President to issue a televised address devoted entirely to Raoul Wallenberg.

Watch the video of the Ceremony by clicking above.

Honorary Consul of the Carolinas Mr Magnus Natt och Dag welcomed the quests and captured some of the historical milestones in the life of Raoul Wallenberg. He thanked the sponsors and introduced the special guests.

Mr Edward O Woolner survived the incomprehensible events in Budapest and survived due to the actions taken by Raoul Wallenberg. Mr Peter Aranyi represented his mother, who also survived and shared her story with us. These presentations touched our hearts deeply and made us proud to honor someone who despite the dangers did everything humanly possible to protect as many lives as he could. Sweden houses will forever be in our memories.

As a result of the event, a significant contribution was made to the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.

In the Conference, organized with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation – Rome, the most relevant aspects and events in the history of the twentieth century will be discussed from historic, philosophical and sociological point of views.

In particular the discussion will be focused on the story of two diplomatic officials in Hungary which, during the Second World War, devoted their efforts to rescue from the Nazi violence as many people as they could, even putting at risk their own lives and careers and by acting beyond the limits of legality.

In a conference held in 2011, the stories of the Spanish Consul de Romero Adigale and of the Italian Consul Guelfo Zamboni were outlined, briefly describing their efforts in favour of the Jewish in Greece.

Knowledge of such events is extremely important nowadays both to keep alive the collective memory about the Shoah and to sensitize the young generations on such matters.

This “Memorial Day 2013″ also aims to encourage people to perform concrete actions so that “never again” will be a real engagement and not a mere wish.

During the day an exhibit devoted to the “Founding Fathers” of the united Europe, will be shown, to remember of those people who, in front of the material devastations and the spiritual lacerations of the Second World War, understood the fundamental need to tear down the wall of hate which was raised between the European populations, thus starting a concrete project of collaboration that gave us a long age of freedom, union and peace.

Time schedule

Morning – from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm: workshop for students of secondary school

Afternoon – from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm: Conference

The 2013 Wallenberg Prize was contributed by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation and the Swedish Friends of Tel Aviv University.

Prof. Dina Porat, Head of the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry chaired the event.

All the speakers, Prof. Porat, Prof. Rein, Ambassador Hammarskjold and Danny Rainer, stressed the symbolism of this award, and the importance of raising awareness to Raoul Wallenberg, the role model and the victim.

The three recipients of the 2013 Wallenberg Prize are Dr. Guntehr Jikeli, Ms. Natalie Davidson and Ms. Oren Feina.

Two of the prize recipients, Dr. Gunterh Jikeli and Ms. Natalie Davidson, made a brief presentation of their dissertations, dealing with the perceptions of the Holocaust among Moslem Communities in Europe and Understanding political violence in the shadow of transnational tort human rights litigation.

At the end of the ceremony, the prize recipients received their awards from the hands of Ambassador Hammarskjold and Mr. Danny Rainer.

Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish diplomat who saved the lives of as many as a hundred thousand people in Hungary condemned to certain death by the Nazis during World War II. He disappeared on January 17, 1945, and was subsequently imprisoned in the Soviet Union. Beyond this, the fate of Raoul Wallenberg, who is an honorary citizen of Canada, USA and Israel, remains in a cloud of mystery. Raoul Wallenberg has been honoured with a plaque in Queen Elizaberth Park, and the City of Vancouver has followed the example of so many places around the world by proclaiming an annual “Raoul Wallenberg Day”.

“The Budapest Angel” focuses on Ángel Sanz Briz, the Spanish Charge d’Affairs in Hungary during World War II who helped to save the lives of thousands of Sephardic Jews from the Holocaust by lodging them in Spanish safe houses in Budapest. Ángel Sanz Briz was assisted is his efforts by an Italian businessman known as “Ambassador Jorge”. The film includes a romantic storyline involving a Jew who falls in love with the sister of a Hungarian Arrow Cross brute.

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The medal ceremony will take place in Warsaw sometime in the spring of 2013, thenews.pl understands.

Previous recipients of the Centennial Medal include United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon.

Gudzowaty, who made his fortune in the textile, building and export sectors, is listed by Forbes magazine as one of the wealthiest and most influential people in the Central and Eastern Europe.

The businessman funded the Tolerance Monument, an outdoor sculpture unveiled in 2008, located in a park near Goldman Promenade in Jerusalem and designed by Polish artist Czeslaw Dzwigaj, which was unveiled in 2008.

Aleksander Gudzowaty is to set up a World Tolerance Center in Jerusalem as part of a campaign to promote peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF) NGO researches Holocaust rescuers and advocates for their recognition at the Yad Vashim Institute in Jerusalem.

The organization is named after Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who saved Jews in Hungary during the Holocaust. (pg)

Thursday, January 17, 2013, 10:00 AM
Itzhak Alfred Guttmann Administration Building, Room 308 (3rd floor)
Tel Aviv University

Program:
Greetings:

o H.E. Elinor Hammarskjöld, The Swedish Ambassador
o Mr. Danny Reiner, Head of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, Israel
o Prof. Raanan Rein, Vice President, Tel Aviv University

Research Presentations by the 2013 Recipients of the Raoul Wallenberg Prize:

Dr. Gunther Jikeli, Fellow, Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry
Perceptions of the Holocaust among Moslem Communities in Europe

Ms. Natalie Davidson, PhD Candidate, Buchmann Faculty of Law
Understanding Political Violence in the Shadow of Transnational Tort Human Rights Litigation

Mr. Oren Feina, M.A. Student, Jewish Studies

Rabbi Zvi Koretz of Salonika as reflected in Memoirs and Historical Research

Chairperson: Prof. Dina Porat, Head, Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry

Sweden will honor its World War II hero Raoul Wallenberg with an annual commemoration day in recognition of his achievements in saving thousands of Jews from the Nazis in Hungary.

Wallenberg, who would have turned 100 this year, was on a diplomatic mission in Hungary when detained by Soviet authorities in 1945. He is believed to have died in captivity, though the time and circumstances of his death remain a mystery.

Wallenberg is credited for saving at least 20,000 Jews by giving them Swedish travel documents, or moving them to safe houses.

He was also instrumental in dissuading German officers from massacring the 70,000 inhabitants of Budapest’s ghetto.

Swedish Culture Minister Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth said Friday that the country will earmark August 27 as an official Wallenberg day.