Back in 2005, the IRWF initiated a campaign aimed at obtaining official proclamations of “Wallenberg Days” across the United States. The State of New Jersey is proclaiming Raoul Wallenberg Day for the fourth time and in the official proclamation Governor Chris Christie declares, “Raoul Wallenberg is recognized as an incomparable example and inspiration for all who fight for justice.”

This commemorative date is celebrated every year in the State of New York and this year will be observed in the States of Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Utah and West Virginia. “Wallenberg Days” are internationally recognized and are commemorated in various countries including Canada and Argentina.

On this day we remember Raoul Wallenberg and all other brave Rescuers during the Holocaust, but our wish for this day is also expressed in words of the New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez “[Raoul Wallenberg Day] provides us with an opportunity to address intolerance issues in our society, become better informed, and take action against such problems;”

Therefore, we encourage all schools from the participating States to dedicate a class during the month of October to Raoul Wallenberg and other brave Rescuers, and to discuss with their students the values that Rescuers represent, such as: civic courage, human dignity, liberty, justice, and equality.

Read more about our Raoul Wallenberg Days.

Read more about our Educational Programs.

Following the initiative of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF) Governor Paul R. LePage has proclaimed October 5th, 2012 as Raoul Wallenberg day in the State of Maine. This is the fourth time that the State of Maine is honoring the memory of Raoul Wallenberg by proclaiming his day, for which we are truly grateful.

In honor of the bravery, heroism and courage of Raoul Wallenberg Senators Ron Ramsey and Andy Berke have officially declared October 5th, 2010, as Raoul Wallenberg Day in the State of Tennessee following a campaign launched by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF). “Tennessee joins with our sister states and moral and compassionate people across the globe in recognizing October 5, 2010, as Raoul Wallenberg Day in memory of this selfless humanitarian and his bountiful life of courage and commitment.” states the official proclamation.

This is the first time that the State of Tennessee is joining our initiative and we couldn’t be more grateful. Our sincere thanks go out to the Tennessee Holocaust Commission who supported our initiative as the in-state sponsor.

Following the initiative of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF) Governor Dannel P. Malloy has proclaimed October 5, 2012 as Raoul Wallenberg day in the State of Connecticut. This is the fifth time that the State of Connecticut is honoring the memory of Raoul Wallenberg by proclaiming his day, for which we are truly grateful.

This date is already commemorated annually in New York State, and has been proclaimed by the Governors of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wyoming in previous years.

The state of Michigan proclaimed October 5th 2010 as ”Raoul Wallenberg Day,”
following a campaign launched by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation. This marks the fifth year that the state has supported the Wallenberg Foundation’s initiative.

”I encourage all citizens to learn from the example of Raoul Wallenberg and to work towards eradicating traces of prejudice, intolerance and cultural insensitivity in our state,” proclaims the Governor of Michigan, Jennifer M.
Granholm.

It is with the assistance of states like Michigan, which continues to lend its support to our initiative, that we are able to develop more efficient public awareness and educational programs.

Raoul Wallenberg spent four years studying in Ann Arbor, at the University of Michigan. If he were alive today, he would surely appreciate their support.

In 2005, the State of Nevada proclaimed October 5th as Raoul Wallenberg Day, following a campaign launched by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation. We are proud that Nevada has joined our cause, and are especially thankful to Governor Quinn for his support.

Signed by: Kenny C. Guinn, Governor of the State of Nevada

The New York State Senate proclaimed October 5th as the Raoul Wallenberg Day of conmemoration in New York.

October 01, 2004

Forgotten hero has his day

By Jeremiah Horrigan
Times Herald-Record
jhorrigan@th-record.com

He was one of the greatest heroes of World War II.

A pampered son of the Swedish upper class, he was a diplomat from a neutral country who saved the lives of an estimated 100,000 Hungarian Jews at the end of World War II.

He’s one of only two people in history to be given honorary U.S. citizenship. (The other was Winston Churchill.)

More than once, he physically removed imprisoned Jews from railroad cars bound for death camps.

”He bluffed his way through,” a friend later recalled. ”His only authority was his own courage.”

He went toe-to-toe with Adolf Eichmann and won the day. But he lost his final confrontation with Josef Stalin’s mass-murderous ways. He’s believed – though it’s not certain – to have died in a Soviet prison camp two years after the end of the war.

And, as everyone knows, Oct. 5 is the official designated day when New Yorkers will honor and remember Raoul Wallenberg.

Raoul who? you say. You, and practically everybody else.

The quiet man who saved so many is a hero to a few who know the dangers of forgetting.

Baruch Tenembaum founded the not-for-profit Raoul Wallenberg Foundation in 1997 out of an abiding awareness that heroes like Wallenberg must not be forgotten.

Tenembaum has made the rounds of the state’s highest educational and political offices and found the discouraging answer to his own question: Is anything being done in New York to turn this day into something meaningful?

The answer is no.

Raoul Wallenberg Day isn’t part of the ludicrous, lobbyist-induced legislative practice of naming, say, the first Tuesday of June Upstate New York Cheddar Cheese Day. It’s a serious proclamation reserved to recognize worthy ”person[s], group ideal, or goal.” Pearl Harbor Day is the only such commemorative day of which you’re likely to know. Other such official days include Korean War Veterans’ Day, Workers’ Day and New Netherland Day.

No one has a satisfactory answer why Wallenberg has been so easy to forget. Tenembaum calls it ”a fascinating and sad topic.”

Another Wallenberg Foundation member, Daniela Bajar, said the group had better luck in bringing programs about Wallenberg to a dozen individual schools in the New York metropolitan region.

Michelle Tuchmann of the Ulster County Jewish Federation remembers Wallenberg. Last year Tuchmann was instrumental in making sure a former Kingston man, Laszlo Ocskay, received local recognition for saving 2,300 Hungarian Jews from German death camps.

She finds it fitting that Raoul Wallenberg Day should fall during Sukkot, a time reserved on the Jewish calendar for celebration and reflection.

There are those who hold that Wallenberg didn’t die in a Soviet labor camp. As recently as 2001, Sweden’s prime minister declared, ”It cannot be said [Wallenberg] is dead,” because no conclusive evidence of his fate has ever been found.

On Aug. 4, Raoul Wallenberg would have celebrated his 92nd birthday.

In 1990, the State of Pennsylvania declared October 5th as Raoul Wallenberg day. We are proud that the State of Pennsylvania honored the Swedish diplomat, and are especially thankful to the General Assembly of Pennsylvania for their essential role in having made this happen.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 383 Session of 1990

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Introduced By Fox, Godshall, Melio, Kenney, Langtry, Fairchild, Pesci, Billow, Micozzie, Angstadt, Markosek, Deluca, Belfanti, Hershey, Gamble, Hagarty, Gigliotti, Cawley, Pistella, Johnson, Argall, Pitts, Maine, Saurman, Hughes, Lashinger, Nahill, Bunt, Wozniak, Clymer And Moehlmann,
October 2, 1990

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ADOPTED, OCTOBER 2, 1990

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A RESOLUTION

1 Proclaiming October 5, 1990, as ”Raoul Wallenberg Day.”
2 WHEREAS, During World War II, Raoul Wallenberg left his
3 comfortable life in neutral Sweden and traveled to Nazi-occupied
4 Budapest as a diplomat under the auspices of the Swedish
5 Government; and
6 WHEREAS, Funded by the United States War Refugee Board, Raoul
7 Wallenberg, at the risk of his own life, saved 100,000 Hungarian
8 Jews slated for extermination and countless anti-Nazi Christian
9 resistors; and
10 WHEREAS, When the Russian Army advanced on Budapest in 1945,
11 Wallenberg was arrested without cause, imprisoned illegally and
12 deprived of his fundamental human rights; and
13 WHEREAS, Raoul Wallenberg has been held incommunicado since
14 1945 without trial, in violation of the rules of diplomatic
15 immunity, Swedish neutrality and international law; and

1 WHEREAS, On October 5, 1981, the President of the United
2 States of America signed into law legislation passed by Congress
3 conferring Honorary Citizenship on Raoul Gustav Wallenberg;
4 therefore be it
5 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives proclaim October
6 5, 1990, as ”Raoul Wallenberg Day.”

2010 marks the forth year that the State of Nebraska has supported our campaign of proclaiming October 5th Raoul Wallenberg Day.
It is with the assistance of states like Nebraska which continue to lend their support to our initiative, that we are able to develop more efficient public awareness and educational programs. We are especially thankful to Governor Heineman for his continued support.

In honor of the heroism and courage of Raoul Wallenberg, Governor Martin O’ Malley has officially declared October 5th, 2011, as Raoul Wallenberg Day in the State of Maryland.

“…Raoul Wallenberg  has become a symbol of each human being’s concern for every fellow human being, an example to be followed, and an inspiration to uncover and fight for justice and understanding…” states Governor O’ Malley in his official declaration.

The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF) initiated a campaign aimed at obtaining official proclamations of “Wallenberg Days” in the United States in 2005. This is the fourth time that the State of Maryland is joining our initiative and we couldn’t be more grateful. Moreover, this 2012, which marks the 100th anniversary of Raoul Wallenberg´s birth.

Signed by: Martin O’ Malley, Governor