January 22, 2020

Putin: Open the archives

 

 

In response to “what happened to the greatest humanitarian of the 20th century”, by Prof. Irwin Cotler.

Few people have such a deep knowledge about the heroic and tragic story of Raoul Wallenberg like Prof. Irwin Cotler does.

Prof. Cotler dealt with Wallenberg’s issue from as early as the 1970’s and cooperated with Raoul’s late brother, Prof. Guy von Dardel.

In his article, he portrays the indefatigable efforts of the Swedish diplomat to save lives during the Holocaust.

How ironic is that Wallenberg, who did so much for scores of people, fell himself victim of the Soviet regime.

In 2006, the then Deputy Ambassador of the Russian Federation in the USA, wrote me in unambiguous terms that “clearly, the responsibility of Mr. Wallenberg’s death, lies on the Soviet leadership of that time, particularly on Joseph Stalin”.

There is no doubt in my mind that the circumstances of Wallenberg’s disappearance and death had been carefully documented and kept.

As founder of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, which deals with recognition of goodness, I join Prof. Cotler in his appeal to the international community regarding the need to make justice with the Swedish hero and I hope that President Vladimir Putin will take advantage of his upcoming visit to Jerusalem to publicly announce the opening of the Soviet archives of the Holocaust era, thus enabling researchers from all over the world to study the relevant documentations in order to reach a definitive conclusion as to the fate of one of the giants of the 20th century.

Baruch Tenembaum

Founder
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation