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When the deportations of the Hungarian Jews started, the Embassy of Sweden in Budapest had begun issuing ‘Letters of Protection’ to Jews who had a connection to Sweden. The Swiss Embassy and the International Committee of the Red Cross were issuing similar documents. However, the problem was that the German and Hungarian authorities did not always recognize these documents and questioned their validity.
Memorial plaque of Carl-Ivan Danielson, Raoul Wallenberg and Per Anger on the wall of the former Swedish Embassy. Unveiled in 1994, sculptor: Antal Czinder
Raoul soon concluded that a new type of protective document was needed, and he used his creative side to invent the Protective Passport or Schutzpass. Like a real passport, the Protective Passport had a picture of its owner, and it was signed and stamped by both Raoul Wallenberg and Ambassador Ivan Danielsson. This document stated in both German and Hungarian that its holder was under Sweden’s protection. This was not a real passport, but the Germans and the Hungarian authorities thought it looked real and they respected this document. The holder of a Schutzpass did not have to wear the mandatory yellow Star of David and they were exempted from most other anti-Semitic regulations as well. By January 1945 Raoul and his coworkers had issued around 8 000 Protective Passports.
Address: Minerva Street 3/a, 1118 Budapest
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A Swedish Protective Passport (Schutzpass). Source: Nina Lagergren’s private album, Credits: Karl Gabor
Supplementary document to a Protective Passport signed by Wallenberg
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The Zwack family lived in the villa throughout the war and became Raoul’s friends. At one occasion Arrow Cross guards broke into the house and wanted to arrest its inhabitants. The Zwack family was saved by Raoul’s colleague the Swedish diplomat Lars Berg who with a gun in his hand managed to scare away the intruders. The demand for Swedish Protective Passports grew rapidly and Raoul’s organization kept expanding.
Address: Minerva Street 5, 1118 Budapest
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After the Hungarian fascist Arrow Cross Party came to power in a coup in October 1944, the persecution of the Jews of Budapest reached a new level. Groups of Arrow Cross Party members would break into Jewish houses and beat up the occupants, or herd them down to the river where they were shot. Many also feared that the deportations to the concentration camps would soon resume. For Raoul it now became evident that just issuing Protective Passports was not enough to save the Jews of Budapest.
Raoul used his connections to purchase or rent 31 residential buildings, most of them located within the international ghetto. Swedish flags and plaques with the Swedish coat of arms were put on the buildings, which were declared ‘safe houses’ to which German and Hungarian authorities did not have access. Other neutral states such as Switzerland, Spain and Portugal, as well as the Holy See and the International Committee of the Red Cross, also established safe houses in the international ghetto.
Address: Pozsonyi Road 10, 1137 Budapest
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Sometimes Raoul also managed to organize food deliveries to the tens of thousands of Jews who were living under unbearable conditions in the main ghetto, the area around the Great Synagogue.

At the end of the war, more than 500 patients were being treated at the same time in the Swedish hospital. One of the patients was the mother of the famous author Péter Nádas.

Raoul also established a special ‘rescue team’, on alert 24 hours a day and ready to intervene when Jews under Sweden’s protection were being taken away or threatened.
Address: Tátra Street 14-16, 1136 Budapest
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The surprised Jewish prisoners approached Raoul, and he asked them to show their Swedish papers. The prisoners took out anything they had in their pockets and Raoul pretended to look at the documents. ‘Perfect, you come with me, next person, show me your papers’. Thanks to his self-confidence and acting skills, Raoul managed to save 500 people from deportation in this way.
Address: Józsefváros Railway Station, 1087 Budapest
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Raoul had drawn up extensive plans on how to reunite families, take care of orphaned children, re-establish medical services and find housing. He was eager to present his plans to the new Soviet leadership and as early as 13 January he crossed the front line and held talks with Soviet officers.

On 17 January Raoul returned to the building on Benczúr utca 16, which had served as his office and home during January, to pick up his personal belongings. The house was owned by László Ocskay, a Hungarian army captain and an anti-Nazi. He used his influence to save Jews, and at the end of the war he offered the International Red Cross and Raoul Wallenberg to use parts of his house. Together with his driver Vilmos Langfelder, Raoul was going to Debrecen where the Red Army Headquarters was located. The last person he talked to before leaving happened to be László Petö, the Jewish boy he had met at the language course in France many years earlier.
Raoul had drawn up extensive plans on how to reunite families, take care of orphaned children, re-establish medical services and find housing. He was eager to present his plans to the new Soviet leadership and as early as 13 January he crossed the front line and held talks with Soviet officers.
Address: Benczúr Street 16, 1068 Budapest
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On 17 January Raoul returned to the building on Benczúr utca 16, which had served as his office and home during January, to pick up his personal belongings. The house was owned by László Ocskay, a Hungarian army captain and an anti-Nazi. He used his influence to save Jews, and at the end of the war he offered the International Red Cross and Raoul Wallenberg to use parts of his house. Together with his driver Vilmos Langfelder, Raoul was going to Debrecen where the Red Army Headquarters was located. The last person he talked to before leaving happened to be László Petö, the Jewish boy he had met at the language course in France many years earlier.
Wallenberg memorial plaque, Unveiled: 2001., Sculptor: Antal Czinder
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We know that Raoul never reached Debrecen. Instead, he was arrested by the Soviets and brought to Moscow, where he was imprisoned. For many years, the Soviet leadership would deny any knowledge of his whereabouts, but in 1957 the Soviet authorities issued a document claiming that Raoul had died from a heart attack in the infamous Lubyanka Prison in 1947. This claim has never been verified however, and has not been accepted by most historians nor by Raoul’s family.
But the memory of Raoul Wallenberg lives on. He has been awarded honorary citizenship in the United Stated, Canada, Australia, Israel and in the city of Budapest, and all around the world you can find memorials, statues and street names honoring Raoul. The Briefcase Memorial on Elisabeth Square, created by Swedish-Hungarian artists Ulla and Gustav Kraitz, was unveiled in 2014. Identical memorials are also located outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Stockholm and the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Address: Erzsébet Square 11-13, 1051 Budapest
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Raoul Wallenberg’s younger sister Nina Lagergren together with Holocaust survivors at the inauguration of the ‘Briefcase statue’ in June 2014. Credits: Embassy of Sweden in Budapest
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It is late summer in 1944, and hundreds of people are queueing outside the gate to the Embassy of Sweden on Gellért Hill. They are waiting to apply for a Protective Passport – a ‘Schutzpass’. For many, having a Schutzpass will mean the difference between life and death.
Bayer-villa, the Swedish embassy (legation) between 1938-1944, formerly Gyopár Street 8.
When the deportations of the Hungarian Jews started, the Embassy of Sweden in Budapest had begun issuing ‘Letters of Protection’ to Jews who had a connection to Sweden. The Swiss Embassy and the International Committee of the Red Cross were issuing similar documents. However, the problem was that the German and Hungarian authorities did not always recognize these documents and questioned their validity.
Memorial plaque of Carl-Ivan Danielson, Raoul Wallenberg and Per Anger on the wall of the former Swedish Embassy. Unveiled in 1994, sculptor: Antal Czinder
Raoul soon concluded that a new type of protective document was needed, and he used his creative side to invent the Protective Passport or Schutzpass. Like a real passport, the Protective Passport had a picture of its owner, and it was signed and stamped by both Raoul Wallenberg and Ambassador Ivan Danielsson. This document stated in both German and Hungarian that its holder was under Sweden’s protection. This was not a real passport, but the Germans and the Hungarian authorities thought it looked real and they respected this document. The holder of a Schutzpass did not have to wear the mandatory yellow Star of David and they were exempted from most other anti-Semitic regulations as well. By January 1945 Raoul and his coworkers had issued around 8 000 Protective Passports.
Address: Minerva Street 3/a, 1118 Budapest
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A Swedish Protective Passport (Schutzpass). Source: Nina Lagergren’s private album, Credits: Karl Gabor
Supplementary document to a Protective Passport signed by Wallenberg
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Raoul’s activities grew at a rapid rate and after only one month in Budapest he had hired 70 coworkers. He soon needed more office space, and he was able to rent two floors in the villa next to the Embassy that was owned by the Zwack family, the producers of the famous Unicum liqueur.
Zwack-villa, home of Mária Zwack, (Aunt Mici), where the Zwack family was hiding in the cellar. Minerva street 5, 1118 Budapest
The Zwack family lived in the villa throughout the war and became Raoul’s friends. At one occasion Arrow Cross guards broke into the house and wanted to arrest its inhabitants. The Zwack family was saved by Raoul’s colleague the Swedish diplomat Lars Berg who with a gun in his hand managed to scare away the intruders. The demand for Swedish Protective Passports grew rapidly and Raoul’s organization kept expanding.
Address: Minerva Street 5, 1118 Budapest
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In November 1944, the Hungarian authorities established ghettos where the Budapest Jews were confined awaiting deportation. Thanks to intense lobbying from Raoul and other international diplomats, Jews holding protective passports from neutral states were concentrated in an area bordering the Danube, north of the Margaret Bridge. The area became known as ‘the international ghetto’.
One of the Swedish safe houses in the international ghetto at Pozsonyi Road 10.
After the Hungarian fascist Arrow Cross Party came to power in a coup in October 1944, the persecution of the Jews of Budapest reached a new level. Groups of Arrow Cross Party members would break into Jewish houses and beat up the occupants, or herd them down to the river where they were shot. Many also feared that the deportations to the concentration camps would soon resume. For Raoul it now became evident that just issuing Protective Passports was not enough to save the Jews of Budapest.
Raoul used his connections to purchase or rent 31 residential buildings, most of them located within the international ghetto. Swedish flags and plaques with the Swedish coat of arms were put on the buildings, which were declared ‘safe houses’ to which German and Hungarian authorities did not have access. Other neutral states such as Switzerland, Spain and Portugal, as well as the Holy See and the International Committee of the Red Cross, also established safe houses in the international ghetto.
Address: Pozsonyi Road 10, 1137 Budapest
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During the autumn of 1944, Raoul’s humanitarian operation grew and became more and more complex. Raoul, who by now had more than 300 coworkers, organized daily food deliveries to the families hiding in the safe houses. He even managed to set up a functioning hospital with 50 beds.
Temporary hospital for the ghetto on Tátra Street 14-16, 1136 Budapest
Sometimes Raoul also managed to organize food deliveries to the tens of thousands of Jews who were living under unbearable conditions in the main ghetto, the area around the Great Synagogue.

At the end of the war, more than 500 patients were being treated at the same time in the Swedish hospital. One of the patients was the mother of the famous author Péter Nádas.

Raoul also established a special ‘rescue team’, on alert 24 hours a day and ready to intervene when Jews under Sweden’s protection were being taken away or threatened.
Address: Tátra Street 14-16, 1136 Budapest
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At the end of November 1944, around 17 000 Jews were gathered at the Józsefváros Railway Station awaiting transportation in sealed cargo wagons to Germany. Raoul rushed to the train station and demanded that the Jews under Sweden's protection should be released. He set up a table on the platform with a thick binder and randomly started to call out typical Jewish names.
Józsefváros Railway Station, 1951 Source: Fortepan, Uvaterv. Fiumei Road, 1087 Budapest
The surprised Jewish prisoners approached Raoul, and he asked them to show their Swedish papers. The prisoners took out anything they had in their pockets and Raoul pretended to look at the documents. ‘Perfect, you come with me, next person, show me your papers’. Thanks to his self-confidence and acting skills, Raoul managed to save 500 people from deportation in this way.
Address: Józsefváros Railway Station, 1087 Budapest
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In January 1945, the Soviet Red Army entered Budapest and on 16 January the Jews in the international ghetto were freed by Soviet troops. Raoul Wallenberg’s mission in the Hungarian capital was over. But Raoul did not plan to stop his work. He wanted to continue to help the Hungarian Jews in the period after the war.
Home of Captain László Ocskay, later Red Cross office, today the Austrian Embassy and Cultural Forum, Benczúr street 16, 1068 Budapest
Raoul had drawn up extensive plans on how to reunite families, take care of orphaned children, re-establish medical services and find housing. He was eager to present his plans to the new Soviet leadership and as early as 13 January he crossed the front line and held talks with Soviet officers.

On 17 January Raoul returned to the building on Benczúr utca 16, which had served as his office and home during January, to pick up his personal belongings. The house was owned by László Ocskay, a Hungarian army captain and an anti-Nazi. He used his influence to save Jews, and at the end of the war he offered the International Red Cross and Raoul Wallenberg to use parts of his house.Together with his driver Vilmos Langfelder, Raoul was going to Debrecen where the Red Army Headquarters was located. The last person he talked to before leaving happened to be László Petö, the Jewish boy he had met at the language course in France many years earlier.
Raoul had drawn up extensive plans on how to reunite families, take care of orphaned children, re-establish medical services and find housing. He was eager to present his plans to the new Soviet leadership and as early as 13 January he crossed the front line and held talks with Soviet officers.
Address: Benczúr Street 16, 1068 Budapest
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On 17 January Raoul returned to the building on Benczúr utca 16, which had served as his office and home during January, to pick up his personal belongings. The house was owned by László Ocskay, a Hungarian army captain and an anti-Nazi. He used his influence to save Jews, and at the end of the war he offered the International Red Cross and Raoul Wallenberg to use parts of his house.Together with his driver Vilmos Langfelder, Raoul was going to Debrecen where the Red Army Headquarters was located. The last person he talked to before leaving happened to be László Petö, the Jewish boy he had met at the language course in France many years earlier.
Wallenberg memorial plaque, Unveiled: 2001., Sculptor: Antal Czinder
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We do not know exactly what happened to Raoul after 17 January 1945. His briefcase stands abandoned on a bench, but its owner is missing. Raoul never came home to Sweden. He never got to meet his family again and he never got the chance to meet the many thousands of people he had managed to save from the Nazi scourge.
“Do not forget!”, Wallenberg memorial by Hungarian-born Swedish sculptor Gustav Kraitz Unveiled: 2014. Elizabeth square 11-13, 1051 Budapest
We know that Raoul never reached Debrecen. Instead, he was arrested by the Soviets and brought to Moscow, where he was imprisoned. For many years, the Soviet leadership would deny any knowledge of his whereabouts, but in 1957 the Soviet authorities issued a document claiming that Raoul had died from a heart attack in the infamous Lubyanka Prison in 1947. This claim has never been verified however, and has not been accepted by most historians nor by Raoul’s family.
But the memory of Raoul Wallenberg lives on. He has been awarded honorary citizenship in the United Stated, Canada, Australia, Israel and in the city of Budapest, and all around the world you can find memorials, statues and street names honoring Raoul. The Briefcase Memorial on Elisabeth Square, created by Swedish-Hungarian artists Ulla and Gustav Kraitz, was unveiled in 2014. Identical memorials are also located outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Stockholm and the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Address: Erzsébet Square 11-13, 1051 Budapest
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Raoul Wallenberg’s younger sister Nina Lagergren together with Holocaust survivors at the inauguration of the ‘Briefcase statue’ in June 2014. Credits: Embassy of Sweden in Budapest
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During his first months in Budapest, Raoul Wallenberg lived in an elegant 18th century house close to Buda castle. Here Raoul, who was renowned for his social skills, held dinners and receptions. Sometimes high-ranking Hungarian government officials and German officers were invited, and Raoul would use these occasions to try to negotiate better conditions for the Jews under Sweden’s protection. For a period of time, the anti-Nazi freedom fighter Gyula Dessewffy was in hiding in Raoul’s home.
Address: Ostrom Street 9-11, 1015 Budapest
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The house of the noble von Berg family was in the middle of the castle district. This influential family had strong connections to Sweden and in the 1930s the Swedish Crown Prince had stayed in this house during a visit. The von Bergs used their network to support Raoul’s activities. During the war, a younger relative of the von Berg family, Erzsébet Nákó who was of Greek origin, was also living in the house. She was an energetic and colorful young woman who became Raoul’s social secretary. In the winter of 1945 during the siege of Budapest, the Deputy Ambassador of Sweden and Raoul’s close coworker Per Anger was in hiding in the cellar of the house.
Address: Úri Street 15, 1014 Budapest
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The sign indicating Swedish protection, once placed on the street front of the house
The small courtyard of the house opens into a cellar carved into the rock from the Turkish period, where the persecuted people and the money and documents needed for the Wallenberg operation were hidden
Memorial plaque in memory of the Nákó and von Berg family's lifesaving activities during World War II and their assistance to Wallenberg, by Tímea Fábry, 2021
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As a result of the Arrow Cross Party coup and the establishment of the ghettos, Raoul had to relocate his whole office to the Pest side of Budapest in November 1944. He managed to get hold of a huge building close to Calvin Square that had been home to a Dutch insurance company. The building had plenty of office space and gave shelter to many of Raoul’s Jewish coworkers and their families.
Address: Üllői Road 2-4, 1085 Budapest
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Memorial plaque at Üllői út. 2-4, which was Wallenberg's headquarter from November 1944 to January 1945
Wallenberg surrounded by his closest Hungarian colleagues in his office at Üllői út 2-4. Credits: Thomas Veres, reproduction: Karl Gabor
Raoul Wallenberg at work in Budapest, 1944. Photo: Thomas Veres
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By the late autumn of 1944, Raoul had drawn up plans for a new organization that would help and assist the Jews of Hungary after the Soviet takeover. He had already found an office for this new organization in the impressive building of the Hazai Bank. During the final battle of Budapest, Raoul and his coworkers took shelter in the vault of the bank. After the war, the building housed the British Embassy for many years.
Address: Harmincad Street 6, 1051 Budapest
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Raoul Wallenberg memorial plaque in the V. district, bronze relief, by Antal Czinder
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In his studio on Keleti Károly utca, artist László Dombrovszky painted the only known portrait of Raoul Wallenberg. Raoul posed for the artist on a few occasions during September 1944. He was supposed to return to the artist’s studio later during the autumn but was prevented by the worsening situation, which led to the portrait never being finished. Today the portrait is preserved in Gripsholm Castle in Sweden.

Follow the link to learn more about László Dombrovszky and the Raoul Wallenberg portrait: https://wallenberg-dombrovszky.com/portre-kep/hu
Address: Keleti Károly Street 26, 1024 Budapest
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The Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Park, next to the Great Synagogue, pays homage to the victims of the Holocaust and to those who tried to save Jewish lives. In the middle of the park is the Tree of Life, a huge tree made of metal. The names of the victims are engraved on the leaves of this tree. It was created in 1991 by artist Imre Varga, with financial support from Tony Curtis, a Hollywood actor of Hungarian descent.
Address: Wesselényi Street 6, 1077 Budapest
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The Tree of Life / Emanuel Tree, the Memorial of the Hungarian Jewish Martyrs designed by Imre Varga in 1991
Stained glass composition by painter and sculptor Klára Szilárd
Memorial to Wallenberg and other Righteous Among the Nations
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The former Phoenix Street, in the heart of the international ghetto, was renamed after Raoul Wallenberg already in December 1945. For many years this was the only memorial to Raoul in Budapest. The current memorial plaque was unveiled in 1989.
Address: Raoul Wallenberg Street 11, 1136 Budapest
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Bronze relief of Raoul Wallenberg by Gergő Gábor Bottos, 1989
The former Phoenix Street was renamed in December 1945 after Raoul Wallenberg
Annual candlelight commemoration on 17 January in Wallenberg street remembering the date when Raoul Wallenberg was seen in freedom for the last time. Credits: Embassy of Sweden in Budapest
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Already in 1946 Budapest residents started to raise money for a monument to Raoul Wallenberg in Szent István Park. Sculptor Pál Pátzay created a monument depicting Raoul as a mythological hero fighting a large serpent. The statue was completed in 1949 but the night before it was unveiled, the Communist authorities decided to remove it. The statue eventually ended up outside a pharmaceutical factory in Debrecen, but without any reference to Raoul Wallenberg. In 1999 a copy of the original statue, created by artist Sándor Györfi, was reinstated in Szent István Park. Every year on Raoul’s birthday, 4 August, a memorial ceremony is held in the Park.
Address: Szent István Park 30, 1137 Budapest
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Szent István Park in 1948. Fotó: Fortepan
Yearly commemoration on Raoul Wallenberg’s birthday 4 August. Credits: Embassy of Sweden in Budapest
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A Swedish and US initiative was behind the first Raoul Wallenberg statue in Budapest being unveiled in 1987. The statue stands only 50 meters from the location where the car, in which Raoul was traveling to Debrecen, was found abandoned. The statue was created by artist Imre Varga and is carved from red granite from Sweden.
Address: Szilágyi Erzsébet Road 101, 1026 Budapest
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On the Danube shore you will find 60 pairs of shoes in cast iron honouring the memory of the Jews who were shot into the river. Among the shoes are small children's shoes and elegant lady shoes displaying that the Arrow Cross did not show mercy to anyone.

The monument is located on the Danube bank between the Chain and the Margret bridges and its location is symbolically important. During the Arrow Cross terror that lasted for a few months, many thousand Jews were shot either on the streets or at the Danube shore. At the monument there is an iron sign, with the following text:

‘To the memory of the victims shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross militiamen in 1944–45. Erected 16 April 2005.‘
The shoes on the Danube Bank, Holocaust memorial created by Guyla Pauer and Can Togay
The shootings at the Danube shore were usually mass executions. The victims were forced to line up and the last order they received was to take off their shoes. During the winter of 1944-45, shoes had a high value and after the executions the Arrow Cross guards used to collect the shoes for their own use or to sell.

Witnesses have told how Raoul Wallenberg sometimes managed to free the Jews already lined up on the quay, and sometimes members of Raoul's rescue team were able to jump into the water and rescue those still alive.

The monument was created by sculptor Guyla Pauer and film director Can Togay.

Listen to how one of Raoul's coworkers remembers the events on the Danube Bank: Survivor recalls rescue activity in Budapest and the role of Raoul Wallenberg - YouTube video
The shoes on the Danube Bank, Holocaust memorial created by Guyla Pauer and Can Togay
Address: Antall József quay, 1054 Budapest
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We all encounter situations where we must make choices. Should we look away or should we act, remain silent or speak up, follow the stream or follow our inner compass?
The story of Raoul Wallenberg teaches us that the choices we make can have a huge impact.
Imagine a difficult situation. Which path would you choose?
The Embassy of Sweden in Budapest
presents:
A Story of
Courage
It is December 1944. A group of Jews stand lined up on the bank of the Danube River. Armed Hungarian fascists from the Arrow Cross Party guard them. In the group there are women, children, and the elderly, and soon, like many others before them, they are going to be shot near the edge of the river so that their bodies will fall down into the ice-cold water. Suddenly a black car appears and stops, and a tall man wearing a trench coat with a briefcase in his hand steps out.

Shoes on the Danube bank, Holocaust memorial by Gyula Pauer and Can Togay, József Antall river bank, Budapest
The man with the briefcase approaches the leader of the Arrow Cross guards and shouts in German: ‘These Jews are under the protection of Sweden; you must release them immediately!’. The captain of the Arrow Cross guards suddenly looks confused and uncertain. ‘You will be held personally responsible if these people are killed or hurt!’ shouts the man. The Arrow Cross guards start talking amongst themselves, while the man with the briefcase continues to insist that the prisoners should be released. In the end, the Arrow Cross guards give in and the Jewish prisoners are taken back to their homes. They get their freedom and their lives back.

The Danube bank and the blown-up Margaret bridge, January 1945. Source: Fortepan, Archiv für Zeitgeschichte ETH Zürich, Agnes Hirschi
The man with the briefcase is the young Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg.

Raoul Wallenberg as freshman at the University of Michigan.
Source: Bentley Historical Library
In the same building, on Strandvägen in Stockholm, where Raoul’s workplace was located the American embassy had an office. By coincidence Raoul met the person from the American embassy who was responsible for planning the rescue operation in Budapest in the building’s elevator. Raoul was asked if he wanted to lead the rescue mission in Budapest and he accepted the offer.

Raoul Wallenberg before his trip to Budapest, 1943
Source: Nina Lagergren's private album, reproduction: Karl Gabor
On 9 July 1944 Raoul Wallenberg arrived in Budapest. He was 31 years old at the time. He was equipped with a Swedish diplomatic passport, and he had access to funds from the US government.

Raoul Wallenberg in Budapest, 1944
Photo: Thomas Veres, reproduction: Karl Gabor
His mission was to save as many Jews as possible.

We all encounter situations where we must make choices. Should we look away or should we act, remain silent or speak up, follow the stream or follow our inner compass?

The story of Raoul Wallenberg teaches us that the choices we make can have a huge impact.

Imagine a difficult situation. Which path would you choose?



A World Citizen

Raoul Wallenberg was born in 1912 in Stockholm. The Wallenberg family was one of Sweden’s most famous and influential industrialist and banking families. Raoul’s great-grandfather André Oscar Wallenberg, who was a business man, navy officer, publicist and member of parliament, had in 1856 founded Stockholms Enskilda Bank, which was Sweden’s first privately owned bank and laid the foundation for the mighty Wallenberg empire. Raoul was raised to become an ‘independent and responsible world citizen’. But it was not as a businessman or a banker that Raoul would attain world fame.

André Oscar Wallenberg (1816–86). Source: Quartr
Stockholm

As Raoul’s father tragically passed away a few months before he was born, his grandfather Gustaf Wallenberg came to play an important role in his upbringing.

Raoul together with his grandfather Gustaf Wallenberg. Source: Nina Lagergren”s private album, reproduction: Karl Gabor
Istanbul

Gustaf was a businessman and a diplomat, and already as a child Raoul got the chance to travel abroad to visit his grandfather, for example to Istanbul in Türkiye.

Raoul as a child, Source: Raoul Wallenberg Academy, press photo
Thonon-les-Bains

Before graduating from high school, Raoul spent a few months in the small city of Thonon-les-Bains in France attending a language course. There was a younger Jewish boy from Hungary attending the course there as well. He was physically smaller than the others and was being teased and bullied. However Raoul did not join in with the bullies; instead he protected the boy and became his friend.

Raoul Wallenberg at the age of 12, Source: Nina Lagergren”s private album.
Reproduction: Karl Gabor
Ann Arbor

Raoul’s grandfather insisted that he should complete his university studies in the United States, which was rather unusual for a Swede at that time. Raoul spent four years at Ann Arbor University in Michigan, majoring in architecture. During the summers he hitchhiked around the US, exploring the country. One time he ended up in a car with an armed gang who drove him out into the woods where they robbed him. Raoul managed to stay calm and even convinced the robbers to drive him back to the main road. Later he remembered the incident as a ‘very interesting experience’.

Raoul poses on the Bear Mountain Bridge in upstate New York. Source: Bentley Historical Library, reproduction: Karl Gabor
Cape Town

After finishing university Raoul went to South Africa to complete a traineeship. Although he was raised during a time when ‘racial theory’ was part of the general discourse, he soon became appalled by the racism he was witnessing.

Young Raoul Wallenberg, Source: Raoul Wallenberg Academy, press photo
Haifa

Raoul continued his education by working in a bank in the city of Haifa, located in what was then the British Mandate for Palestine. There he acquired many Jewish friends who had fled Germany after the Nazi takeover in 1933.

Wallenberg was a fan of bicycling and long strolls. Source: Bentley Historical Library, reproduction: Karl Gabor
Stockholm

In the late 1930s Raoul was back in Stockholm looking forward to a career in the family bank. However the family were reluctant to give him a major role, as he was considered to be too extrovert. Raoul has been described as funny, charismatic, and creative, which were not very typical virtues for a banker at that time. Instead of joining the bank, Raoul got involved in a food importing business that had been founded by a Hungarian Jewish refugee. The company imported various Hungarian food products, for example the famous Rex ketchup. Raoul went on several business trips to Hungary where he established a broad network.

REX Ketchup. Source: rexketchup.hu
Meanwhile in the world

In September 1939 the Second World War started. In the following years around six million Jews, half a million Roma, and many tens of thousands from other groups considered to be ‘inferior’ were killed by the German Nazis and their collaborators. Hungary was an ally of Germany, but the Hungarian Jews were not deported during the first years of the war. This all changed in March 1944 when German troops occupied the country. In just a few months in the spring of 1944, the German SS together with their Hungarian collaborators deported around half a million Jews from Hungary to Auschwitz and other extermination camps.

Hitler salutes as he oversees troops during the Nazi occupation of Poland, Source: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Budapest

The pace and brutality of the Hungarian Holocaust shocked many, and in the US it was decided to launch a rescue operation for the Jews of Budapest who had not so far been deported. The US and the Swedish governments agreed that the operation should go under the Swedish flag, since Sweden, as a neutral country, still had diplomatic representation in Hungary.

Hungarian Jewish women and children from Carpatho-Ruthenia arrive at Auschwitz in May/June 1944, Source: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-N0827-318/CC BY-SA
Creativity

It is late summer in 1944, and hundreds of people are queueing outside the gate to the Embassy of Sweden on Gellért Hill. They are waiting to apply for a Protective Passport – a ‘Schutzpass’. For many, having a Schutzpass will mean the difference between life and death.

Bayer-villa, the Swedish embassy (legation) between 1938-1944, formerly Gyopár Street 8.
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Expansion

Raoul’s activities grew at a rapid rate and after only one month in Budapest he had hired 70 coworkers. He soon needed more office space, and he was able to rent two floors in the villa next to the Embassy that was owned by the Zwack family, the producers of the famous Unicum liqueur.

Zwack-villa, home of Mária Zwack, (Aunt Mici), where the Zwack family was hiding in the cellar. Minerva street 5, 1118 Budapest
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Cooperation

In November 1944, the Hungarian authorities established ghettos where the Budapest Jews were confined awaiting deportation. Thanks to intense lobbying from Raoul and other international diplomats, Jews holding protective passports from neutral states were concentrated in an area bordering the Danube, north of the Margaret Bridge. The area became known as ‘the international ghetto’.

One of the Swedish safe houses in the international ghetto at Pozsonyi Road 10.
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Compassion

During the autumn of 1944, Raoul’s humanitarian operation grew and became more and more complex. Raoul, who by now had more than 300 coworkers, organized daily food deliveries to the families hiding in the safe houses. He even managed to set up a functioning hospital with 50 beds.

Temporary hospital for the ghetto in Tátra Street 14-16, 1136 Budapest
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Self-confidence

At the end of November 1944, around 17 000 Jews were gathered at the Józsefváros Railway Station awaiting transportation in sealed cargo wagons to Germany. Raoul rushed to the train station and demanded that the Jews under Sweden's protection should be released. He set up a table on the platform with a thick binder and randomly started to call out typical Jewish names.

Józsefváros Railway Station, 1951. Source: Fortepan, Uvaterv
Fiumei Road, 1087 Budapest
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Looking ahead

In January 1945, the Soviet Red Army entered Budapest and on 16 January the Jews in the international ghetto were freed by Soviet troops. Raoul Wallenberg’s mission in the Hungarian capital was over. But Raoul did not plan to stop his work. He wanted to continue to help the Hungarian Jews in the period after the war.

Home of Captain László Ocskay, later Red Cross office, today the Austrian Embassy and Cultural Forum.
Benczúr Street 16, 1068 Budapest
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Missing

We do not know exactly what happened to Raoul after 17 January 1945. His briefcase stands abandoned on a bench, but its owner is missing. Raoul never came home to Sweden. He never got to meet his family again and he never got the chance to meet the many thousands of people he had managed to save from the Nazi scourge.

“Do not forget!”, Wallenberg memorial by Hungarian-born Swedish sculptor Gustav Kraitz Unveiled: 2014
Elizabeth Square 11-13, 1051 Budapest
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Additional locations

Click on each point to read more about Raoul Wallenberg's stay, activities and legacy in Budapest.

Use the slider to control the opacity of a contemporary Budapest map from 1944. Click on the blue points to see more sites related to the story of Raoul Wallenberg.

Never be a bystander

The Holocaust could happen because the majority of the population stayed silent. Most people were not Nazis of course, but they became passive bystanders. But during this time of horrendous evil and inhumanity, there were a number of individuals who dared to go against the stream and tried to help their fellow humans. It is our duty to remember these heroes. But it is even more important to follow their example and be inspired by their courage and humanity.

Raoul was a hero, but he did not act alone. He built up an organization of around 300, mainly Jewish, coworkers, and he got active support from all the other diplomats at the Embassy of Sweden. Diplomats from other neutral countries also had their own rescue programs and cooperated with Raoul.

There are also many examples of Hungarians who risked, and often sacrificed, their own lives to help their Jewish compatriots. These were army officers, policemen, priests and civil servants who used their influence to help Jews. But there were also many ordinary people who helped by hiding their Jewish neighbors.

It is important to remember the heroic deeds of Raoul and the others who save lives – but it is even more important to follow their example. Together with partners such as the Raoul Wallenberg Association, the Raoul Wallenberg House of Humanity, and the Swedish Raoul Wallenberg Academy, the Embassy of Sweden in Budapest supports a number of programs and projects that aim to pass Raoul’s legacy on to the next generation.

'In the footsteps of Wallenberg' is a competition for high school students. Teams from schools from all parts of Hungary, and also the Hungarian speaking parts part of the neighbouring countries, compete in their knowledge about the Second World War, the Holocaust and Raoul Wallenberg. The students also get an opportunity to reflect on more current issues such as racism, intolerance, and discrimination.

Finalists of the 'Raoul Wallenberg School Competition'. Credits: Embassy of Sweden in Budapest




'The Cube' is a school project about Human Rights. Students create exhibitions on the theme of Human Rights inside large cubes, which are exhibited to the public. There are cubes in schools all around the world, and so far more than 10 Hungarian schools have taken part in this project.

In the Cube Project for Human Rights students present one of the articles form the Universal Declaration of Human Rights inside a big cube. Credits: Embassy of Sweden in Budapest




The 'Young Courage Award' is an international award for young people that have shown courage in standing up for their convictions in their everyday lives. For example, by standing up to bullying, helping people in distress, or by advocating for minority rights.

In August the winners of the Young Courage Award gather in Stockholm for workshops, study visits and the festive award ceremony. Credits: Embassy of Sweden in Budapest / Raoul Wallenberg Academy





The last time Raoul Wallenberg’s colleague and friend Per Anger spoke to him in January 1945, he asked Raoul why he was taking all these risks now that the war was soon over. Raoul replied:


„To me there’s no other choice. I’ve accepted this task and I could never return to Stockholm without knowing that I’d done everything humanly possible to save as many Jews as I could’.”





About the project
This site is as part of the Embassy of Sweden in Budapest’s continuous work to honour the legacy of Raoul Wallenberg and to promote human rights. The initiator of the site was Ambassador Dag Hartelius. A special thanks to the author, Raoul Wallenberg expert and member of the Swedish Academy Ms. Ingrid Carlberg who has reviewed the site’s historical content and provided many valuable comments.

The aim has been to make the text easy to read. Because of this some historical events have been simplified, and we use the modern names of some institutions. For example, the term ‘Embassy’ is used, instead of ‘Legation’ which was the actual name of the Swedish representation in Budapest during Raoul Wallenberg’s time. The site presents a selection of locations, and the aim has not been to write the full story of Raoul Wallenberg or to present every location connected to his legacy.

If not else stated the photo credits on the site belong to Oliver Sin and the Embassy of Sweden in Budapest. The aim is to continue to develop this site and we welcome your ideas and suggestions on how the map can be developed and improved. Please contact us via email: walkwithraoul.budapest@gov.se

Learn more about Raoul Wallenberg:
Books:
Raoul Wallenberg: The Biography: The Man Who Saved Thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Holocaust. Ingrid Carlberg, 2012.
The Hero of Budapest. The Triumph and Tragedy of Raoul Wallenberg. Bengt Jangfeldt, 2012.
Films:
Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg, Kjell Grede, 1990.
The Lost European, József Sipos, 2015
More films available here.
Associations and organisations:
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation
Raoul Wallenberg Academy (Sweden)
The Raoul Wallenberg Association (Hungary)
The Raoul Wallenberg House of Humanity Association (Hungary)

Created by
Krisztián Szabó, Attila Bátorfy, Andreas Attorps, Edina Tánczos

About the project


This site is as part of the Embassy of Sweden in Budapest’s continuous work to honour the legacy of Raoul Wallenberg and to promote human rights. The initiator of the site was Ambassador Dag Hartelius. A special thanks to the author, Raoul Wallenberg expert and member of the Swedish Academy Ms. Ingrid Carlberg who has reviewed the site’s historical content and provided many valuable comments.

The aim has been to make the text easy to read. Because of this some historical events have been simplified, and we use the modern names of some institutions. For example, the term ‘Embassy’ is used, instead of ‘Legation’ which was the actual name of the Swedish representation in Budapest during Raoul Wallenberg’s time. The site presents a selection of locations, and the aim has not been to write the full story of Raoul Wallenberg or to present every location connected to his legacy.

If not else stated the photo credits on the site belong to Oliver Sin and the Embassy of Sweden in Budapest. The aim is to continue to develop this site and we welcome your ideas and suggestions on how the map can be developed and improved. Please contact us via email: walkwithraoul.budapest@gov.se

Learn more about Raoul Wallenberg:
Books:
Raoul Wallenberg: The Biography: The Man Who Saved Thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Holocaust. Ingrid Carlberg, 2012.
The Hero of Budapest. The Triumph and Tragedy of Raoul Wallenberg. Bengt Jangfeldt, 2012.
Films:
Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg, Kjell Grede, 1990.
The Lost European, József Sipos, 2015
More films available here.
Associations and organisations:
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation
Raoul Wallenberg Academy (Sweden)
The Raoul Wallenberg Association (Hungary)
The Raoul Wallenberg House of Humanity Association (Hungary)

Created by
Krisztián Szabó, Attila Bátorfy,
Andreas Attorps, Edina Tánczos