Raoul Wallenberg Day

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Around 100 members of the Melbourne Jewish community and friends gathered at the St. Kilda Town Hall on Sunday to institute the inaugural Wallenberg Day, in memory of the heroic deeds of Raoul Wallenberg in Budapest during World War II.

Mike Zervos, CEO Courage to Care; Attorney General  Mark Dreyfus; Judi Schiff, Foundation Member, Raoul Wallenberg Unit of B’nai B’rith

Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat, had been sent to Hungary to save Jews from their murderous fate at the hands of the Nazi SS and the Hungarian Arrow Cross. This he did by issuing false Swedish identity papers, by setting up safe houses, and by sheer bluff and bravado. In all, he saved the lives of tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews.

The Raoul Wallenberg Unit of B’nai B’rith (RWU) was established in Melbourne in 1985 to honour Wallenberg and to remind future generations that one individual can make a difference. In conjunction with the City of Port Phillip annual events have been held to commemorate his deeds.

The function on 15 January was chaired by the co-President of RWU, Simone Markus, who introduced Councillor Marcus Pearl, City of Port Phillip, who welcomed guests, and spoke of the City’s welcoming attitude to migrants.

Judi Schiff, a foundation member of RWU,  introduced the keynote speaker, Australia’s Attorney General Mark Dreyfus. She pointed out that Mark had been influential in having Wallenberg declared as Australia’s first and only Honorary Citizen by the then Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, in 2013.

Mark Dreyfus reminded us of the many heroic deeds performed by Wallenberg and of the thousands of survivors and the future generations that owe their lives to this great humanitarian. He pointed out that in our time, with the rise of antisemitism and Holocaust denial, it is more important than ever to concentrate our thoughts on memory and education so that future generations will never forget the lessons of that terrible time.

Councillor Tim Baxter, City of Port Phillip, Simone Markus, Co-President B’nai B’rith Raoul Wallenberg Unit, the Attorney-General, Jacqui Dinor-Corry, Co-President B’nai B’rith Raoul Wallenberg Unit, Councillor Marcus Pearl, City of Port Phillip.

In his address, Mark Dreyfus said: ”In 1989, in a tribute to Wallenberg in the House of Representatives, Prime Minister Bob Hawke recounted a story told to him by Joni Moser, who worked running errands for Wallenberg:

“when Wallenberg learned that 800 Jewish labour servicemen were being marched to the Gestapo concentration camp at Mauthausen … Moser and Wallenberg drove to the Hungarian frontier and caught up with the column. Wallenberg asked that those with Swedish protective passports should raise their hand. On Wallenberg’s order, Moser ran between the ranks, telling everyone to do so, whether they had a passport or not. Moser explains that Wallenberg:

. . . then claimed custody of all who raised their hands and such was his bearing that none of the Hungarian guards opposed him. The extraordinary thing was the absolutely convincing power of his behaviour.”

Professor Frank Vajda, who had been saved by Wallenberg in Budapest as a nine-year-old boy, and who has spent a great part of his adult life researching his fate, related several vignettes of the role Wallenberg played in those dark days.

Co-President Jacqui Dinor thanked all participants for their contributions and the staff of the City of Port Phillip for the organisation of the function and their hospitality.