Wallenberg to be honoured in the NSW Parliament
Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg – who saved 100,000 Jews from the Nazis – will be honoured at a ceremony in NSW Parliament House tomorrow.
Raoul Wallenberg
Premier Barry O’Farrell will give the keynote address, with messages to be delivered by the Ambassadors of Sweden, Hungary and Israel.
The event has been organised by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies to mark the 100th anniversary of Wallenberg’s birth.
Wallenberg served as a Swedish envoy to Nazi-occupied Hungary during World War II, and he saved Jews from the Holocaust by setting up safe houses and issuing certificates of protection and other documents. Controversy surrounds his fate, as he was arrested by the Soviets in 1945 and reportedly last sighted in the 1980s.
The ceremony will be held in conjunction with the embassies of Sweden, Israel and Hungary, the Sydney Jewish Museum and the Australian Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants.
Board of Deputies chief executive Vic Alhadeff: “Raoul Wallenberg was one of the heroes of the 20th century. Placing himself in harm’s way, he took exceptional measures to save thousands of people from certain death. It is highly appropriate that such courage and principle be recognised and honoured.”
Sydney barrister George Farkas will address the meeting. His late father John was Raoul Wallenberg’s right hand man during his time in Budapest.
Well done Raoul, you are a great man and a wonderful human being. You will always be remembered by our kind. Thank you Raoul Wallenberg. Love Oliver