Raoul Wallenberg

Raoul Wallenberg was born into the prominent Wallenberg family in Sweden in 1912. His father, a naval officer, died before his birth, and his grandfather oversaw his education, initially intending for him to enter banking. Wallenberg, however, pursued architecture, graduating from the University of Michigan with honors in 1935. After returning to Sweden, he found limited opportunities in architecture and instead gained international business experience, notably in Haifa, where he encountered Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany, deeply affecting him. He later partnered with Koloman Lauer, a Hungarian Jew, and through his travels, became adept at navigating European bureaucracy.In June 1944, Wallenberg was appointed First Secretary at the Swedish legation in Budapest, serving as President Roosevelt's secret representative with a mission to rescue Hungarian Jews from Adolf Eichmann's extermination efforts. He employed unconventional diplomatic tactics, including issuing thousands of protective passes and establishing neutral Swedish "safe houses," personally assisting many Jews facing deportation. In January 1945, as Soviet forces entered Hungary, Wallenberg was escorted out of Budapest by Russian troops and has been missing ever since. Despite Soviet reports of his death in 1945 and 1947, his fate remains unconfirmed, leading to international calls for information, Nobel Peace Prize recommendations, and honorary citizenships from the U.S., Canada, and Israel.