17 June 2011 HIS NAME WAS RAOUL WALLENBERG: COURAGE, RESCUE, AND MYSTERY DURING WORLD WAR II by Louise Borden, Houghton Mifflin, January 2012, 144p., ISBN: 978-0-618-50755-9
"Raoul told Per that he had an even better idea:
the Swedes would change the letter of protection
into a blue and yellow passport.
They would keep the three crowns of Sweden
but add a photo of the passport holder
and the Swedish minister's personal signature.
Raoul hoped that the Nazis
would respect a fancy document.
"The two friends decided to call the new document
a schutzpass...
schutz for protection
and pass for passport.
The words would be typed
in both German and Hungarian:
This person has plans to travel to Sweden...
Until the date of departure,
he and his family and his property
are under the protection
of the Royal Swedish Government."
From San Francisco's famed Fillmore Auditorium on Geary Boulevard, it is a short walk over to Raoul Wallenberg Traditional High School. In addition to being a fine educational institution, Wallenberg High, which opened in 1981, has gained notice as a popular skateboarding center. According to Wikipedia, "The Wallenberg 4,' a large 4-step staircase at the high school, is a very popular skateboarding spot" where "pro skater Chris Cole did his famous tre flip."
There is a 1944 photo of Raoul Wallenberg in Wikipedia which reveals a prematurely balding 32-year old who has the look of a mild-mannered professorial or accountant sort-of-a-guy. Wikipedia explains that Wallenberg saved tens of thousands of lives and that there are streets and monuments in his honor all over the world.
HIS NAME WAS RAOUL WALLENBERG is a fascinating work of narrative nonfiction, told in prose poetry, and filled with photographs, about the first 32 years of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg's life. What happened to Wallenberg after that remains a mystery.
This is a cruel and ironic mystery. Wallenberg scammed every which way to protect Hungarian Jews in Budapest from being taken away and exterminated like the other millions of Jews who died in the Holocaust. By issuing his schutzpasses and then housing more and more Jews in the apartment buildings he rented in Budapest and put under the protection of the Swedish government, Wallenberg hoped to stave off disaster until the approaching Russian Army could defeat the Germans in Hungary. And then, just as Budapest was liberated by the Russians, Wallenberg and his driver were taken into custody by Russian Army intelligence and never seen again.
HIS NAME WAS RAOUL WALLENBERG is the story of how a boy in Stockholm, born into a famous banking family, would find himself educated, equipped, and in the position to save so many lives. In the process of reading his story, we learn a lot about Sweden and about the complex alliances of WWII.
And we learn how some people really "walk the walk," putting their hearts into helping others, no matter what the consequences.
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