Szabolcs Szita: The rescue actions of Raoul Wallenberg in Budapest
In our era, only a few people gained such a unanimous recognition and respect among peoples like the Swedish diplomat Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg. He served as first secretary of the Royal Swedish Legation in Budapest from the beginning of July 1944. Here he experienced the turns of the German occupation of Hungary: government changes, the Arrow Cross terror, the long-continued siege of the capital, and the occupation by the Soviet troops. During this half year he saved thousands of people from certain death. He had risked his life for others, and has become an outstanding personality as a wartime saviour. He could never enjoyed the lasting gratitude of his protégées and honourers, because in January 1945, together with his chauffeur and confidential colleague, the Hungarian engineer Vilmos Langfelder, he was arrested by the Soviet military authorities and deported from Budapest to Moscow. The further fate of Wallenberg remains a mystery and is partly unclear to this day. There is no evidence on his death.