Raw power has been used by tyrants for centuries to accomplish their evil intentions. These cruel rulers establish some principle and then declare that it represents truth. Anyone opposing this unjust measure is therefore said to be an enemy of the state.
We see an obvious example of this in the Books of Maccabees, where the Jews were oppressed by a foreign government. In the 20th century there are many examples of this calculated malevolence, none more obvious than the Holocaust.
When such dire peril falls on a society, people react in many different ways. Some participate in the oppression, others ignore it, hoping it will go away, but some brave souls fight against tyranny. These heroic people give saintly examples of literally giving up their lives for others.
At the end of World War II, Raoul Wallenberg was one such man. Louise Borden tells his courageous and heartbreaking story in this splendidly written biography, "His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg."
Born in 1912 in Sweden, Raoul Wallenberg came from a family of wealthy businessmen and bankers. Though his father died while Raoul was still an infant, his grandfather lovingly looked after the child. Eventually his widowed mother remarried and Raoul was blessed with a generous stepfather. Young Wallenberg was gifted in languages and excelled in school. Desiring to know more about the world, Raoul left Sweden and studied at the University of Michigan. Returning home some years later, he began working for an international trading company. But this happy interlude was about to end because of the dark clouds being spread across Europe by Adolph Hitler.
With the outbreak of World War II, Wallenberg’s Sweden found itself in the happy position of neutrality. But it soon became obvious that others weren’t so lucky. After several years the terrifying information about the Holocaust was known by governmental leaders. Pleas were made to the Swedish government to send a diplomat to Hungary to try to save the Jews of that country. The government knew that a courageous man gifted in languages would be needed for this task. They asked Raoul Wallenberg to immediately go to Budapest and save as many people as possible. He accepted at once.
In Budapest, Wallenberg immediately began issuing hundreds of Schutzpasses (protective passports) to the endangered Jews. So many were issued that the Nazis and their diabolical Hungarian sycophants, the Arrow Cross, finally demanded the Swedish diplomat stop this process. They said that only 4,500 Schutzpasses could be now issued. Ever resourceful, Wallenberg then developed collective Schutzpasses that included the names of every member of the family on the same document.
Fighting daily against the horror that was falling on Hungary, Raoul delayed trains, had Jews removed from the deportation lists and slowed down the processing of the Holocaust victims. He even had certain buildings declared to be under Swedish control and flew the flag of Sweden on them. In this heroic work, he was aided by many other officials including the Vatican Nuncio to Hungary, Archbishop Angelo Rotto.
When the Nazi defeat became certain, General Gerhard Schmidhuber was given orders to machine gun the remaining Jews in Budapest. Partially because of Wallenberg’s work and influence, he disobeyed these commands and actually ordered the capture of the SS men and Arrow Cross thugs sent to commit the murders.
After the German defeat, Wallenberg then met with officers from the Red Army. One day he suddenly vanished. What do we know about his disappearance? Why was Wallenberg arrested by the Russians? What seems to be the most likely explanation? Why did some countries, including Sweden, show so little courage in investigating his disappearance?
And finally, what does Our Lord really mean when He says: "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (Jn 15:13)?
I hope you take the opportunity to read this outstanding biography of one of the heroes of the 20th century. I am sure that the life of Raoul Wallenberg will be an inspiration to you and your family.
