Letters and Dispatches 1924-1944: The Man Who Saved Over 100,000 Jews, Centennial Edition

by Raoul Wallenberg

The best way to hear the story of Raoul Wallenberg is through his own words. Put together from three different collections, Letters and Dispatches is the most thorough book of Wallenberg s writings and letters. With his disappearance behind the Iron Curtain in January of 1945, he became tragically mysterious. While the story of Wallenberg has been told many times over, the best way we can possibly understand and relate to him is through his written word, which Letters and Dispatches has in full.

Genres: History, World War II, Biography

312 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 17, 1995

About the author

Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (B.A., Architecture, University of Michigan, 1935) was a businessman and diplomat who served as Sweden's special envoy in Nazi-occupied Budapest, Hungary, between July and December 1944, where he issued protective passports and sheltered Jews in buildings designated as Swedish territory.

On 17 January 1945, during the Siege of Budapest by the Soviet Red Army, Wallenberg was detained by SMERSH on suspicion of espionage and subsequently disappeared. He was later reported to have been imprisoned by the KGB secret police in the Lubyanka.

Due to this disappearance, the circumstances of Wallenberg's death remain mysterious. The Soviet government in 1957 released a document claiming that he had died of a a heart attack in prison on 17 July 1947. A 1991 investigation by the Russian government concluded that he had been executed that same year, and a KGB diary that came to light in 2016 referred to his 1947 "liquidation." However, there are reports, largely from other prisoners, of sightings as late as 1987, while Solzhenitsyn noted in 1973 that, "He has been imprisoned for thirty years and they will not give him up." Wallenberg's half-brother, Guy von Dardel, compiled 50,000 pages of interviews, journal articles, letters, and other documents related to his search for a definitive answer. In October 2016, the Swedish tax agency declared him dead in absentia, recording the date of his death as 31 July 1952, five years after he went missing.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan made Wallenberg an honorary citizen of the United States, an honor only previously extended to Winston Churchill. The same year, The Raoul Wallenberg Committee of the United States was created to "perpetuate the humanitarian ideals and the nonviolent courage of Raoul Wallenberg." On 26 July 2012, the United States Congress posthumously awarded Wallenberg the Congressional Gold Medal "in recognition of his achievements and heroic actions during the Holocaust."

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was largely composed of the letters exchanged between Wallenberg and his grandfather who mentored him through his youth into adulthood. His grandfather encouraged extensive travel and experiences in foreign countries, very unlike what any modern youth and experience. He was also encouraged to study a wide variety of things and to work in international banking. When his “moment” to serve happened during the German occupation of Hungary, all of this experienced allowed him to Cooly, thoughtfully and decisively serve the Jewish victims of the Nazis.

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

fascinating story of a holocaust hero who saved 100,000 lives and look at the holocaust in Hungary. I saw his memorial in Budapest as well as the memorial (bronzed shoes on the edge of the Danube) to 200 Jews shot into the Danube by the Arrow Cross, who wanted to kill him. Before this book i knew nothing about him.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

How Wallenberg grew into a savior

Reading the letters from his grandfather to the growing teenager, you can see how he was being prepared to become a great man.

[Virginia]

Thought that I would not like this book but very much did. Disappointed I won't be at the Book Club meeting to discuss it. Gave a thorough picture of the times in Europe prior to the second world war. Started off portraying the life of Raoul Wallenberg totally using the letters between him and his grandfather. Actually I thought it a pretty self-centered life. But then the story became sketchy as he amazingly protected and rescued thousands of Jews in Sweden at peril to his own life. Luckily another member found a good book HIS NAME WAS RAOUL WALLENBERG
LOUISE BORDEN which aptly fills in the time blank.

[Christel · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you happen to be a Raoul Wallenberg lover, this book gives insight into what his character was. It's more a research help than a poolside read. I appreciated the insight in this collection of his letters because I so deeply admire that hero.

[Catharine Ozols · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating

I've been reading this book, off and on, for a while. It complements what I have already read about Raoul Wallenberg in a way that helps you get to know him more personally. It makes me question what I would do if it became necessary to save people.

[Nan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read. Raoul Wallenberg seems unknown to many people. He was a true hero to the Hungarian Jews.