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onsdag 21 mars 2012 | heroes
2012 – The Raoul Wallenberg Year
In 1944, Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg helped tens of thousands — some say as many as 100,000 people — escape persecution and almost certain death when Nazi forces invaded Hungary during World War II. This year, the 100th anniversary of Wallenberg’s birth will be commemorated by events in Sweden and around the world. The celebration of Wallenberg’s life and work began on January 17 with the opening of the Raoul Wallenberg exhibition, “To Me There is No Other Choice,” at the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest. Throughout 2012, the exhibition will travel to New York; Washington, D.C.; Moscow; Tel Aviv; Berlin and Toronto. August 4, Wallenberg’s birthday, will be marked by worldwide events including a party in his hometown on the island of Lidingö in the Stockholm archipelago. Also on August 4, a section of 13th Avenue in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, will be renamed in Wallenberg’s honour. Click here for a full calendar of events. "We can honor him best by passing on to new generations knowledge about both Raoul Wallenberg as a person and the importance of individual responsibility and personal courage in crucial situations," said Olle Wästberg, the Swedish government's coordinator for the Raoul Wallenberg Year 2012. The Raoul Wallenberg Year 2012 has been organised by a national committee in Sweden, headed by Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt. Other partners and participants in Sweden include: the Swedish Institute, the Living History Forum, the Army Museum and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Lund. For more information, visit www.raoulwallenberg2012.se. |
