While Raoul was in Budapest, he affected many people's lives from Jewish orphans to Adolf Eichmann himself. Presented here are just a few of the interesting personal accounts that testify to the kind of man this Angel of Rescue really was.
Joni Moser
"I was Wallenberg's errand boy. As I spoke
German as well as Hungarian I could pass through barriers and
therefore was well equipped to be a messenger." Moser tells of the
day that Wallenberg learned of 800 Jewish labour service men who were
being marched to Mauthausen. He drove with Wallenberg to the march.
Wallenberg asked that those with Swedish passports raise their hands.
"On his order, I ran between the ranks and told the men to raise
their hands, whether they had a passport or not. He then claimed
custody of all who had raised their hands and such was his bearing
that none of the Hungarian guards opposed him. The extraordinary
thing was the absolutely convincing power of his behavior."
Sandor
Ardai
Sandor Ardai took turns being Raoul's
personal driver, with Vilmos Langfelder, for about a month and a
half. One day in November, he drove Wallenberg to a train station
where a train load of Jews was about to leave for Auschwitz.
Wallenberg forced his way past the SS officers. "Then he climbed up
on the roof of the train and began handing in protective passes
through the doors which were not yet sealed. He ignored orders from
the Germans for him to get down, then the Arrow Cross men began
shooting and shouting at him to go away. He ignored them and calmly
continued handing out passports to the hands that were reaching out
for them....after Wallenberg had handed over the last of the
passports he ordered all those who had one to leave the train and
walk to a caravan of cars parked nearby, all marked in Swedish
colours....the Germans and Arrow Cross were so dumbfounded they let
him get away with it!"
Tibor and Agnes Vandor
Tibor and his wife, Agnes were employees
of Wallenberg. Mrs. Vandor was about to have a baby. All hospitals
were barred to Jews and the houses were highly overcrowded.
Wallenberg found a doctor and took the Vandors to his flat on Ostrom
Street. There, he gave young Agnes his bed and went into the hallway
to sleep. In the early morning, the doctor announced the arrival of
Yvonne Maria Eva. The Vandors asked Raoul to be her godfather and he
graciously accepted.
Thirty-five years later, the incident was described in a Toronto
newspaper in an article about Wallenberg. Mrs. Yvonne Singer
recognized the incident as the story of her own birth. She was
baffled because her parents had always denied their Jewish roots, in
hopes of blotting out a part of them that had only brought suffering.
She was raised Christian and when she grew up and fell in love with a
Jewish man, her parents forbade her to marry him. She defied them,
and converted to Judaism herself. For her to find out that she was
actually Jewish by birth was a twist of irony.
Lars Berg and Gote Carlsson
Lars and Gote also worked with Raoul at
the Swedish legation. Wallenberg, one night had invited his
rival Adolf Eichmann and his deputy, Krumey, to dinner in hopes of
finding out his weaknesses. Eichmann accepted. On the evening of the
dinner, Wallenberg had gotten caught up in some business and forgot.
He arrived just as Eichmann and Krumey got out of their car. He had no
food to serve and had given his manservant the night off. Wallenberg
quickly phoned Berg and Carlsson who lived nearby in a house rented
from a nobleman who had left the city. They had access to his
immaculate dinnerware as well as his servants. As Berg recalls:
"There was no panic in my house....[it] was fully equipped......Raoul
arrived with his Germans.... Thanks to our excellent cook the dinner
was a success."
After dinner, the two Germans and three Swedes moved into the living
room in which they engaged in political discussion. Berg describes
the encounter: "Wallenberg, who on this occasion had no special wish
to negotiate with Eichmann, started a discussion about Nazism and the
likely outcome of the war. Fearlessly and brilliantly he picked Nazi
doctrine apart, piece by piece, and foretold the total defeat of its
adherents.....I think his intention was not so much to put his own
views forward as to pass on a warning to Eichmann that he would do
well to stop the deportation and extermination of the Hungarian
Jews." Eichmann was taken aback by Wallenberg's bold attack on him
and the Fuhrer. After pitching weak propaganda phrases, he finally
said: " 'I admit that you are right, Herr Wallenberg. I have never
believed in Nazism, as such, but it has given me power and wealth. I
know that this pleasant life of mine will soon be over. My planes
will no more bring me women and wine from Paris, or delicacies from
the Orient. My horses, my dogs, my luxurious quarters here in
Budapest will soon be taken over by the Russians and I myself, as an
SS officer will be shot on the spot. For me there will be no escape,
but if I obey my orders from Berlin and exercise my power harshly
enough I may prolong my respite for some time here in Budapest. I
warn you therefore, Herr Legationssekretar, that I will do my best to
stop you, and your Swedish diplomatic passport will not help you if I
find it necessary to have you removed. Accidents do happen, even to a
neutral diplomat.'" With that, Eichmann bid Wallenberg a polite
farewell. Shortly after the night of their dinner, a heavy truck
rammed Wallenberg's car and sped away. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Eichmann was apparently
responsible.
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