Remembering Wallenberg

When I was in Israel in July, I received an email from the Brazilian Jewish magazine Morasha, requesting that I do an article commemorating the 100th birthday in August of Holocuast hero Raoul Wallenberg.   I was known as a Wallenberg expert in Brazil due to my many lectures and media appearances about him when I lived there as a US consul and was responsible for the building of a commemmorative square in Rio de Janeiro.   Following is the Portuguese version of the Morasha article followed by the English original.

 

A história de Wallenberg segue adiante em virtude da estranha maneira pela qual ele sai de cena e a incapacidade das autoridades russas em esclarecer plenamente se, onde e como ele teria falecido, apesar de termos que pressupor que ele não poderia continuar vivo, com 100 anos, nas implacáveis condições das prisões do Gulag soviético. Tampouco faria sentido para os russos, com o fim da União Soviética há mais de 30 anos, continuar a mantê-lo, propositalmente. O grupo de defesa pró Wallenberg de maior destaque, o Comitê Wallenberg dos Estados Unidos, não apenas apregoou seu papel de herói, mas também tem sido o maior paladino junto com alguns membros de sua família no empenho por encontrá-lo ou sequer obter informações acerca de seu paradeiro. Esse Comitê jamais aceitou qualquer das explicações oficiais do destino final de Wallenberg, pois estas sempre foram maculadas, de alguma forma. As primeiras informações soviéticas sobre sua morte na prisão, em 1947, foram desmentidas por inúmeros relatos de seus companheiros de cárcere, que alegaram tê-lo encontrado ou visto posteriormente a essa data. Apesar de os soviéticos originalmente alegarem que ele morrera de um ataque do coração, em 2000, o novo governo russo admitiu que ele havia sido executado. A família de Wallenberg, no entanto, nunca aceitou tais explicações sem alguma evidência comprovada por documentos, mas as autoridades russas afirmam que tais documentos foram destruídos nos expurgos de Stalin.

Qual o significado de Wallenberg? A lição fundamental é que todo ser humano é responsável pelo resto da humanidade. Uma pessoa pode fazer a diferença. O Talmud diz: “Quem destrói uma alma, é considerado como se tivesse destruído o mundo inteiro. E quem salva uma vida, é considerado como se tivesse salvo o mundo inteiro”. John Donne, o poeta inglês do século 18 escreveu: “Nenhum homem é uma ilha, isolado em si mesmo; todo homem é um pedaço do continente... A morte de qualquer homem me diminui, porque sou parte do gênero humano, e por isso não me perguntes por quem os sinos dobram; eles dobram por ti”. Neste poema se inspirou Ernest Hemingway, em seu romance mais popular, sobre a Guerra Civil espanhola. A famosa citação de Sir Edmund Burke, “Tudo o que é necessário para o triunfo do mal é que os homens de bem nada façam”, é, via de regra, identificada com o legado de Wallenberg. Ao contrário da maioria do gênero humano, ele estava disposto a se sacrificar para salvar seus semelhantes.

A história de Wallenberg é profundamente ligada à questão do Holocausto. Como pôde um tal assassinato em massa, brutal, organizado e desumano, ser executado pelo governo do que era, até então, considerado um país “civilizado”, com o apoio de tantos de seus concidadãos e outros tantos colaboracionistas espalhados por toda a Europa? Mas não se pode entender o Holocausto sem entender a história do povo judeu e do antissemitismo, dos guetos e dos direitos restringidos. Não se pode entender a importância da criação de Israel como Lar Nacional dos judeus ou a história do sionismo sem entender a história que conduziu ao Holocausto e que comprovou que os judeus jamais estariam a salvo sem ter sua própria Pátria. Minha recente viagem a Israel, a primeira em 40 anos, me deu uma clara ideia da luta dos judeus ao longo de milhares de anos em busca de sua própria identidade e sobrevivência. Contudo, apesar de ser o mais chocante e horrendo genocídio de toda a humanidade, a Shoá também serviu como lição para o futuro, fazendo surgir o brado raivoso de “Nunca mais!”.

 

Infelizmente, “Nunca mais” não serviu de compromisso suficiente para deter outros genocídios na Bósnia, Ruanda e, em escala menor, em conflitos étnicos por toda a África e, agora, no Oriente Médio. Ditadores usam seus exércitos para esmagar revoluções populares pacíficas. O mundo reagiu na Líbia. Mas teve um pouco mais de trabalho para lidar com o assassinato de milhares de civis na Síria. Em última análise, os problemas estratégicos internacionais sempre irão retardar ou evitar que a comunidade internacional, que opera através das Nações Unidas, se posicione e confronte os assassinatos em massa. Apesar de que muitas vezes, também dependa da boa vontade até mesmo de governos democráticos de se disporem a dedicar verbas gigantescas e vidas, no caso de uma intervenção no exterior. Dá para entender o desgaste de guerra, digamos, dos Estados Unidos, após lutar as guerras do Iraque e Afeganistão. No entanto, moralmente não se pode adotar a posição de que estamos muito cansados para sair em defesa dos indefesos e apoiar uma mudança pacífica e democrática. Quando dissemos “Nunca mais”, estávamos falando a verdade! Mas, podemos ser honestos com nossa consciência quando confrontados com crises difíceis e onerosas? Mas, voltemos a Wallenberg. Qual a sua conexão com o Brasil e como me envolvi no empenho para torná-lo conhecido no País? Fiquei totalmente arrebatado com sua história quando a li, pela primeira vez, no início da década de 1980. Sendo neto de imigrantes judeus húngaros aos Estados Unidos, no início do século 20, fiquei comovido com o destino dos judeus húngaros durante o Holocausto e o papel de Wallenberg em salvar os que tinham sobrevivido. Meu interesse também foi impulsionado pela vergonha com a atitude dos países do Ocidente, que nada fizeram para salvar os judeus na Europa antes que se formasse o Conselho de Refugiados de Guerra, que decidiu recrutar Wallenberg. Como diplomata americano, com certo envolvimento no combate ao fascismo na América Latina – estive envolvido na Bolívia na captura de Klaus Barbie e na prisão e extradição do terrorista fascista italiano responsável pela explosão na estação de trem em Bolonha, Itália, em 1980, também admirava as habilidades diplomáticas de Wallenberg ao conseguir arrancar os judeus de Budapeste das garras dos carrascos nazistas   Àquela época, antes de ser destacado para quela A destacado para servir no Brasil pela segunda vez, em 1985, mantive contato com o Comitê Raoul Wallenberg dos Estados Unidos, especialmente com sua Diretora Executiva, Rachel Ostreicher, que me informou que eu poderia contatar um dos antigos colegas suecos de Wallenberg enquanto servia em Budapeste, que, na ocasião, era o Cônsul Geral da Suécia no Rio de Janeiro. Eu, na verdade, somente cheguei ao Rio em 1987, porque inicialmente fui designado para chefiar o Consulado americano na Bahia. Mas, antes de chegar ao Rio, tinha tido a grande oportunidade de assistir a uma palestra, em São Paulo, do então recém-agraciado com o Prêmio Nobel, Elie Wiesel, que me serviu de grande inspiração. Elie Wiesel enfatizara a importância da memória. Portanto, ao chegar ao Rio, encontrei-me com Lars Berg, que me deu todas as suas anotações sobre Wallenberg e eu tomei a decisão de que faria todo o possível para promover a memória de Wallenberg, que já havia sido declarado Cidadão Honorário dos Estados Unidos – o único além de Winston Churchill. Inicialmente, meu envolvimento foi bastante inocente. Quando um diplomata judeu americano sai em missão no exterior, geralmente é convidado pela comunidade judaica local para lhes falar sobre algum assunto. Diante de tal convite, eu respondi que o único assunto que me interessava discutir era o caso de Raoul Wallenberg e seu inexplicado desaparecimento. Iniciando com uma palestra para a B’nai B’rith de São Paulo, fui também convidado para falar para a B’nai B’rith do Rio e para a Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil. De repente, estava eu falando sobre Wallenberg para uma estação de rádio e para a televisão. Até que, minhas conversas com membros da Câmara de Vereadores do Rio de Janeiro, especialmente com a então Vereadora Neuza Amaral, muito sensível à causa judaica, levaram à aprovação de uma lei que criou a Praça Raoul Wallenberg. Mas eu não me iludia, aprovar a lei era uma coisa, mas os recursos para construir a praça, eram outra. Quis o destino que um dia em que eu almoçava com o Cônsul Lars Berg no então restaurante Rio’s, no Aterro do Flamengo, quando o Prefeito da Cidade, Marcello Alencar, se aproximou. Eu tinha-me tornado bom amigo do Prefeito antes mesmo de sua eleição e o apresentei a Berg, contando-lhe de quão esperançosos estávamos de ver a “nossa” Praça Wallenberg ser erguida. Naquele interim, eu tinha andado procurando o melhor lugar para a tal da praça, e tinha tido a ideia de falar com o jovem rabino brasileiro e carioca, Nilton Bonder. Este sugerira um terreno adjunto à sua sinagoga, na Barra da Tijuca, a Congregação Judaica do Brasil. Entabulamos, então, as negociações com os vizinhos do terreno, que era usado como um campo de futebol pela garotada da vizinhança. Sugeri que mantivéssemos a praça como local de esportes e juventude, desenvolvendo o campo de futebol e montando mesas de xadrez e equipamentos de ginástica. A ideia foi aceita por todos. Pouco tempo depois, minha missão no Rio chegava a seu fim. Tive outro encontro com o Prefeito, no qual ele me disse: “Não se preocupe, Daniel, vamos construir a sua praça”. Fiquei entusiasmo, mas deixei o Brasil sem saber o que iria acontecer. Portanto, fiquei muito surpreso e feliz ao receber um telefonema, um ano depois, em 1992, do Rio, me informando que a praça ia ser inaugurada dali a algumas semanas. Pediam-me que redigisse o texto da placa comemorativa, o que fiz com grata satisfação. Infelizmente não pude ir ao Rio para o evento inaugural, mas recebi fotos e relatórios e escrevi um breve artigo para a Revista do Departamento de Estado dos EUA. A placa foi roubada inúmeras vezes apenas pelo valor do bronze no qual é confeccionada, sendo sempre refeita. A Praça Wallenberg ainda existe, apesar de provavelmente não ter recebido muita atenção nestes últimos 20 anos. No entanto, o Rabino Bonder me contou, recentemente, que a Praça continua intacta e que com a expansão de sua sinagoga, ficará ainda mais integrada à vida de sua congregação. Seria realmente uma bênção se seu nome aparecesse nos mapas da cidade, fazendo jus a quem lhe deu o nome. Wallenberg continua vivo em outro sentido. Minha mulher e eu vivemos, hoje, em Norfolk, Virgínia, onde uma comunidade judaica pequena, mas vibrante, mantém as instituições locais. Nossa própria sinagoga, a Beth El, tem mais de 150 anos, e é uma das oito primeiras sinagogas que fundaram o Movimento Conservador Americano. A celebração anual do Dia do Holocausto consegue encher o recinto com os membros locais e os honrosos sobreviventes que vivem na redondeza e muitos alunos e professores que estudam o Holocausto como parte de um programa educacional patrocinado pela Comissão do Holocausto. Este ano, em uma cerimônia realizada em nossa sinagoga, o principal orador foi Thomas Weisshaus, um dos judeus húngaros salvos ainda menino por Raoul Wallenberg. Conheci, também, outra mulher jovem cuja família inteira também foi salva por Wallenberg. Cada uma dessas pessoas, mundo afora, deve sua existência a Raoul Wallenberg. Que melhor tributo poderia haver em sua memória? Daniel Strasser aposentado é diplomata americano . Foi Cônsul no Rio de Janeiro e Salvador (BA). Atualmente, Strasser é analista político e expert em governança sob contrato para o Estado Maior Conjunto das Forças Armadas dos EUA, Diretório de Exercícios e Treinamento, com sede em Hampton Roads, Virginia. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   The Centennial of Raoul Wallenberg A Commemoration for Humanity Daniel A. Strasser Retired US diplomat and former consul in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador da Bahia* On August 4, the world celebrated the one hundredth birthday of Holocaust Hero Raoul Wallenberg.   In reality, the activities to remember this great man have been rather modest, given his contribution to humanity and humanitarianism. Yes, a symposium was held in late J une at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum founded and a small exhibit, but when I visited the museum in early July, there was not one book on him in the bookstore nor signs of any special acknowledgement of this commemoration. Also, I have had the distinct sense that while Wallenberg was well known in the 1980s, particularly after a TV miniseries with actor Richard Chamberlain was shown, and the  and 90s, when streets, monuments and statues were  dedicated to him, a good deal public recognition of unique standing among Holocaust heros has been overshadowed by the success of the movie Schindler’s List. However, Wallenberg must be remembered as the greatest savior of Jewish lives during the Holocaust, responsible for saving approximately100,000 Jews in Budapest during the brief period of six months from July 1944 to January 1945 when he was arrested by the conquering Red Army as it moved into Budapest and disappeared behind a wall of silence erected by the Soviets.  What makes Wallenberg’s role doubly gripping is not only that he so used every personal and  diplomatic asset at his disposal to save Jews, but he then  became the victim of a tyranny equally brutal from which no power on earth was capable of saving him the  way he saved others.  He went from hero to victim and  his fate then became a vehicle for thousands of people  whom he inspired to try to rescue him.   Failing that,  our only possible avenue is to remember and honor him. Who was Wallenberg and how did he come to be a rescuer of Jews?    Wallenberg was a Swede from one  of most prominent and wealthy Swedish banking and industrial families who lived a privileged early life, despite the hardship that his father died of cancer before he was born.   He studied in Paris and was able to come to the United States as a student of  architecture at the University of Michigan, from which he graduated while using his time to travel extensively  around the US.  He worked in foreign commerce and banking first in South Africa and then in   *Mr. Strasser is currently a contract political analyst  and governance expert for the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Exercise and Training Directorate based in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Haifa, Israel.  Returning to Sweden in 1936, he worked  in a trading company owned by a Hungarian Jew, Kalman Lauer.  As anti-Jewish laws in Hungary prevented this gentleman from returning there, Wallenberg travelled frequently to Budapest on company business and to help Mr. Lauer’s family, eventually becoming a co-owner  in the firm.   Persecution of the Hungarian Jews became more dire when Germany decided that the pro-Nazi government was negotiating secretly with the allies and invaded Hungary  in March 1944, beginning wholesale deportation of Hungary’s Jews.  Although much of the Holocaust had been unknown or ignored until this point,US and Western concern for the Jews increased with publication of reports of concentration camps, and the War Refugee Board was created by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.   The WRB sent an emissary to  Sweden to ask that neutral government to appoint an individual  to its Embassy in Budapest whose role would be to save the remaining Jews of Hungary.   Young Wallenberg, nominated by his business partner, Lauer, a prominent member of the Swedish Jewish Community, was the obvious choice once Sweden agreed to send him as a consul to Sweden with diplomatic privileges. Once in Budapest, Wallenberg lost no time in seeking to save Jews.  Wallenberg issued special passes to Jews that declared them under the protection of the Swedish government. Although given a limit by the Hungarian government, he exceeded it many fold.    He also created apartment houses for Jews that were under Swedish protection recognized by the Hungarian governmen t and later the Nazi occupiers. He used an ample fund of dollars provided by the WRB to “convince” people to agree with him.  Wallenberg went out to save Jews from being shipped to the concentration camps, actually going out to the trains to pull Jews off the cattle cars. He also pulled them away from so-called death marches.  One of the most fascinating stories of the Wallenberg rescue activities was that this almost pure humanitarian was confronted by one of the most evil possible adversaries in Budapest: Adolph Eichmann.   Just as Wallenberg had been sent to Budapest to save Jews, Eichmann, who a quarter century later would be kidnapped by Israel from Argentina and tried and hanged for war crimes, was assigned the job of exterminating  them.  As a young officer, it was Eichmann who took the notes at the infamous Wannsee Conference of Nazi leaders, at which the “Final Solution”(extermination) to the “Jewish Problem” was made official.  The two even had a dramatic dinner together, a test of their wills to confront and outwit one another. The story of Wallenberg carries on because of the strange manner  in which he disappeared and the failure of Russian authorities to fully clear up whether, when or how he died, although one must assume that he could not still be alive at 100 under the harsh conditions of imprisonment in the Soviet gulag.  Nor would it make sense for the Russians after the end of the Soviet Union over 30 years ago to continue to knowingly hold him.  The most prominent group advocating for Wallenberg, the Wallenberg Committee of the United States, has not only heralded his role as a hero but been the main champion along with some members of the Wallenberg family of efforts to find him or information about his whereabouts.  It has never accepted any of the official explanations of Wallenberg’s final fate because  these have always been flawed in some way.  Early Soviet explanations of his death in prison in 1947 were contradicted by numerous stories of fellow prisoners who claim to have met or seen him more recently.  Although  the Soviets originally claimed he had died of a heart attack, in 2000, the new Russian government admitted that he had been executed.  Wallenberg’s family, however, never accepted such explanations without some documentary evidence, but Russian authorities  say such documents were destroyed in Stalin’s purges. What is the meaning of Wallenberg?  The fundamental lesson is that all human beings have a responsibility to the rest of humanity.  One person can make a difference.  The Talmud says: “Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world."   John Donne, the 18th Century English poet wrote “No man is an island entire of himself.  Each is a part of the continent. ..  Each man's death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know for whom the bell tolls, It tolls for ,” which inspired Ernest Hemingway’s most popular novel about the Spanish Civil War.   Sir Edmund Burke’s famous , that “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for men to do nothing” is often identified with Wallenberg’s legacy.  Unlike most men or women, Wallenberg was willing to sacrifice himself to save others. The Wallenberg story is deeply linked to the question of the Holocaust.  How could such brutal, organized, inhuman mass murder be carried out by the government of what had been considered a “civilized” country, with the support of many of its own people and other quislings around Europe?    But one cannot understand the Holocaust without understanding the history of the Jewish people and of Anti-Semitism, of ghettos and restricted rights.  One cannot understand the importanc e of the establishment of Israel as a home for the Jews or the history of Zionism without understanding the history that led up to the Holocaust which proved that the Jews could never be safe without their own home.   My recent trip to Israel, the first in forty years, provided me with a clear idea of the struggle of the Jews over of years for their own identity and survival.   However, while the  most shocking and horrible genocide known to humanity, it also served as a lesson for the future.  It would give rise to the saying, “Never again!” Unfortunately, “Never again” did not serve as enough of a commitment to stop other genocides in Bosnia, Rwanda and on a smaller scale in ethnic conflicts throughout Africa and now the Middle East.   Dictators use their armies to crush popular peaceful revolutions.  The world responded in Libya.  But it has had a more  difficult time dealing with the murder of thousands of civilians Syria.  Ultimately, international strategic issues will often delay or prevent the international community, working through the United Nations, to step forward and confront mass murder.  Often, though is also simply the willingness of even democratic governments to be ready to commit the enormous resources and lives required by foreign intervention.  One can understand the war weariness of, say the United States, after fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.   However, one cannot morally take the position that are too tired seek to defend the helpless and support peaceful, change. we said, “Never again,” we meant it.  But can we be honest with ourselves when confronted by difficult, costly crises? What is the connection between Wallenberg and Brazil and how did I become involved in an effort to remember Wallenberg in Brazil?   I totally swept up in the Wallenberg story when I first heard and read about it in the early 1980s.   As a grandchild of Hungarian Jewish immigrants to the United States in the early 20th century, I was moved by the fate of the Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust and Wallenberg’s role in saving those that remained.  My interest was driven by the shame that the countries of the West did nothing to save Jews in Europe before the War Refugee Board was formed and to recruit Wallenberg.  As an American diplomat, with some involvement in fighting fascism in Latin America (I was involved in in both the Klaus Barbie capture and the arrest and extradition of the Italian fascist terrorist responsible for blowing up the train station in Bologna, Italy in 1980), I also admired diplomatic skills in wrestling the Jews of Budapest away from the clutches of the Nazis.  At that time, before being assigned to Brazil for a second time in 1985, I maintained contact with the Raoul Wallenberg Committee of the US, especially its Executive Director, Rachel Ostreicher, who informed me that I could make contact with one of Wallenberg’s former Swedish colleages in Budapest, the then current Swedish Consul General in Rio de Janeiro, Lars Berg.  I actually did not arrive in Rio until 1987 because I was initially assigned to head the US consulate in Salvador da Bahia.  But before arriving in Rio, I also had the experience of attending a speech given by recently named Nobel Prize winner Elie Weisel in Sao Paulo, which deeply inspired me. Elie Weisel emphasized the importance of memory.  So once in Rio, I  met with Lars Berg who gave me all of his notes on Wallenberg and decided I would do what I could to promote the memory of Wallenberg, who had already been named an honorary US citizen, the only one besides Winston Churchill.  Initially, my involvement was quite innocent.  When a Jewish American diplomat goes abroad, he is often asked by the local Jewish community to speak to them on some subject.  When faced with such an invitation, I said the only subject I was interested in discussing was the case of Raoul Wallenberg and his continued disappearance.  Beginning with a speech to the B’nai B’rith of Sao Paulo, I was also asked to address the B’nai B’rith of Rio and the of Brazilian Lawyers of Brazil.  I also found myself invited to  talk about Wallenberg on radio and TV. Ultimately, conversations with members of the City Council of Rio led to the passage of a law establishing the Raoul Wallenberg Square in Rio de Janeiro.  But I knew that a law was one thing, but having the resources to build such a square was another.  As it happens,  one day I was having lunch with Lars Berg on the restaurant on Rio’s Aterro, when the Mayor of Rio, Marcello Alencar, walked by us.  I become a good friend of the Mayor even before his election and introduced him to Berg, telling him about the hope we had to see the Wallenberg Square built there.   In the meantime, I set about trying to find the best place for the square, and it occurred to me to to the young Brazilian born rabbi in Rio, Nilton Bonder.  Bonder suggested the land right next to his own synagogue in the Barra de Tijuca.  We then entered into a negotiation with the neighbors of the land which had been used as a soccer field by local youths.   I suggested we maintain the square as a place for sports and youth, developing the soccer field and setting up chess tables and gym equipment.  That was acceptable to them.   Shortly before my assignment  to Rio came to an end, I had another encounter with the mayor.  This time he said, “Don’t worry Daniel, we are going to build your square.”  was thrilled, but left Brazil not knowing what would happen.  Therefore, I was very surprised and pleased to receive a phone call a year later in 1992 from Rio, telling me the square would be inaugurated in a couple of weeks.  I was asked to write the text of the plaque to be dedicated, which I did with pleasure.   Unfortunately, I could not go to Rio for the event, but received photos and reports of it and wrote brief article for the State Department magazine.  Wallenberg Square still exists, although it has probably not received much attention over he past 20 years.  However, Rabbi Bonder has told me recently that it i s still in tact and that the expansion of his synagogue will make it even more integrated into the life of the congregation. Wallenberg remains alive in one sense.  My wife and I now live in Norfolk, Virginia where a small but vibrant Jewish community keeps up local institutions.   Our own synagogue, Beth El,  is over 150  years old, one of the original eight synagogues to found the American Conservative Movement.  An annual Holocaust celebration also brings a full house of attendance from the local community including honoring local survivors and many students and teachers who study the Holocaust as part of an educational  program sponsored by the Holocaust Commission.  This year at a ceremony held at our synagogue, the main speaker was Thomas Weisshaus, one of the Hungarian Jews rescued as a young boy by Wallenberg.   I also met another young woman whose entire family was saved by Wallenberg.  Every one of these people around the world owe their very existence to Wallenberg.  What better  tribute could there be to his memory?