The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF) is a

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

which researches

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

rescuers and advocates for their recognition. The organization developed educational programs for school to promote peace and civil service. Founded by Baruch Tenembaum, it has offices in Buenos Aires, New York, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro and Jerusalem. The organization bears the name of

Raoul Wallenberg Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. 31 J ...

, a Swedish diplomat who saved Jews and other persecuted people in Hungary during the Holocaust. He was captured by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and his death has been the source of controversy and secrecy.

Research

IRWF is primarily a historical research organization, collecting information on different cases of rescuing during the Holocaust. As part of the research, the foundation gathers survivors saved by Wallenberg and others like him to interview them for the purposes of research and historic memory preservation. IRWF posts the transcripts online for others to read and use. IRWF also identifies and commemorates safe houses. House of life

It recently has pushed for researching more women saviors, dedicating a special section on their English language website for them. IRWF aims for its research subjects and honorees to gain official recognition by their local governments and organizations. In addition to Wallenberg, the IRWF has researched and honored numerous Rescuers of the Holocaust, such as: *

Carlo Angela Carlo Angela (9 January 1875 – 3 June 1949) was an Italian doctor, who has been recognized as a "Righteous Among the Nations" for his efforts during World War II in saving Jewish lives. He is the father of TV journalist and science writer Piero ...

Per Anger Per is a Latin preposition which means "through" or "for each", as in per capita. Per or PER may also refer to: Places * IOC country code for Peru * Pér, a village in Hungary * Chapman code for Perthshire, historic county in Scotland Mat ...

Princess Alice of Battenberg Princess Alice of Battenberg (Victoria Alice Elizabeth Julia Marie; 25 February 1885 – 5 December 1969) was the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, mother-in-law of Queen Elizabeth II, and the paternal grandmother of King Charles III ...

* Gitta Bauer *

Père Marie-Benoît Père Marie-Benoît (Anglicized, Father Mary Benedict; in Italian, known as Padre Maria Benedetto; 30 March 1895 – 5 February 1990) was born Pierre Péteul. As a Capuchin Franciscan friar he helped smuggle approximately 4,000 Jews into safety ...

* Andris Bērziņš *

Friedrich Born Friedrich Born (June 10, 1903, Langenthal, Canton of Bern, Switzerland – January 14, 1963) was a Swiss delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Budapest between May 1944 and January 1945, when he had to leave Hungary ...

* Gilberto Bosques Saldívar * Aracy de Carvalho Guimarães Rosa * Irene Gut Opdyke *

Jan Karski Jan Karski (24 June 1914 – 13 July 2000) was a Polish soldier, resistance-fighter, and diplomat during World War II. He is known for having acted as a courier in 1940–1943 to the Polish government-in-exile and to Poland's Western Allies ab ...

* Maria Kotarba *

Carl Lutz Carl Lutz (30 March 1895 – 12 February 1975) was a Swiss diplomat. He served as the Swiss Vice-Consul in Budapest, Hungary, from 1942 until the end of World War II. He is credited with saving over 62,000 Jews during the Second World War in a ...

* Necdet Kent * George Mantello * Dorothea Neff * Giovanni Palatucci *

Giorgio Perlasca Giorgio Perlasca (31 January 1910 – 15 August 1992) was an Italian businessman and former Fascist who, with the collaboration of official diplomats, posed as the Spanish consul-general to Hungary in the winter of 1944, and saved 5,218 Jews fr ...

Dimitar Peshev Dimitar Peshev ( bg, Димитър Пешев; 25 June 1894 – 20 February 1973) was the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Bulgaria and Minister of Justice (1935–1936), before World War II. He rebelled against the pro-Nazi cabinet and ...

* Eduardo Propper de Callejón * Angelo Roncalli *

Irena Sendler Irena Stanisława Sendler (), also referred to as Irena Sendlerowa in Poland, ''nom de guerre'' Jolanta (15 February 1910 – 12 May 2008), was a Polish humanitarian, social worker, and nurse who served in the Polish Underground Resista ...

Ho Feng-Shan Ho Feng-Shan ( 10 September 1901 – 28 September 1997) was a Chinese diplomat and writer for the Republic of China. When he was consul-general in Vienna during World War II, he risked his life and career to save "perhaps tens of thousands" of J ...

* Aristides de Sousa Mendes * Luis Martins de Souza Dantas * Suzanne Spaak *

Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat who served as vice-consul for the Japanese Empire in Kaunas, Lithuania. During the Second World War, Sugihara helped thousands of Jews flee Europe by issuing transit visas to them so that they could travel through ...

* Otto Weidt *

Nicholas Winton Sir Nicholas George Winton (born Wertheim; 19 May 1909 – 1 July 2015) was a British humanitarian who helped to rescue children who were at risk of being murdered by Nazi Germany. Born to German-Jewish parents who had emigrated to Britain at ...

Campaigns

The organization has many humanitarian campaigns. Aimed to put pressure on the Russian government to release an official statement of what happened to Wallenberg, IRWF created two campaigns. The 'Bring Raoul Home' campaign asks dignitaries to address Wallenberg’s case in the correspondence and official meetings with the Russian Government; and the '100,000 Names for 100,000 Lives' campaign, which aims to get 100,000 people to sign the petition who then will be conveyed to the Russian President. As of August 12, 2010, IRWF has gotten 27,204 signatures for its '100,000 Names for 100,000 Lives' campaign. Dignitaries that have written letters on Wallenberg's behalf include Argentine Congressman Federico Pinedo, American Researcher on the German resistance to the Third Reich Greg McClelland, the Nobel Prize Winners in Chemistry Paul J. Crutzen, Yuan T. Lee and Herbert A. Hauptman, President of the Republic of Croatia Stjepan Mesic, and Mayor of

Or Yehuda Or Yehuda ( he, אוֹר יְהוּדָה, ar, أور يهوده ) is a town in the Tel Aviv District of Gush Dan, Israel. In it had a population of . History Prehistory Human settlement back to the Chalcolithic has been found on the site.

(Israel)

Itzhak Buchovza Itzhak ( he, יצחק) is a Hebrew given name and surname, meaning Isaac. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Itzhak Arnon (1909–2005), Israeli agronomist * Itzhak Bars (born 1943), American theoretical physicist at the University ...

. IRWF also campaigns for public sites to be named after Wallenberg. Parks, streets and schools across the globe bear his name in the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Ecuador, Uruguay and others.

The arts

IRWF has an art gallery in its New York City Headquarters, where it exhibits work done by Holocaust survivors or those who have been inspired by Rescuers of the Holocaust. The Foundation will often co-organize film screenings and theatre productions based on Wallenberg and other rescuers. In April, 2010, the IRWF commissioned an exhibit by painter

Peter Bulow Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

. The exhibit "Blessings May Break from Stone" featured statues of Raoul Wallenberg and

Luiz Martins de Souza Dantas Luiz Martins de Souza Dantas (17 February 1876 – 14 April 1954) was a Brazilian diplomat who was awarded the title Righteous Among the Nations by the Supreme Court of Israel in June 2003, for his actions during World War II in helping Jew ...

. Bulow's mother is a Holocaust survivor from Budapest, Hungary.

Education

IRWF has created many different educational programs for different student levels. For middle school to higher education, there are resources for both students and teachers that are free for public use and easily accessible online. The program emphasizes the values of courage and integrity.

Wallenberg Day

The organization has advocated for having October 5, the date in which Wallenberg became an Honorary American citizen, proclaimed as Raoul Wallenberg Day across the U.S. The purpose of the commemorative day is to promote peace and the values that come with

humanitarianism Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...

, while remembering Wallenberg and his deeds. The day is recognized annually in the State of New York and the IRWF campaigns had led to Wallenberg Days proclamations in Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

References

External links

* {{Authority control International nongovernmental organizations Holocaust commemoration International organisations based in Argentina