— “Raoul Wallenberg had a unique lifestyle. He spoke

German in a strange way. It sounded like a kind of jargon
an American businessman would speak. But it suited him in

a special way, just as his windbreaker did, or his soft felt

hat, or later his grey steel helmet and sleeping bag did.
“His way of talking gave one a feeling of temporariness,
- as if it wanted to emphasize that what was happening was
only an episode, a temporary stop,these things which were

-- for us an extreme danger, the last battle.

“He felt a disdaintul joy toward risk and adventure, and
“had a strong feeling for good sportsmanship.

“One felt all of this instinctively, and perhaps because of
that it was in vain that he tried to hide his real self by
behaving like an American sportsman. This was a mask he
used to down-play his own personality. Despite this, his
co-workers were able to sense the hero behind the mask.

““And later, when developments forced him to rip off that

’ mask, suddenly Wallenberg the hero stood there. And_
nobody was surprised. “’
Palco Fogatsh, son of a coworker of
Raoul Wallenberg, June 26, 1946,
at a memorial concert in Budapest.

Forty one years ago last week, Swedish diplomat Raoul
Wallenberg was taken into ‘‘protective custody’’ by the
Soviet Army as they liberated Hungary from the Nazis.
Probably the greatest unsung hero of the second world war,
Wallenberg had almost single-handedly been responsible,
through the Swedish Embassy, for saving nearly 100,000
Hungarian Jews from the Nazi death machine. But the man
who saved so many could not save himself. He disappeared
into the Soviet prisons, and has never returned. The
Swedish government believes he is still alive, still in
prison, 41 years later.
~ But Wallenberg has not been forgotten. Last weekend,

The Other Press

 

oO save a hero

representatives of all levels of government and the official
opposition hosted Per Anger, former Swedish Ambassador
to Canada. Anger, who now heads the Raoul Wallenberg
Foundation, was here in Vancouver to dedicate a memorial
to Wallenberg in Queen Elizabeth Park.

An international effort, led by Sweden,, is being mounted
to pressure the Soviet Union into releasing Wallenberg.
Last year, a network mini-series staring Richard
Chamberlain brought Wallenberg’s story to over 60 million
people in North America alone. Both Canada and the United
States have declared Wallenberg an honorary citizen, which

means that both the US and Canadian governments can now | S

join Sweden in formally requesting the release of a citizen.
Other countries are expected to follow.

The Douglas College Student Senate has sent a letter to
,External Affairs minister Joe Clark to press the Soviets for
his release. They have also sent letters to the student bodies |
of the other colleges and universities of Canada, urging |
them to send similair letters. ;

Per Anger believes we have a narrow ‘‘window of
opportunity’’ available now for Wallenberg’s release. The
Soviets denied having arrested Wallenberg at all until 1952,
when they suddenly changed their story - but said he had
died in 1947, of a heart attack. But since then, there has
been a considerable mass of evidence that he has remained
alive to this day.

Anger noted that Brezhnev and those of his generation
were deeply tied up in the affair, and would never have
considered facing the embarassment of admitting
Wallenberg was still alive. But Gorbachev is in his first year
of office, not yet personally tied in . He also has a strong
public relations flair, and it is possible, Anger believes, that
if Gorbachev feels he would make enough ‘good press’, he
might consider a release.

“But next year may be too late.’’ by Jeremy Bloom

DOUGLAS COLLEGE STUDENT SOCIETY
will hold a

SPECIAL 7
GENERAL MEETING

on FEB. 13 12:00—2:00 ROOM 2201

© It's your money come and vote on how it is spent! $

 

 

January 31, 1986 page 9