Ceremonies in N.y., L.a. Mark 40th Anniversary of Wallenberg’s Arrest

A ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the arrest by the Soviet Union of Raoul Wallenberg, the Christian Swedish diplomat who rescued more than 100,000 Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust, was held today at City Hall.

Mayor Edward Koch issued a proclamation declaring today January 17, “Raoul Wallenberg Day.” He presented the proclamation to Rachel Oestreicher Haspel, president of the Raoul Wallenberg Committee of U.S. in affiliation with the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith.

The ceremony was attended by members of Wallenberg’s family and by several Hungarian Jews who were rescued by him. It was addressed, in addition to Koch, by the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Jeane Kirkpatrick; Swedish Consul General in New York Magnus Faxen; and Rep. Bill Green (R.N.Y.).

KOCH CITES AN IRONY

Koch said that “it is a cruel irony that Wallenberg risked his life to save thousands of strangers from the death camps, only to be lost himself in the camps of the Gulag Archipelago” of the Soviet Union.

But, Koch added, “Those who tried to silence Wallenberg have failed. Forty years after his disappearance, his memory and the meaning of life live on. Through each and every one of us, his voice grows stronger with each passing year.”

The Mayor proposed that public pressure be put on the Soviet Union in order to determine Wallenberg’s fate. “I propose that all of us here today begin a very simple campaign in which our weapon will be postcards–sending one ourselves and asking others to do the same. These postcards should be sent to the Soviet Union’s Mission to the UN, located at 136 East 67th Street, N.Y. 10021 N.Y. And on those postcards should be written these four words: “Where is Raoul Wallenberg.”

VOWS CONTINUED U.S. EFFORTS

Kirkpatrick vowed that the United States will continue in its efforts to bring the Wallenberg case to the attention of the UN. She said that she will send a letter today to UN Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar requesting that President Reagan’s statement, which was issued today on behalf of Wallenberg, be circulated to all the delegates at the UN.

She said that Wallenberg’s rescue of Budapest Jewry “accomplished the impossible.” By saving the Jews from the death camps, “Wallenberg affirmed the humanity of Hungarian Jews,” Kirkpatrick declared.

The Swedish Consul General, Faxen, said that his country will continue in its effort to discover the true fate of Wallenberg.

Green said that efforts in the U.S. to learn the fate of Wallenberg will continue. But he said that dealing with the Soviet Union on the issue has been “frustrating.”

The ceremony concluded with Koch, Kirkpatrick and other participants taking turns ringing a bell 40 times in the rotunda of City Hall. The bell ringing took place at noon as bells around the world also rang to call attention to Wallenberg’s disappearance 40 years ago inside the Soviet Union. Cantor Howard Nevison of Temple Emanu-El blew the shofar.

Bells also rang in New York 40 times at noon at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Swedish Seamen’s Church and other institutions. Today’s ceremony at City Hall was jointly sponsored by the Wallenberg Committee and the ADL.

In special ceremonies at the Los Angeles City Hall today, a resolution declaring January 17 “Raoul Wallenberg Day” was received by Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, on behalf of the Wallenberg family. The resolution, adopted by the Los Angeles City Council, was introduced by Councilman Art Snyder. It stated in part: “Raoul Wallenberg Day should be a day of celebration, sadness, hope and comfort for the proof of fellowship and life-giving offered by Wallenberg.” It called for consideration that Wallenberg be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.