The family of Raoul Wallenberg, refusing to accept the official Russian statement on the diplomat’s death in a Moscow prison, still clings to the hope that he is still alive and being held somewhere in Russia by his Communist captors, it was learned today.
The hope and the parallel rejection of the report by the Swedish Government caused the cancellation of a memorial meeting which had been scheduled here this evening. The meeting, which the Swedish Minister had promised to attend, had been slated to hear lectures by Prof. Aryeh Tartakower and Rabbi Mordecai Nurock on the diplomat’s unique rescue mission when he saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from Hitler’s furnaces.
The Israeli executive of the World Jewish Congress decided to cancel the meeting when a letter was received from the Wallenberg family in Sweden expressing the hope the envoy was still alive. The Swedish Government notified its Minister here that the Russian statement had not been accepted.
The Russian statement, made after considerable prodding from Sweden, was issued last month. Mr. Wallenberg died of a heart attack in a Moscow jail, the Russian Government reported. The report was disputed by a German businessman, who told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency he had been in the same prison and that he knew personally that the diplomat was alive after the date the Russians gave for his death.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
