Raoul Wallenberg

Life and Legacy
This book tells the story of how a Swedish diplomat who saved the lives of thousands of Jews in Hungary became a symbol after his disappearance in January 1945. A variety of aspects are analysed, including secret diplomacy and representations of Wallenberg on film and television as well as in monuments.

The Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg was responsible for saving the lives of thousands of Jews in Budapest between 1944 and 1945. He is recognised by the Israeli state as one of the Righteous among the Nations. This book examines both Wallenberg’s activities during the Holocaust and the ways posterity has remembered him. It explores secret Swedish diplomacy and how Wallenberg was transformed over time into a Swedish brand. It considers the political aspects of Wallenberg’s Americanisation and analyses his portrayals in music, film and television. Representations of Wallenberg as a monument are discussed with special reference to Swedish and Hungarian examples. The question of how Wallenberg’s memory can and should be kept alive in future is an essential issue related to the politics of memory.

An electronic edition of this book is freely available under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND) licence.