In 1944, Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg helped tens of thousands—some say as many as 100,000 people—escape persecution and almost certain death when Nazi forces invaded Hungary during World War II.
This year, the 100th anniversary of Wallenberg’s birth will be celebrated by events in Sweden and around the world.
The celebration of Wallenberg’s life and work began last week with the opening of the Raoul Wallenberg exhibition, “To Me There is No Other Choice,” at the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest. Throughout 2012, the exhibition will travel to New York; Washington, D.C.; Moscow; Tel Aviv; Berlin; and Toronto.
August 4, Wallenberg’s birthday, will be marked by worldwide events including a party in his hometown on the island of Lidingö in the Stockholm archipelago. Also on August 4, a section of 13th Avenue in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, will be renamed in Wallenberg’s honor.
For more information and a full list of events around the world, visit www.raoulwallenberg2012.se or www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/15418.