Sweden: Hero to WWII Jews May Be Alive

S T O C K H O L M, Sweden, Jan. 12, 2001 -- Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedishdiplomat spirited away by the Red Army in 1945 after savingthousands of Jews from the Nazis, may still be alive, Swedensaid today.

After the release of the results of 10 years ofSwedish-Russian investigations, Swedish Prime Minister GoranPersson said there was no clear evidence that Wallenberg wasdead, and his government would try harder to find out what hadhappened to him.

Wallenberg, a member of a side branch of the powerfulSwedish business dynasty, saved the lives of tens of thousandsof Hungarian Jews in World War Two by issuing them with Swedishpassports from the Swedish embassy in Budapest.

He disappeared after being seized by Soviet Red Army troopsin the city in January 1945.

Searching for Answers

The Soviet and Russian authorities, most recently lastDecember, have asserted that Wallenberg died in Moscow'snotorious Lubyanka prison in July 1947.

But there have been persistent reports that he was alive ina Soviet gulag or psychiatric hospital, perhaps as late as 1989.If he were still alive, he would be 87.

The Swedish members of the government-level working group,presenting their conclusions, said no evidence had been foundthat Wallenberg died in July 1947.

"Even though all the versions from Russian sources largelyassume that Raoul Wallenberg had died at that point, the workinggroup has not uncovered any evidence to confirm a definiteconclusion to this effect," they said.

"The Russian announcement of Raoul Wallenberg's death couldonly be accepted if it were confirmed beyond any reasonabledoubt. This has not happened, partly for the want of a credibledeath certificate and partly because the testimony about RaoulWallenberg being alive after 1947 cannot be dismissed."

But a separate summary presented by the Russian half of theworking group stuck to the view that he was long dead.

"All the circumstantial evidence confirms that RaoulWallenberg died, or most likely was killed, on July 17, 1947,"it said.

It said Wallenberg had been executed on a charge of spyingfor Germany and that most documents relating to the matter werethen destroyed. It added that the Soviet governments of the timewere responsible for his death and the Russian investigators nowconsidered the matter closed.

Failure to Save Hero

Persson said his government would continue to try and findout what had happened to Wallenberg, based on the assumptionthat he may have been alive after 1947.

"As long as there is no unequivocal evidence of whathappened to Wallenberg — and this is still the case — itcannot be said that Raoul Wallenberg is dead," he said in astatement.

Extolling Wallenberg's humanitarian work, he alsoapologized for Sweden's failure to do more to save its hero.

Today's report said the Swedish government of the time hadfailed to respond to Soviet advances seeking the extradition ofSoviet citizens, which could have led to Wallenberg's release.

Persson said the main responsibility for Wallenberg restedwith the Soviet government, which had ordered and carried outhis disappearance from Hungary.

"Nonetheless it is now clear that more energetic andpurposeful action on the part of Sweden during the 1940s couldhave led to a more successful outcome for Raoul Wallenberg andhis relatives," he said.

"I should like today, on my own behalf and on behalf of theSwedish government, to extend our deepest regrets to hisrelatives for these mistakes."

The government will now provide further resources to followup the working group's report and ask a researcher toinvestigate how the foreign ministry handled the case.