Letters and Dispatches 1924-1944 [Hardcover]

Raoul Wallenberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 17, 1995

Commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the disappearance of a Holocaust hero from Budapest, a collection of his writings features correspondences with family members that provide insight into his beliefs, experiences, and achievements.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

During WWII, Wallenberg, a young Swedish businessman, devoted his organizational skills and negotiating talents to rescuing some 100,000 Hungarian Jews from the Germans. He was a trade representative in Budapest when, in 1944, he was recruited by the War Refugee Board and, as he writes, began to "save lives that the rest of the world had given up for lost." When the Soviet Army liberated Budapest in 1945, Wallenberg was unaccountably arrested and sent to Moscow's Lyubyanka Prison; his subsequent fate remains a mystery. This welcome collection of his letters and diplomatic reports consists largely of correspondence with his beloved grandfather, Gustave Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat whose influence on Raoul was profound. Raoul Wallenberg's letters reveal his decency, independence and adventurousness. Although the editor of the collection receives no credit line on the title page, the book was edited in-house by Arcade editor Tim Bent (who also procured Wallenberg's letters). One hopes this book will rekindle interest in resolving the circumstances of this Holocaust hero's death. Photos.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The heroic efforts of the legendary Swede Wallenberg to save Hungarian Jews from the clutches of the Nazis are renowned. The fascinating letters in this collection, primarily correspondence between grandson and grandfather over a period of seven formative years, reveal much of the character development of this remarkable individual. Urged by his grandfather, who was intrigued by the American spirit and culture, young Wallenberg earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan. While the book also contains dispatches from wartime Budapest and letters to his mother during the last days before the Soviet invasion, no light is shed on the reason for Wallenberg's capture and mysterious disappearance in Soviet Russia. Board's impeccable translation, explanatory notes, and comments make this book a readable and valuable contribution toward appreciation of a true 20th-century hero. Highly recommended.
Carol R. Glatt, Philadelphia VA Medical Ctr.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 286 pages
• Publisher: Arcade Publishing; 1st edition (January 17, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559702753
• ISBN-13: 978-1559702751
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #503,494 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Righteous Gentile - A Righteous Read, July 30, 2007

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Chellabella (North Coast, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Letters and Dispatches 1924-1944 (Paperback)

The Letters and Dispatches of Raoul Wallenberg provide a glimpse of a man who paid, somewhere and somehow in the Soviet Union, the ultimate price for his efforts to bring others to safety. While much is now debated about the benefits of neutrality to Sweden during the Holocaust, what cannot be debated is the intentionality of this man to provide Hungarian Jews a safe haven in Sweden, saving them from Hitler's death camps. An excellent read, this work provides insight through Raoul's own words and the responses of those he wrote to. Introductions to the letters and dispatches provide an excellent framework, assisting the reader with historical perspective, relational understanding and context.