РАУЛЬ ВАЛЛЕНБЕРГ – РЯТІВНИК ЄВРЕЇВ БУДАПЕШТУ В РОКИ ГОЛОКОСТУ

Abstract

The article is devoted to the rescue of Hungarian Jews who were doomed to deportation and extermination during the Nazi occupation of the country. The methodology is based on the use of interdisciplinary approaches at the intersection of world history, psychology, ethics, as well as theoretical and conceptual developments of researchers of Raoul Wallenberg’s biography. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that for the first time in Ukrainian historiography, the figure of Raoul Wallenberg is considered as the savior of Hungarian Jewry. During the Nazi occupation of Hungary, two ghettos were created in Budapest for privileged and ordinary Jews. In the «International Ghetto» lived those persons who were under the protection of diplomatic missions of neutral countries. The rest of the Jews were gathered in the «Great Ghetto». The saving mission of R. Wallenberg consisted in the fact that he issued Swedish documents and transferred people to the «International Ghetto», where access to the Nazis and Nilashists was prohibited. During the «death marches» organized by A. Eichmann’s team, the Swedish diplomat led out of the columns and removed from the trains those Jews who received «protective documents» (passports, certificates), and also wrote down the names of those who asked for help and rescue. In total, R. Wallenberg managed to issue 4,500 «protection documents» and save Jews from both ghettos, i.e. more than 100,000 people, from deportation. The story of a man who gave up his own comfort and well-being in order to save unfamiliar Hungarian Jews rightfully remains indicative for the current generation, as it proves that humanity, compassion, and helping the needy do not have a statute of limitations, but can manifest themselves unexpectedly, unexpectedly, not only for those around them, but also for himself. For Wallenberg, these qualities became defining, because he spared no effort, no time, no money to protect people. He used every opportunity to save those condemned to deportation and death. The young man did not leave Budapest during the siege of Soviet troops and stayed in the city until the last. After all, he understood his rescue mission and tried to save the lives of as many Jews as possible.