Exhibition pays homage to Raoul Wallenberg

TIRANA, Sept. 17 – “One man can make a difference! Armed only with his bravery and moral courage, Raoul Wallenberg saved tens of thousands of Jews from the Holocaust. A story that has inspired the world.”
The exhibition inaugurated week at the National Museum of History pays homage to Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat in Nazi-occupied Hungary who led an extensive and successful mission to save the lives of thousands of Hungarian Jews on his 100th birth anniversary. Organized by the Swedish Embassy in Tirana, the exhibition will remain open until Sept. 25.
The opening ceremony on Sept. 19 was also followed by a performance by renowned Albanian Qerimj family playing Klezmer music.
“Good Evening Mr. Wallenberg,” a movie about Raoul Wallenberg directed by Kjell Grede will also be featured on Friday evening, Sept. 21 at the Marubi Film School.
Wallenberg, also known as an architect, issued protective passports and sheltered Jews in buildings designated as Swedish territory saving tens of thousands of lives while serving as Sweden’s special envoy in Budapest between July and December 1944. Though his efforts to save Jews from the Holocaust is one of the most treasured aspects of that time, his fate and ultimate death is unknown still to this day.
Albania is recognized as a unique example of efforts to save Jews. In fact, Albania was the only country in Europe which had more Jews after the war than it did beforehand. BESA, a code of honour stressing religious tolerance and hospitality, was adhered to in Albania and is considered to be the reason that Jews were safe there.