5 – The Disappearance of Raoul Wallenberg, Liberator of Jews in Budapest
Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish businessman, architect, and diplomat who also happened to be one of the great unsung heroes of World War II. This remarkable man risked his life to save tens of thousands of Jews in Hungary. He used his position as a special envoy to provide protective passports to Jews and shelter others in buildings that were designated as Swedish territory.
Sadly, he was detained by a Russian counter-intelligence group called SMERSH during the Siege of Budapest in January 1945; he was later accused of espionage by the Russians and sent to the notorious Lubyanka in Moscow. Reports suggest that he died in prison on July 17, 1947, but no conclusive proof has ever surfaced nor are there any details surrounding the circumstances of his death. What is also a mystery is the reason why he was arrested in the first place.
Recently, the Russians released information that suggested Wallenberg did not die on July 17 in Lubyanka Prison. In an eight-page document, the Federal Security Service (FSB) wrote that Wallenberg was probably “prisoner number 7” who was interrogated in prison six days after his reported death date. If this is true, then it means Wallenberg was subjected to a far greater level of abuse than previously thought. If he was actually ‘prisoner number 7′, he could have been executed immediately after the interrogation or sent to a prison such as Vladimir which is located around 250km from Moscow. Diaries belonging to former KGB chief, Ivan Serov, suggest that Wallenberg was executed under the direct orders of Stalin.
As for the reason why he was arrested, it may be due to his association with Iver Olsen of the U.S. Office of Strategic Services which was the forerunner to the CIA. One Soviet spy apparently believed that Wallenberg’s humanitarian motives were a cover for the fact he was a double agent for the Americans and Germans.
Wallenberg was more or less abandoned, and Sweden did not even ask for information relating to him for several years; his home nation simply believed the Soviets when they said he was not in the USSR. He was formally declared dead by the Swedish Tax Agency in October 2016. Whether or not he died on July 17, 1947, it is certain that this humanitarian suffered terribly at the hands of the Soviets before they finally executed him.