Second place high school: Audry Burgess

Audry Burgess, a senior at East Valley High School, took second place in the 10th annual Eva Lassman Memorial Writing Contest. Here is her essay:

Heroes of the Holocaust: Raoul Wallenberg

Joseph Campbell once said, “A hero is someone who gives his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” In the atrocity known as the Holocaust, Raoul Wallenberg was that hero. The courage, strength, and convictions this true hero possessed, set him apart from those of his time. He could have easily suppressed his beliefs, but instead decided to go against what lies the Anti-Semitic propagandists spread about Jews. The work Wallenberg did and the sacrifices he made created one of the most extraordinary tales of hope and human compassion, one that drastically juxtaposes the dark and morbid nature of the Holocaust. For over 100,000 spared Hungarian Jews, Raoul Wallenberg was a true hero.

In March 1944, German forces occupied Hungary and a pro-German government was established under Dome Sztojay. This new regime not only sought to continue the war, but to perform one of the final exterminations of Europe’s remaining Jews, the Jews of Hungary. In two months, nearly 440,000 Hungarian Jews were rounded up and sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, and nearly 320,000 of them were killed upon arrival. The ones not executed immediately were forced to do horrendous labors, which destroyed not only their bodies, but their souls. Only 200,000 of Hungary’s Jewish population remained, and they too would have been deported, had it not been for Wallenberg.

The U.S. War Refugee Board, who sought to liberate European Jews from the atrocities of the Nazi Party, requested that Sweden send an envoy to Budapest to lead a rescue effort. Wallenberg was chosen to be that diplomat because of his familiarity of Budapest, fluency in Hungarian, and sympathy to the plight of European Jews. He arrived in Budapest in July 1944, and immediately opened a Swedish embassy office. Wallenberg hired over 400 individuals, many of them Jews who had been granted diplomatic immunity. At the embassy, he distributed approximately 20,000 certificates of protection issued by Sweden. These certificates provided Jews with shelter under the domain of the Swedish crown in dozens of “safe houses,” and because Wallenberg ordered that the Swedish flag be flown over these institutes, the buildings were recognized as official Swedish embassy annexes and their inhabitants were shielded from the Nazis. Heroically, Wallenberg placed his own safety at risk by personally rescuing Jews from deportation trains. He appeared as the trains were about to depart Budapest and distributed Swedish papers, mostly forged by himself, to all those onboard whom he could physically reach. The compassion and aid offered by Wallenberg greatly angered the Nazis, for on at least one occasion, Nazi officials tried to have him assassinated.

By the time that Soviet forces liberated Budapest, more than 100,000 Jews remained who would have surely perished without the help of Wallenberg. His efforts created one of the most extensive and successful rescue missions during the Holocaust. I chose to write about Wallenberg because he inspires me to transcend the oppression plaguing our society today. Wallenberg opposed the standards of his time and headed a diplomatic mission out of pure selflessness and determination to uphold scruples in a period of blatant malevolence. The efforts of Wallenberg serve as a reminder that during such dark times, there is still hope for humanity. Wallenberg’s actions put him at odds, and even face to face, with the Nazi Party, endangering his own life every step of the way. I’d like to think that if I was placed in the same situation, I would act with as much courage and strength as Wallenberg did. Sadly, his heroic actions cost him his life. The last moment he was seen alive was the day of Hungarian liberation. Despite vehement denial by the Soviets, it was discovered that he had been taken by the USSR under the suspicion that he was a spy for America and he was held in a Soviet prison until his demise. Ironically, Wallenberg escaped countless threats of death from the Nazis only to be killed by this supposed allies.

I have not witnessed the atrocities of war as Wallenberg did, but I have seen the reprehensible role bigotry and prejudice have played in contemporary society. In our current political culture, there has been a tendency to revert back to the racial profiling and intolerance of Nazi Germany. Ethnic minorities have started to, once again, be blamed for the economic, social, and political problems of certain nations. There have even been proposals to ban people of a certain religion from entering our country. Abraham Lincoln once said, “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” By singling out specific groups of people in a malevolent manner, we are essentially dividing our nation and putting it on a path of acrimonious existence and mutual abhorrence. Sadly, I have seen many harassed for their revulsion towards politicians who preach animosity and intolerance. If fear of persecution keeps us from speaking out against nefarious actions, what’s to keep us from stopping the next genocide? Just like Wallenberg, we mustn’t let our fears keep us from doing what our consciences dictate; we must speak out against the actions of those who bred pernicious ideas and actions. Wallenberg was able to see past a person’s religion and ethnicity, he was able to transcend the superficial and focus on what truly matters- an individual’s humanity. If denizens of our contemporary society are willing to follow Wallenberg’s example, these trends of hate and narrow-mindedness will cease to exist.

“I will never be able to go back to Sweden without knowing inside myself that I’d done all a man could do to save as many Jews as possible,” Raoul Wallenberg. In an effort to emulate the altruistic qualities Wallenberg possessed, I pledge to stand up for any group of people who are discriminated against based on their race, religion, or gender. I will carry his spirit with me in all that I do, and not let his efforts die in vain. Wallenberg is a hero is all sense of the word, and it was an absolute honor to share his story.