Fall 2007 Exhibit: The Rescuers
Artist’s Statement: Steve Pagiavlas
In June 1944, thirty-two year old Swedish businessman, Raoul Gustav Wallenberg was appointed as Secretary of the Swedish Legation in Budapest. Though Wallenberg had no prior diplomatic experience, he had the ability to persuade and intimidate. Upon his arrival on July 8, 1944, over four-hundred thousand Jewish men, women and children had already been deported to the death camps in the south of Poland; 230,000 remained. During his six months in Budapest, Hungary, he was responsible for saving the lives of 100,000 Jews. After the city was liberated by the Soviet Army in January 1945, Wallenberg was arrested by the Soviets and never heard from again.