Raoul Wallenberg International Movement for Humanity
Encyclopedia
The Raoul Wallenberg International Movement for Humanity (RWIMH) is a non-profit organization
dedicated to the education of the work of Raoul Wallenberg
]and to the promotion of the moral principles that made it possible.
(August 4, 1912 – ?) was a hero of the Holocaust
who saved 100,000 Jews
in Budapest
, Hungary
from Nazi deportation.
, USSR, housing a small collection of books, articles and artwork devoted to Wallenberg. The Society organized expositions at cultural events in Moscow and delivered lectures in schools. The Society appealed to Mikhail Gorbachev
demanding any records regarding Wallenberg, but received no response. She finally published an open letter to Gorbachev in a news paper (Литературная Газета
[Literary Gazette], September 5, 1990) imploring the Soviet leader to honour Wallenberg as an honorary citizen.
Following the 1991 coup against Gorbachev, Dr. Parnes left the USSR and eventually established The Raoul Wallenberg International Movement for Humanity in Montreal
, Canada
, on the occasion of what may have been Wallenberg’s 80th birthday, to develop a stronger international organization aimed at promoting Wallenberg’s achievement, and discovering the truth about his imprisonment.
to educate the public and to combat growing neo-Nazist
Holocaust denial
, ethnic tension, and discrimination guided by the example provided by Wallenberg.
Beginning in 1993, the RWIMH petitioned the government of Canada to honour Raoul Wallenberg. The Canadian Parliament declared January 17 Raoul Wallenberg Day in 2001, having received the support of, among others, Members of Parliament
Clifford Lincoln
, Irwin Cotler
, and Sheila Copps
, and Senator Sheila Finestone
.
Some of the RWIMH’s other work and accomplishments include: Raoul Wallenberg Square (and monument), Teaching Guide (available from the RWIMH website), “Search for the Truth” (an international conference investigating Wallenberg’s imprisonment), annual conferences, meetings, and exhibitions, The Wallenberg Bulletin, RWIMH Certificate of Honour, Raoul Wallenberg Archives (compiled research pertaining to Wallenberg), and the planting of a grove in Jerusalem.
The RWIMH is currently preparing to honour Nobel Peace Prize
Laureate Andrei Sakharov
later this year, and to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the declaration of Canada’s first honorary citizen, Raoul Wallenberg, next year.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
dedicated to the education of the work of Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish businessman, diplomat and humanitarian. He is widely celebrated for his successful efforts to rescue thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary from the Holocaust, during the later stages of World War II...
]and to the promotion of the moral principles that made it possible.
Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul WallenbergRaoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish businessman, diplomat and humanitarian. He is widely celebrated for his successful efforts to rescue thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary from the Holocaust, during the later stages of World War II...
(August 4, 1912 – ?) was a hero of the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
who saved 100,000 Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
from Nazi deportation.
Creation of the RWIMH
Dr. Vera Parnes illegally founded the Raoul Wallenberg Society and created what she called the “Raoul Wallenberg Museum” in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, USSR, housing a small collection of books, articles and artwork devoted to Wallenberg. The Society organized expositions at cultural events in Moscow and delivered lectures in schools. The Society appealed to Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
demanding any records regarding Wallenberg, but received no response. She finally published an open letter to Gorbachev in a news paper (Литературная Газета
Literaturnaya Gazeta
Literaturnaya Gazeta is a weekly cultural and political newspaper published in Russia and Soviet Union.- Overview :...
[Literary Gazette], September 5, 1990) imploring the Soviet leader to honour Wallenberg as an honorary citizen.
Following the 1991 coup against Gorbachev, Dr. Parnes left the USSR and eventually established The Raoul Wallenberg International Movement for Humanity in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, on the occasion of what may have been Wallenberg’s 80th birthday, to develop a stronger international organization aimed at promoting Wallenberg’s achievement, and discovering the truth about his imprisonment.
Work and Accomplishments
The mission of the RWIMH is to promote the memory and humanitarian principles of Wallenberg – his lessons, ideas, courage, and outstanding humanism – so that future generations may grow and improve in order to develop and enhance the values of enlightenment in the face of ideologies endangering our civilization. The Movement organises conferences exhibitions, media reports, lectures, commemorative ceremonies, and vigilsVigils
Vigils is a term for night prayer in ancient Christianity. See Vespers, Compline, Nocturns, Matins, and Lauds for more information. A Vigil is a night spent in prayer....
to educate the public and to combat growing neo-Nazist
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
, ethnic tension, and discrimination guided by the example provided by Wallenberg.
Beginning in 1993, the RWIMH petitioned the government of Canada to honour Raoul Wallenberg. The Canadian Parliament declared January 17 Raoul Wallenberg Day in 2001, having received the support of, among others, Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Clifford Lincoln
Clifford Lincoln
Clifford Albert Lincoln is a retired Canadian politician who served as a Quebec cabinet minister prior to serving in the Canadian House of Commons....
, Irwin Cotler
Irwin Cotler
Irwin Cotler, PC, OC, MP was Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada from 2003 until the Liberal government of Paul Martin lost power following the 2006 federal election. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons for the constituency of Mount Royal in a by-election...
, and Sheila Copps
Sheila Copps
Sheila Maureen Copps, PC is a former Canadian politician who also served as Deputy Prime Minister of Canada from November 4, 1993 to April 30, 1996 and June 19, 1996 to June 11, 1997....
, and Senator Sheila Finestone
Sheila Finestone
Sheila Finestone, PC was a Canadian Member of Parliament and Senator.-Early life:Born in Montreal, Quebec, the daughter of Minnie Cummings Abbey and Monroe Abbey, her father was a president of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Finestone received a Bachelor of Science degree from McGill University in...
.
Some of the RWIMH’s other work and accomplishments include: Raoul Wallenberg Square (and monument), Teaching Guide (available from the RWIMH website), “Search for the Truth” (an international conference investigating Wallenberg’s imprisonment), annual conferences, meetings, and exhibitions, The Wallenberg Bulletin, RWIMH Certificate of Honour, Raoul Wallenberg Archives (compiled research pertaining to Wallenberg), and the planting of a grove in Jerusalem.
The RWIMH is currently preparing to honour Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
Laureate Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was a Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident and human rights activist. He earned renown as the designer of the Soviet Union's Third Idea, a codename for Soviet development of thermonuclear weapons. Sakharov was an advocate of civil liberties and civil reforms in the...
later this year, and to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the declaration of Canada’s first honorary citizen, Raoul Wallenberg, next year.