New Canada Post stamp issued today in honour of Raoul Wallenberg
Posted Jan 17, 2013 4:00 am.
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TORONTO – Canada Post issues a new stamp today in honour of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg.
He is credited with saving at least 20,000 Jews in Budapest during the Second World War by giving them Swedish travel documents, or moving them to safe houses.
Wallenberg was also instrumental in dissuading German officers from massacring the 70,000 inhabitants of Budapest’s ghetto.
Today, Jan. 17, marks the day in 1945 when Wallenberg disappeared in Hungary while in Soviet custody.
It’s believed he died in captivity, although the time and circumstances of his death remain shrouded in mystery.
In recognition of his efforts, the federal government made Wallenberg Canada’s first honorary citizen in 1985, and designated Jan. 17 as Raoul Wallenberg Day.
The new stamp, designed by Glenda Rissman of q30design, features Wallenberg’s 1944 passport photo and a number of elements related to his efforts in Budapest.
