CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
RAOUL WALLENBERG TREE NAMING CEREMONY
CANBERRA 9 MARCH 1989
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In a century that has seen too much proof of mankind's
capacity for hatred, oppression, depravity and inhumanity,
the heroism of Ralph Wallenberg is an inspiring beacon.
Wallenberg single handedly protected the lives of tens of
thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Nazis in World War II.
Those efforts truly place him in the select company of men
and women who have made an indelible mark on human history
through a selfless devotion to the safety and well being of
their fellow human beings.
Raoul Wallenberg is one of the great heroes of the
Holocaust. In the face of the almost unimaginable reality
of the Final Solution, and the seemingly insuperable power
and ambition of the Third Reich, Raoul Wallenberg proved
that persecution can and must be opposed, whatever the
appalling odds.
But the achievement of Raoul Wallenberg can be viewed not
only as the achievement of a man involved, directly and with
great valour, in the rescue of a great many persecuted
people. The significance of his achievement today lies also
in his importance as a living symbol of the broad horizons
of human-vision and compassion in defiance of danger and
intolerance.
Thus we owe him a debt not only for the lives he has saved,
but also for the inspiration he has provided and the
direction he has furnished to guide future human endeavours.
In the words of one person who was saved by him, " Raoul
Wallenberg symbolises the ideal that one person can make a
difference." I am moved and encouraged every time I hear anew the story
of Raoul Wallenberg. He came to Budapest on a mission of
mercy, prepared to follow any means, however unorthodox, to
rescue the Jews and other potential victims of the Nazis.
He pursued this task with a tireless zeal and a courage that
reflected total disregard for his own safety.
When Budapest was liberated early in January 1945 there were
approximately 120,000 Jews still living in the city the
largest surviving Jewish population in all of occupied
Europe. It is estimated that about five-sixths of this
population owed their lives directly to the intervention of
Raoul Wallenberg.
Among us here today I believe there are individuals and
families whose personal histories link them directly to the
actions taken by Raoul Wallenberg in war torn Hungary. To
you I offer my very warmest regards.
And to everyone here today I confirm the commitment of my
Government to seeing a satisfactory resolution to the
mystery which continues to shroud the facts of Raoul
Wallenberg's fate.
Not only was he denied the hero's return home to his native
Sweden he so rightly deserved. He was arrested and plunged
into oblivion, assigned to a fate that still has not been
revealed.
The Swedish Government continues to pursue the Wallenberg
case with the Soviet authorities. Australia has offered its
full support to the Swedish Government in its attempt to
elicit a satisfactory account from the Soviet authorities.
As I noted in the most recent newsletter of the Free
Wallenberg Committee, international concern with the
progress of the case continues to be strong from a wide
cross-section of individuals and organisations.
Our concerns about Wallenberg including the paucity of
conclusive information on his fate were raised in the
context of my visit to the Soviet Union in late 1987.
Soviet officials responded without elaboration, as they have
on many previous occasions, that Mr Wallenberg died many
years ago. Last September, it was stated simply that
Wallenberg was cremated on July 17, 1947.
The struggle for truth and justice in the Raoul Wallenberg
case is not new. For many years Wallenberg lobby groups in
the West have been working in conjunction with Jewish
organisations such as the Simon Wiesenthal Centre for
Holocaust Studies in an attempt to establish the facts of
Raoul Wallenberg's fate.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
There are grounds these days for viewing the current world
outlook with some optimism. Within the Soviet Union itself
we have seen, with President Gorbachev's programs of
perestroika and glasnost, a long overdue and still
incomplete, but nevertheless very encouraging, movement away
from the repression and inflexibility that for too long has
characterised the Soviet system.
3.
It is encouraging to note that significant improvements in
human rights, including the fundamental right to profess and
practise religious faiths, are in train. We acknowledge
what is being done to improve the lot of Soviet Jews and
Christians. we look to further progress.
Our objective is to help individuals suffering from abuse,
be this on the basis of colour or creed. I believe that
Australian involvement in human rights issues does have this
effect. Indeed, it is not too much to say that a transformation is
occurring in. the position of Soviet Jews. This is to the
enormous credit of Governments and private citizens around
the world who have raised their voices on this issue over
many years, as well as to the spirit of change which has
developed under Mr Gorbachev.
Successive Australian Governments, Australian public
opinion, and the Australian-Jewish community, have played a
notable role in this. The recent opening of the Solomon
Mykhoels Cultural Centre in Moscow, in which the Executive
Council of Australian Jewry, and its President,
Mr ISi Leibler, played a very prominent role, is a striking
example of the new spirit.
My friends,
There are many great challenges that still lie before us.
To some, these challenges may seem insuperably complex.
But we must not be daunted.
That most certainly was not the response of Raoul
Wallenberg. By placing his faith in the belief that ideals
could be realised and seemingly insurmountable obstacles
overcome, Raoul Wallenberg went forward to perform one of
the most significant rescue operations of our century.
It is immensely encouraging to know that admiration for
Wallenberg's endeavour is shared by young Australians who
were not even born when he made his sacrifice.
It is my hope that this tree that we name today, as it grows
in perhaps the most significant plot of land that our nation
can provide here in the vicinity of Parliament House
will remind future visitors and legislators of the immensity
of Wallenberg's achievement.
Raoul Wallenberg will live on in memory as long as new
generations continue to be moved and inspired by his life
and his action.
V IV