In March 1944 the Nazis invaded Hungary with the announced purpose of exterminating the last remaining Jewish community In Europe. Wallenberg. armed only with Swedish diplomatic papers. left his comfortable life in Sweden. a neutral country. to go to Hungary and organize a rescue mission. There he distributed Swedish passports of his own design to thousands of Jews. following the death marches. literally pulling people out of the deportation trains. facing Nazi soldiers and death squads and repeatedly risking his own life. He protected refugees in scores of houses that he purchased and rented in Budapest and equipped with Swedish flags. Altogether he is credited with saving up to 100.000 people. It is ironic that Wallenberg. who was so successful in freeing so many from the clutches of the Nazis. was himself arrested and imprisoned by the Soviet Union on charges of spying.
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deportation refugees