Raoul Wallenberg was born on the 4th of August 1912 in Lidingö, Sweden. In 1930, he graduated with top grades in Russian and drawing. In 1931, after his army service he traveled to the USA to study architecture. Raoul graduated with honors in 1935 from the University of Michigan in the United States and received a medal for his impressive academic record.

Raoul Wallenberg belongs to one of the most renown families in Sweden. The Wallenberg family has provided Sweden with bankers, a bishop and diplomats during several generations.

Raoul's father, Raoul Oscar Wallenberg was an officer in the navy, and a cousin to Jacob and Marcus Wallenberg, two of Sweden's most famous bankers and industrialists.

Raoul was born August 4th,1912, three months after his father's death. His mother, Maj Wising Wallenberg, remarried Fredrik von Dardel in 1918. Raoul's grandfather, Gustaf Wallenberg, became very close to young Raoul and saw to it that Raoul was given a good international education. The intention was that Raoul would continue the family tradition and become a banker. As it turned out, however, Raoul was more interested in architecture and trade.

In 1930, Raoul Wallenberg graduated with top grades in Russian and drawing. After his army service he traveled to the USA in 1931 to study architecture at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Raoul graduated with honors in 1935 and received a medal for his impressive academic record. Raoul's letters from that period reveal that he enjoyed his studies. He wrote to his grandfather, "When I now look back upon the last school year, I find I have had a completely wonderful time." In 1935, he received his bachelors of Science in Architecture and returned to Sweden. During this period the Swedish architectural market was small so his grandfather sent him to Cape Town, South Africa, to practice at a Swedish company in the building material business. After six months in Cape Town, his grandfather arranged a job for Raoul at a Dutch bank in Haifa, Palestine (now Israel).

It was in Palestine that Raoul first encountered Jews that had escaped Hitler's Germany. Their stories of the Nazi persecution affected him deeply. However, after his return to Stockholm in 1936, Raoul resumed his old interest for business.

Through Jacob Wallenberg's good contacts in the business world, Raoul was eventually brought together with Koloman Lauer, a Hungarian Jew. He was a director of an Swedish-based import and export firm specializing in food and delicacies.

Due to Raoul's excellent language skills and his freedom of movement in Europe, he was a perfect business partner for Lauer. Within eight months, Raoul was a co-owner and international director of the Mid-European Trading Company.

During his trips to Nazi-occupied France and Germany itself, Raoul quickly learned how the German bureaucracy functioned. He also made several trips to Budapest, where he visited Lauer's family. Hungary was still a relatively safe place, although in hostile surroundings.

next

print

© 2004 The Raoul Wallenberg Committee.
All rights reserved.