Mike Levin: “last Tuesday evening, the University of Michigan presented Paul Rusesabagina with its 15th Annual Wallenberg Medal. As…”

“last Tuesday evening, the University of Michigan presented Paul Rusesabagina with its 15th Annual Wallenberg Medal. As my colleagues may remember, Mr. Rusesabagina was the subject of the movie ``Hotel Rwanda.'' The Wallenberg Medal is named for University of Michigan alumnus and humanitarian Raoul Wallenberg. After receiving his degree in architecture in 1935, he spent time in several jobs in South Africa and Palestine before moving to Sweden in 1941 to work for a Jewish Hungarian businessman named Kalman Lauer. Lauer operated an export- import firm which did business in Central Europe, a large portion of which took place in Hungary. As the Nazis continued to gain power in Europe, Lauer found it increasingly difficult to travel and turned over control of his foreign division to Wallenberg. In 1944, Wallenberg was approached by the American War Refugee Board to take part in a plan to assist Jews in Budapest who were in danger of falling victim to the holocaust. Wallenberg agreed to take part in the project and was sent to Budapest as a representative of the Swedish Government. In Budapest, Wallenberg hired several hundred Jews to staff his office, bringing them under the diplomatic protection of Sweden. Additionally, he created a new official looking Swedish passport, known as the ``Schutzpass.'' Wallenberg gave the Schutzpass to thousands of Hungarian Jews and said that it granted the holder immunity from Nazi deportation.…”