Raoul Wallenberg Monument

A bronze statue of Raoul Wallenberg stands on Great Cumberland Place in London’s Marble Arch district. It sits outside the Western Marble Arch Synagogue and close to the Swedish Embassy. The figure is ten feet tall and shows Wallenberg in lifelike detail. Behind it rises a bronze wall composed of 100,000 Schutzpässe, the protective passes he used to save Hungarian Jews. Sculptor Philip Jackson created the work, which captures Wallenberg’s determined stance. The statue was unveiled on 26 February 1997 by Queen Elizabeth II. The ceremony was attended by the President of Israel, Ezer Weizman, and the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan. Survivors of the Holocaust also gathered for the event. Annan delivered a speech during the unveiling. Sigmund Sternberg, Chairman of the Wallenberg Appeal, and Robert Davis, Lord Mayor of Westminster, were also present. Visitors find a striking bronze figure set against a wall of engraved passes. The surroundings include the busy Marble Arch area and the elegant synagogue. The monument is not called a memorial because Wallenberg’s family believed his fate remained unproven. A second Wallenberg monument stands in Cardiff’s Alexandra Gardens. The statue reminds passers-by of one person’s courage during a dark time.