Lost Hero: The Mystery of Raoul Wallenberg (1982), with Frederick E. Werbell

A variety of books and articles have been written recently about Raoul Wallenberg… This one is by far the best.
—Los Angeles Times

His life was an enigma. His fate is one of the great unsolved mysteries of World War II.

He was Raoul Wallenberg: the handsome, aristocratic young diplomat from neutral Sweden who saved 30,000 Jews from the jaws of the Nazi death machine—only to disappear, at the war’s end, into the silent hell of a Soviet prison.

Here is the true story of this extraordinary man, from the salons of Budapest to the agonies of the gulag—the unforgettable drama of the “man who saved humanity’s reputation”…and paid the price with his own freedom.

Lost Hero was filmed by Paramount as Wallenberg: A Hero’s Story starring Richard Chamberlain.

More Reviews of Lost Hero

“Told in most readable form. When the authors must speculate they give grounds for their speculation; they do not claim to know more than the evidence permits.”
—New York Times Book Review

“A vivid, spacious recreation…very stirring and very sad.”
—Kirkus

“…superior in documentation and dramatic immediacy.”
—Publishers Weekly

Excerpt

Wallenberg found it impossible not to stare at Eichmann. Even if he looked over Eichmann’s shoulder or turned away from the small round table where they sat discussing the price of a Jewish house or the price of a Jewish life, he could still, through the haze of cigarette smoke, see his black uniform, the death’s head insignia on his epaulets, his thin lips, sharp nose, and the twitch that contorted is mouth—all reflected, re-reflected, and re-re-reflected in the huge mirrors lining the walls of the Arizona nightclub.

Wallenberg…ordered the Arrow Cross guards at the [Hegyeshalom railroad] station to stand aside and allow him to remove Jews holding Swedish passes. The guards lowered their bayonets so they touched his chest and forced him back, away from the deportees. Wallenberg ran around to the other side of the station, climbed onto the roof of one of the sealed freight cars, and shouted through the air vents, “Are there any Swedish-protected Jews who’ve lost their passes?” Voices inside shouted “Yes!” and hands shot through the air vents. Wallenberg ran along the roof shoving a blank pass into each hand.