Abakumov

Raoul Wallenberg and his killers

Google translation from russia. Rearranged by Maribeth Barber.

Raoul Wallenberg. Was prisoner number 7?

Radio Liberty published a letter from independent researchers Vadim Birstein and Suzanne Berger, a qualitatively new turn in the case of Raoul Wallenberg. Additional details of the case – in a conversation with one of the authors of the letter Vadim Birstein.

Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg saved the lives of tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews in 1944 by issuing protective passports to so-called “Swedish subjects” awaiting repatriation to their homeland. After the capture of Budapest by Soviet troops, he was arrested and taken to Moscow, where he was kept in the MGB inner prison in the Lubyanka. For many years, Stockholm unsuccessfully tried to discover the prisoner’s fate. In February 1957, Moscow officially made it known to the Swedish government that Wallenberg had died of a myocardial infarction on July 17, 1947, in Lubyanka Prison. In support of this version the Soviets presented a document–a report from the chief of the medical unit inside the prison, Smoltsov, addressed to Interior Minister Viktor Abakumov. This version did not satisfy the Wallenberg family, which holds high social status in Sweden.

In 1990, Vadim Birstein and current chairman of the Memorial Society, Arseny Roginsky, gained access to some of the archival collections of the MGB-KGB. In April 1991, I, as editor of the international department of the newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta, published an article by Vadim Birstein « The Mystery of the Prisoner number seven« , which presented the preliminary results of the study and questioned the official Soviet account of Wallenberg’s death. Subsequently, Moscow and Stockholm agreed to continue the work of the bilateral commission. However, in 2001, the Commission concluded that the search ended in a stalemate, and ceased to exist.

Responses of the Central Archive of the Russian FSB on the questions of experts S. Berger and B. Birstein in the case of Raoul Wallenberg

Google translation from russia:

Embassy of Sweden
Moscow
Chief of the Central Archives of the Russian FSB
Mr. A. Trambitskomu
MoscowRegarding the responses of the Central Archive of the Russian FSB on the experts’ questions
C. Berger and B. Birshtein in the case of Raoul Wallenberg

Dear Trambitsky!

I hereby wish to thank the Central Archive of the Russian Federal Security Service, through you for the informative material, including answers to questions by experts C. Berger and B. Birshtein and conclusions of the archive in the case of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish side of the transmitted № 581 from November 2, 2009. At present, our experts continue to analyze the material. Mrs. Berger is going to Moscow next spring.

We read with great interest the responses of the FSB, especially with what is said about the use of the term “held” in connection with several key interrogation in July 1947, as well as very high probability that the prisoner number 7, which questioned 22 and 23 July , was Raoul Wallenberg.

If this hypothesis is confirmed, it will be a new, almost sensational fact to determine the fate of Wallenberg, given the importance that is still attached to the day of 17 July 1947, which is dated as Abakumov letter to Molotov on Wallenberg, and report Smoltsova.

The Russian side proceeds from the fact that July 17 is the date of death of Wallenberg, the Swedish side also believes that in this day there have been developments of decisive importance for the fate of Wallenberg.

It is therefore imperative to find more information about what events might have occurred during the 17 to 23 July, and, above all, to get an opportunity to discuss what can be done on this issue.

Mr Trambitsky, would be very grateful for your recommendations for further action.Sincerely,

Thomas Bertelman,
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Ambassador of Sweden to the Russian Federation

Corpus delicti

Google translation from russia:

In the historical center of Budapest, on the street Dohoney is an unusual monument – a weeping willow. Her thin metal branches – leaves-plate engraved with the names of Hungarian Jews – Holocaust victims. Near willow plaque of black granite with the names of people fleeing the Nazis were doomed to inevitable destruction of the Jews. The first name on the list – Raoul Wallenberg. Thanks to Swedish diplomat Wallenberg, who worked in the Nazis occupied Budapest in 1944, sent to death camps escaped several thousand people. January 17, 1945 Raoul Wallenberg was arrested in Budapest by Soviet troops and disappeared.

Determining the fate of Raoul Wallenberg for many years by specialists from different countries. Nearly a decade led the search for historical records joint Russian-Swedish Working Group, established by intergovernmental agreement. We investigated many versions examined hundreds of volumes of archival documents, held meetings with dozens of people. But the researchers did not find the answers to critical questions: why the Soviet secret services was needed Wallenberg, what are the details of his stay in Soviet prisons, finally, what is the real reason and the date of his death? Documents related to Raoul Wallenberg, access is limited. Materials stored in the Central Archives of the Federal Security Service, in conjunction with the report of the Russian-Swedish group, and other documentary sources, allow to some extent to recreate a historical retrospective.

17 Questions from the Swedish-Russian Working Group

1. Who took the decision to arrest Raoul Wallenberg and send him to Moscow, and exactly when was this decision taken? 2. What were the reasons for this decision and for Raoul Wallenberg’s being detained in prison? Did the reasons…

Gromyko Memorandum

Inofficial translation:

MEMORANDUM

In connection with the request of the Government of Sweden the appropriate Soviet agencies were instructed to conduct an examination and verification of the documents relating to Raoul Wallenberg, which were received from the Swedish side during the Soviet-Swedish discussions in Moscow in March-April of 1956, and also in May of 1956.

In the process of examination and verification of these documents the Soviet agencies have carried out a thorough review of the archives relating to prisoner records and investigatory matters, in order to find ,any possible information about Wallenberg. Inquiries were also made of many individuals conceivably connected with the circumstances set forth in the documents received from the Swedish side.

As a result of these measures, however, it has not been possible to find any information relating to the presence of Wallenberg in the USSR. It has been ascertained that none of the individuals questioned knew of anyone with the name Wallenberg.

The Smoltsov report – analysis and comment

Texte from the Report of the Swedish-Russian Working group, Stockholm 2000

“As the Smoltsov report is the only document that has something definite to say about Raoul Wallenberg’s fate, further analysis and comment is necessary. In the first place, a representative of the working group from the Russian Ministry of Security talked to the prison doctor’s son, Viktor Aleksandrevitch Smoltsov (who refused to meet the interview group on the grounds that he had nothing further to add to the details given below). The son was 23 years old in 1947 and already employed in the security service. He stated that his father was unexpectedly called to his work on an evening in July 1947. This was unusual considering that he suffered from heart disease, did not therefore work full-time and was preparing to be discharged. His father did not return until the following morning and then said that a Swede had died in the MGB inner prison (Lubianka). This story must be treated in the same way as every other oral communication; it comprises a version which is not sufficient proof in itself.

In an effort to determine the authenticity of the Smoltsov report, it was decided at an early stage to have the handwriting analysed by experts and to subject it to a technical investigation. The Russian side undertook to do this at an institute of forensic expertise at the Soviet Ministry of Justice (App. 48). As far as the technical analysis was concerned, their conclusions were that the report could have been written on the date mentioned, i.e., 17 July 1947. It was not possible to determine by means of a chemical analysis (of ink and paper) the exact point in time on which the report was created because there is no method of determining the absolute age of a document based on changes in the material due to its age.