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Gromyko memorandum

The Thorny Truth

    On August 28 Dr. Guy von Dardel, Raoul Wallenberg’s maternal half-brother, died peacefully in Geneva, Switzerland, having just reached his 90th birthday. On September 3, at a simple but elegant ceremony at the Eglise Evangelique, von Dardel’s notable contributions were celebrated in a heartfelt eulogy. However, his death received little coverage in his native Sweden, despite his membership in the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences and previous position as Professor of Physics at Lund University.Read More »The Thorny Truth

    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.

      Read More »Corpus delicti

      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.Read More »Gromyko Memorandum

        The Smoltsov Report

          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.Read More »The Smoltsov Report