Advertisement

Saskatoon students remember Raoul Wallenberg and his life-saving legacy

Click to play video: 'Saskatoon students remember Raoul Wallenberg and his life-saving legacy'
Saskatoon students remember Raoul Wallenberg and his life-saving legacy
WATCH ABOVE: Saskatoon students remember Raoul Wallenberg and his life-saving legacy – Feb 7, 2017

Saskatoon high school students are drawing inspiration from Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat whose actions saved thousands of Hungarian Jews.

In 1944, Wallenberg handed out thousands of forged Swedish citizenship documents, called the “Schutz-Pass,” which worked like a passport and prevented anyone with one from being deported under the Nazi regime.

READ MORE: Raoul Wallenberg: A humanitarian hero we must never forget

Every year, students host a presentation titled “The Power of One” in Wallenberg’s honour.

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“The power of one can be on a small scale. It can be very small or very big. It can be something in your community or maybe making a change,” E.D. Feehan Grade 12 student Joshua Dawes said.

Presenters, which included Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark and Saskatchewan Human Rights chief commissioner David Arnot, reflected on the ongoing refugee crisis and killings at a Quebec City mosque.

Story continues below advertisement

“If we devalue one person’s human rights. We devalue all persons’ human rights,” Arnot said, also noting that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights resulted from the Holocaust.

READ MORE: Russia voted out of UN Human Rights Council

Heather Fenyes, another presenter, is the daughter-in-law of a woman who received a Schutz-Pass.

“I’m married to a man who is alive because Raoul Wallenberg stood up and said ‘this isn’t right’ and did something about it,” she said.

Wallenberg is an honourary citizen of Canada, the United States, Australia, Hungary and Israel.

A park named after the Swedish diplomat is situated near Main Street in Saskatoon’s Varsity View neighbourhood.

Sponsored content

AdChoices