Raoul Wallenberg in 1944. Photo: Wikipedia

December 9th in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn will be a day to commemorate Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat whose efforts during the Second World War to save Jews in Hungary has led to his wide celebration, earning, among other accolades, Israel’s honorific Righteous Among the Nations recognition.

Councilman David Greenfield (D-Borough Park) will hold a ceremony to unveil a new street sign dedicating a stretch of 13th Avenue in memory of Raoul Wallenberg. The new street sign will formally co-name the Borough Park stretch of 13th Avenue as “Raoul Wallenberg Way,” Greenfield said, according to The Brooklyn Eagle.

The co-naming is part of the Raoul Wallenberg Centennial Celebration Commission’s efforts to commemorate Wallenberg’s 100th birthday.

“I am proud to lead the effort to honor Raoul Wallenberg and urge the entire community to join us for this historic event. Quite literally, there are thousands of people in our community who would not be here today but for Mr. Wallenberg’s intervention,” Greenfield said, according to The Brooklyn Eagle.

The bill to rename the stretch of avenue after Wallenberg was pushed through with the help of  councilman Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn Heights) who said, “I look forward to joining with the community to pay tribute to the life of Raoul Wallenberg. His actions saved so many lives during the Holocaust. He is a hero not just for Jews, but for all of humanity, and his story should never be forgotten.”

Wallenberg, Sweden’s special envoy in Budapest during WWII,  is credited with saving as many as 100,000 Jews from certain death during the Holocaust. He issued protective passports and sheltered Jews from Nazis and other murderous Hungarian elements. He died under mysterious circumstances in 1947.