Raoul Wallenberg Medal

Marika Somogyi (b. 1933)
California, USA, 1983
Bronze, 4 ½ inches
Gift of Judith Hanenson

The life-saving rescue work of Raoul Wallenberg is a noteworthy example of resistance against Nazism. Wallenberg was a Swedish diplomat who began aiding Hungarian Jews in July of 1944. He provided Swedish protective passports to Jews and created safe houses in Budapest where Jews could be protected by the Swedish state. Wallenberg led additional efforts to prevent Jews from being deported and provided food and medical aid to Jews. Thousands of Hungarian Jews survived the war as a result of Wallenberg’s efforts.

This art medal was created as a tribute to Wallenberg and was fittingly designed by artist Marika Somogyi, herself a Holocaust survivor from Hungary. On the front is an image of Wallenberg’s face in front of a brick wall, which alludes to the safe houses that he created for Hungarian Jews. The back of the medal shows Wallenberg protecting people underneath an outstretched cloak. Medal artist Marika Somogyi was born into a Jewish family in Budapest and grew up during World War II. She survived the war in hiding under a false identity, pretending to be Catholic. After the war, Somogyi studied at the Budapest College of Fine Arts and then continued her artistic training after immigrating to the United States. Her work has been shown in museums around the world, and in 1989 she was awarded the American Numismatic Association’s Numismatic Art Award for Excellence in Medallic Sculpture.