Level: Y

DRA: 60
Social Studies
Strategy:
Analyze/Evaluate
Word Count: 1,620

6.5.23 Build Vocabulary

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
Online Leveled Books

1033050
H O UG H T O N M IF F L IN
 by Jane Marino

ILLUSTRATION CREDITS: 3 Joe LeMonnier / Melissa Turk

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 The Making of a Hero
What makes someone a
hero? Raoul Wallenberg saved
thousands of people from being
killed during World War II.
He never joined an army. He
never fought in a battle.
Instead, he found creative ways
to stand up to a vicious enemy.
He showed his courage by
caring for strangers when their
lives were in danger.
What does a hero look
like? From the outside, Raoul
looked like an ordinary man.
Raoul Wallenberg But, he had skills that helped
him to act like a hero. He was
also smart, bold, brave, and
hard working.

Growing Up
Wallenberg was born into a wealthy family in
Sweden in 1912. They were bankers and business
leaders. His father died shortly before he was born.
So his grandfather became very important in his life.

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 His grandfather was a world traveler. He had been
a diplomat and a banker. He encouraged his grandson
to travel. Raoul was an excellent student. He was also
very good at drawing.
Raoul went to college in the United States. He
wanted to design buildings and plan cities. So he
studied to be an architect. He couldn’t find a job as an
architect in Sweden, though.
In 1936, Raoul met Jewish people in Palestine
who had left Germany. He listened intently to their
news about awful events there. They told him that
many Germans were acting scornfully toward the
Jews. Until recently, the Jewish people had been part
of German life. But now they had to flee. They left
everything behind.

Events in Germany
affected other
countries, such as
Hungary and Sweden.

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 Many German Jews tried to get to Palestine.

Raoul spent six months in Palestine. The next

year, his grandfather died. Raoul didn’t know what to
do next.
Finally, his uncle helped him get a good job.
Raoul went to work with a businessman who bought
and sold special foods all over Europe. This man was a
Jew from Hungary.

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HITLER AND
THE JEWS
In 1933, Adolph Hitler’s Nazi
Party took control of Germany.
Hitler had contempt for Jews.
Even worse, he wanted Germany
to have no Jewish people. Under
Hitler’s rule, Jews lost all of their
rights. Many Jews tried to leave
Germany. They implored other
countries to help them: but
few did.
In 1938, Hitler ordered
his army to start occupying
nearby countries. When he
invaded Poland in 1939,
World War II began.
During the war, the Nazis
Adolf Hitler was the
made a plan to get rid of the leader of the Nazis.
Jews once and for all. They
began building death camps.
The Nazis sent millions of Jews
to these camps. Jews were either
killed in gas chambers or worked to death. The Nazis sent
other groups of people they disliked to these camps, too.

5
 A New Mission
When World War II started, Sweden did not take
sides. It stayed neutral. This helped Raoul in his job
because he could travel freely in Nazi territory. He
watched how the Nazis worked. This insight came in
handy later on.
Many people were upset by what the Nazis were
doing. Some wanted to help the Jews. In 1944, they saw
a great need for this help in Hungary.
Some American and Swedish officials wanted to
send someone to Hungary to help. Who would go on
such a dangerous mission? Raoul’s business partner
suggested him for the job. Raoul was eager to help.
Officially, Raoul would represent Sweden in
Hungary. His real job was to rescue as many Jews as
he could. The situation was urgent. He made sure he
would have time to help. He
did not want to get stuck just
doing paperwork and going
to meetings.

Admiral Miklos Horthy (right) ruled

Hungary for much of World War II.

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 The Nazis sent millions of Jews to death camps.

HUNGARY AND THE NAZIS

Hungary was Germany’s ally in the war. By 1944,
however, the war was going badly for them. Hungary
wanted to make peace. Hitler found out about this.
He ordered the Nazis to take over Hungary.
Before this time, Jews had been safe in Hungary.
When the Nazis took over, things changed. Within two
months, they sent more than 400,000 Jews from Hungary
to the death camps.
7

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 In April of 1944, a declaration ordered all Jews in
Hungary to wear yellow stars.

Confronting the Nazis

Raoul arrived in Budapest in July 1944. Budapest
is Hungary’s capital. There were about 200,000 Jews
left in this city. Right away, Raoul went to work.
First, he got several hundred Jews to come work
for him. He couldn’t pay them. Instead, he gave
them something more valuable. He put them under
Sweden’s protection. Since Sweden was a neutral
country, the Nazis could not harm its people.
8

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 Raoul then came up with another clever idea. He
designed a new type of passport. These were like special
passes. Anyone who had one would be safe from Nazi
laws against the Jews.
On his business trips, Raoul had noticed that it
was easy to impress the Nazis with fancy documents.
So he made his new passes look very grand. They were
large and had Sweden’s royal symbols on them. Raoul
included official stamps and names, too. These papers
kept thousands of Jews safe.
If Raoul heard the Nazis were getting ready to
send Jews to the death camps, he went right to the
train station. Raoul wasn’t afraid of confronting the
Nazis. He gave passes to as many people as he could.
Then he demanded that the Nazis release anyone who
had one.
Raoul also put his training as a city planner
to work. He found ways to house a lot of people in
a little space. He rented several buildings. Then he
hung the Swedish flag out front. Anyone who lived in
these buildings was now considered neutral, too. For a
while, they were safe from the Nazis.

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 Raoul and his workers also made sure people
got the food and clothing they needed. They set up
hospitals. They gave the Jews free medical care.
After a few months, Raoul thought the worst
problems had subsided. Then a new group of Nazis
took over in Hungary. The Jews were now in more
danger than ever.

A Change in Plans
The Soviet Union was on the side of those
fighting against the Nazis. The Soviets destroyed
railroad tracks, so trains couldn’t reach the death
camps. As a result, the Nazis sent the Jews to work
camps instead. They forced tens of thousands of
people to walk more than 100 miles to these camps.
The Nazis shot many who couldn’t keep up.
Thousands died on the march.
Raoul brought food, clothing, and medicine to
Jews at rest stops. He gave passes to as many people as
he could. Then he pushed the Nazis to release them.
Wallenberg exasperated the Nazis. They expressed
their anger in strident words and tried to kill him.
Finally, the Nazis planned to kill all Jews left in
Budapest. They forced about 70,000 people to move
into a small area. A high fence kept them inside.

10

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 The Nazis forced thousands of people to march for miles
to work camps.

Life there was very hard. It was about 60 times

more crowded than living in New York City today.
Raoul threatened the Nazi commander. Raoul
warned him that he would be hanged as a war
criminal. The commander knew the Nazis were losing
the war. He let the Jews live.
The Soviets arrived shortly after this. They freed
the Jews who were still alive. Thanks to Raoul and
some others, they had been saved.

11

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 This memorial to Raoul Wallenberg is in Budapest, Hungary.

A Mysterious Ending
One day, Raoul went to a meeting with the Soviet
leaders. They talked with him warily. They didn’t
believe that he just wanted to help people. They
thought he was a spy. Raoul never returned from
the meeting.
Did he die of a heart attack, as some Soviets
claimed? Or was he killed in prison? Even today, no
one knows for sure.

12

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 In 1966, the government of Israel gave Raoul a
great honor. They named him “Righteous Among the
Nations.” He was honored for helping to save so many
Jews. Still, most people in the world did not learn
about his life until 1980. A year later, the United States
made him an honorary citizen. Only one other person
has ever received this honor.
Raoul Wallenberg stood up to a brutal enemy.
He showed that one person’s courage could make a
big difference.

13

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 Other Rescuers
More than 20,000 non-Jewish people — like
Raoul Wallenberg — have been honored as
“Righteous Among the Nations.” All of them risked
their lives to save Jews from the Nazis. Only one
American woman, Martha Sharp, has received
this honor.
Martha Sharp was a social worker. She and her
husband saved hundreds of Jews from the Nazis. They
also helped people who spoke out against the Nazis.
Raoul, the Sharps, and others like them saved
thousands of Jews. Still, the
Nazis killed about 6 million
Jews during the war. The
number saved may seem
small, compared to those
who died. Yet, who can
measure the importance of
saving even just one life?

Jeanne Rogalle received the

“Righteous Among the Nations”
medal in 2005 for helping Jewish
families escape in 1942.

14

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 Responding
TARGET VOCABULARY Word Builder
The words warily and scornfully are adverbs
formed from the adjectives wary and scornful.
How would happy, kind, and beautiful become
adverbs? Copy the chart below and add
the adverbs.

Adjective Adverb

wary warily

? ?
? ?

Write About It
Text to Self Write a paragraph contrasting how
the Nazis and Raoul Wallenberg treated the
Jews in Hungary. Use two words from the Word
Builder in your paragraph.

15

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 TARGET VOCABULARY

confronting occupying
contempt scornfully
exasperated strident
implored subsided
intently warily

TARGET STRATEGY Analyze/Evaluate Think

carefully about the text and form an opinion about it.

Which vocabulary word rhymes with a

piece of wood?

16

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Level: Y
DRA: 60
Social Studies
Strategy:
Analyze/Evaluate
Word Count: 1,620

6.5.23 Build Vocabulary

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
Online Leveled Books

1033050
H O UG H T O N M IF F L IN