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r a o u l w a l l e n b e r g - mostar-friedensprojekt.de

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Raoul Wallenberg med<br />

vänner i Sydafrika.<br />

noggrant uttänkt plan för Raoul. Efter att ha läst<br />

arkitektur i Amerika skulle Raoul nu på allvar tränga<br />

in i affärslivet, och även <strong>de</strong>n här <strong>de</strong>len av hans ut-<br />

bildning skulle ske i främman<strong>de</strong> land.<br />

Att vara ättling till en av Sveriges mest betydan<strong>de</strong><br />

finansfamiljer ha<strong>de</strong> naturligtvis en stor inverkan på<br />

Raouls liv, och alla inom <strong>de</strong>n stora släkten kän<strong>de</strong><br />

väl till honom. Men trots att Gustaf var stolt över<br />

sonsonens utveckling mana<strong>de</strong> han honom att<br />

skyndsamt lämna Stockholm och ge sig in i nästa<br />

fas av sin utbildning, så att inte <strong>de</strong>t bekymmerslösa<br />

livet här hemma eller svenska vär<strong>de</strong>ringar blev en<br />

vana. Att notera är även att Gustaf avråd<strong>de</strong> Raoul<br />

från att förlita sig på ett svenskt umgänge när han<br />

befann sig utomlands. Farfa<strong>de</strong>rn gjor<strong>de</strong> samtidigt<br />

klart att medan <strong>de</strong>t var vär<strong>de</strong>fullt med en viss själv-<br />

ständighet gentemot familjen, så öppna<strong>de</strong> namnet<br />

Wallenberg också många dörrar av bety<strong>de</strong>lse. Den<br />

utbildning som <strong>de</strong>nne närmast aristokratiske<br />

svensk erhöll var noga övervägd. Familjen förvän-<br />

ta<strong>de</strong> sig mycket av Raoul Wallenberg.<br />

en lång utbildning<br />

Raoul Wallenberg with friends<br />

in South Africa.<br />

Raoul gjor<strong>de</strong> som hans farfar ålagt honom och<br />

begav sig en kort tid därefter till <strong>de</strong>t avlägsna<br />

Sydafrika, för att utan betalning praktisera i af-<br />

färslivet. Det fysiska avstån<strong>de</strong>t mellan Raoul och<br />

hans farfar led<strong>de</strong>, precis som i fallet med Amerika,<br />

till en fängslan<strong>de</strong> skriftlig dokumentation – inte<br />

so well. “[Thank you<br />

Grandfather…] for all<br />

your generosity and<br />

love in making possi-<br />

ble for me [this] won-<br />

<strong>de</strong>rful experience […]”<br />

(written in English). It<br />

was a confi<strong>de</strong>nt young<br />

man who returned to<br />

Swe<strong>de</strong>n in 1935, yet<br />

one unsure of exactly<br />

where his future lay.<br />

But Gustaf had a<br />

carefully thought out<br />

plan for Raoul, and<br />

<strong>de</strong>termined that after<br />

studying architecture<br />

in America, Raoul<br />

would now seriously<br />

begin to learn the<br />

world of business and<br />

that this “education” would continue amongst<br />

other cultures and people.<br />

Naturally, being a scion of one of Swe<strong>de</strong>n’s<br />

most prominent business families greatly<br />

influenced Raoul’s life, and he was well known<br />

to all members of the important and exten<strong>de</strong>d<br />

Wallenberg clan. And though Gustaf was proud<br />

of his grandson’s <strong>de</strong>velopment, he urged Raoul to<br />

leave Stockholm quickly for the next phase of his<br />

education, lest the easy life at home, or Swedish<br />

attitu<strong>de</strong>s, became a habit. Tellingly, Gustaf even<br />

discouraged the young man from <strong>de</strong>pending on<br />

the companionship of other Swe<strong>de</strong>s while abroad.<br />

Raoul’s grandfather ma<strong>de</strong> it clear simultaneously<br />

that while it was important to construct a life<br />

somewhat in<strong>de</strong>pen<strong>de</strong>nt of the family, being a<br />

Wallenberg would also open many important<br />

doors. The education of this rather aristocratic<br />

Swe<strong>de</strong> was <strong>de</strong>liberate, and the family had great<br />

expectations for his future.<br />

years of training<br />

Obedient to his grandfather’s plan, Raoul quickly<br />

<strong>de</strong>parted for an unpaid apprenticeship in busi-<br />

ness in distant South Africa. As with his sojourn<br />

to America, the physical distance between Raoul<br />

and his grandfather created a fascinating writ-<br />

ten record not only of their very special relation-<br />

ship, but also of what the young man saw and<br />

one man can make a difference raoul wallenberg<br />

39

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