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

ara av deras unika relation, utan också av sådant
den unge mannen såg och upplevde under sina
år utomlands. Månaderna i Sydafrika och däref-
ter i Palestina vittnar om utvecklingen av en syn-
nerligen intelligent, energisk och charmig men
samtidigt känslig man. Att läsa hans livfulla och
ofta långa och detaljrika brev väcker intresse och
nyfikenhet; breven ger också en inblick i personen
Raoul Wallenberg, som bara ett decennium senare
skulle komma att skriva historia.
Meningen med Wallenbergs vistelse i Kapstaden
var att han skulle lära sig hur det går till i affärslivet,
från grunden. Raoul utbildades av sin farfar för en
mycket specifik yrkesroll i Sverige, även om miljön
var ytterst osvensk. Trots att han befann sig så
långt ifrån sin farfar kände sig Raoul tvungen att
motivera varför han under den första tiden umgicks
med landsmän. ”Jag vet att farfar invänder mot […]
att jag är [för mycket] tillsammans med svenskar
och detta skall jag undan för undan reparera.”
Det nära förhållandet till farfadern och hur det
påverkade Raoul belyses av den skriftväxling
Raouls kärleksaffär med en amerikansk flicka han
träffade vid universitetet gav upphov till. (Det är
från breven oklart om Raoul verkligen hade ett
40 raoul wallenberg one man can make a difference
experienced during his years outside of Sweden.
His months in South Africa, and soon after in
Palestine attest to the growth of a man with
considerable intelligence, energy, charm and
emotion. The reader of his letters is filled with
interest and expectation when learning of him,
for his descriptions of his life are always vivid,
often lengthy – and thus full of fascinating de-
tails – and a window into the soul of a man who
would, a decade later, make history.
Wallenberg’s Cape Town visit was meant to be a
school where he would learn the “nuts and bolts”
of business. He was being trained by his grandfa-
ther for a very specific career in Sweden, but in a
most “un-Swedish” environment. Yet even though
he was so far away from him, he had to defend his
initial dependence on the company of his coun-
trymen against his grandfather. “I know that you
object to my hanging around with Swedes, and
I will remedy this bit by bit.” [”Jag vet att farfar
invänder mot […] att jag är [för mycket] tillsam-
mans med svenskar och detta skall jag undan för
undan reparera.”]
The complexity of their relationship and its effect
on Raoul is laid bare in an exchange concerning the
love affair Raoul had, or did not have (it is unclear
from the letters!), with an American girl while at
university there. Raoul described the poignant
letters of infatuation he was receiving from his
unnamed Michigan admirer, and Gustaf misinter-
preted what Raoul had written. He answered in
anger and despair. “A young man with your pros-
pects does not have time to tie himself down until
he has had time to organize his life and his work.
A young wife wants everything to revolve around
her. She wants to be entertained and amused [...]
A young man absorbed by his sexual urges pays
no attention to these [important] considerations.
He wants her body. He wants the pleasure of the
moment, and she does nothing but offer it. [...] I
assume that the fault is yours. You have not been
Raoul väntar på
farfar i Florens.
Raoul waiting for
his grandfather in
Florence.
careful and prudent.
That is what makes the
matter so tragic. […] You
must not deprive your
mother and me of our
expectations for you.”
[”En ung man med Dina
förutsättningar har ej tid