The silent guards: Raoul Wallenberg's bronze…

Twelve abstract bronze sculptures stand silent as guards where Raoul Wallenberg once worked. What do they never tell us? In 1998, Swedish hero Raoul Wallenberg's memorial design competition picked Kirsten Ortwed's abstract sculptures. But controversy arose when the memorial was inaugurated on August 2001, on the 20th anniversary of his death.

Raoul Wallenberg's bronze memorial, unveiled in August 2001, stands silent as guardians at Raoul Wallenberg’s Square in Stockholm. French artist Kirsten Ortwed's interpretation of Wallenberg’s life is embodied in twelve low, unyielding bronze sculptures cast in Pietrasanta, Tuscany. While the memorial has been a topic of debate since its unveiling, it forms part of a larger memorial complex: The Way - a straight stone path and rail from the Budapest ghetto with a granite ball inscribed in 24 different languages, telling the story of the Holocaust, its dangers, and the paths Jews took to avoid it. The Way intersects Raoul Wallenberg’s Square and Berzelii Park, and binds the memorial to the Holocaust memorial at the Great synagogue’s courtyard. Raoul Wallenberg’s memorial is one of over thirty memorials erected in honor of Raoul Wallenberg worldwide.

Controversy surrounds the memorial, which was inaugurated on the 20th anniversary of Wallenberg's death. It was criticized for being too overwhelming, too black, and too devoid of emotion. Some even compared it to a gravestone.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons

The silent guards: Raoul Wallenberg's bronze memorial - unveiled in August 2001

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