Nina Lagergren accepted a Congressional Gold Medal July 9 on behalf of her late half brother Raoul Wallenberg in a special ceremony at the Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C.
Heading the group of dignitaries present was Speaker of the House John Boehner, who personally presented the medal.
Wallenberg was a Swedish diplomat in Budapest Hungary in 1944-1945. Through his efforts over 100,000 Hungarian Jews were saved from the Holocaust.
The medal’s obverse was designed by U.S. Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart. It shows a portrait of Wallenberg.
On the reverse by Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill, the design depicts Wallenberg’s view as he extends a Schutz-pass and a background view of those he could not reach being boarded on a train bound for a concentration camp, the Mint description said.
Inscriptions are HE LIVES ON FOREVER THROUGH THOSE HE SAVED around the upper border and ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE beneath the Schutz-pass.
Duplicate medals in bronze may be purchased from the U.S. Mint. The three-inch diameter medal is $39.95 and the 1.5-inch medal is $6.95.
Visit www.usmint.gov to order.
