As Jews around the world observed International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp on Tuesday, Jewish leaders in Los Angeles honored survivors and announced an agreement that will recognize one of the heroes of Holocaust for years to come.

Holocaust survivor Andrew Stevens assisted Raoul Wallenberg in Hungary. (photo by Edwin Folven)

Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz, 5th District, joined Jewish leaders and Holocaust survivor Andrew Stevens at Raoul Wallenberg Square, located at the corner of Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. The group announced that a private nonprofit organization — Parents, Teachers & Students in Action For Better Schools — has agreed to maintain a statue and memorial at the site honoring Wallenberg for his efforts in saving approximately 100,000 Hungarian Jews from deportation to concentration camps during World War II. The nonprofit, which raises money for the teen court program and initiatives in Los Angeles high schools, hopes to use its role in maintaining the monument as an educational tool to inform students about Wallenberg.

“It’s about a statue, but also about the symbol is represents,” said Seymour I. Amster, executive director and founder of Parents, Teachers & Students in Action For Better Schools. “As a descendent of Hungarian Jews, I understand the importance of Raoul Wallenberg. We will help teach students why hate crimes cannot be tolerated, and they will teach other students and will be ambassadors.”

The memorial for Wallenberg was completed in 1998 in the courtyard of a bank building at the northeast corner of the intersection. City officials re-dedicated the monument on Aug. 5, 2013, a day after what would have been Wallenberg’s 101st birthday.

Stevens, 92, said Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat, was one of the most critical figures of the Holocaust. As a member of the Hungarian resistance, Stevens said he met Wallenberg after the diplomat arrived in Budapest in 1944 and helped him forge documents that saved tens of thousands of people.

“Without him, many more people would have died,” Stevens said. “This monument reminds me of him, and that period of terrible history of when the Jews were persecuted by Germany. Mr. Wallenberg made a point to save people who otherwise would have been killed.”

Stevens said as a diplomat, the Nazis allowed Wallenberg greater movement around Budapest and other parts of Hungary, which allowed him to locate and provide documents that could save their lives. Stevens said he forged birth certificates and other documents at Wallenberg’s request that enabled Jews to avoid deportation. Stevens said he knew Wallenberg for only a brief period before the diplomat disappeared while meeting with Soviet officials in January 1945. Wallenberg is rumored to have died in a Soviet prison, but his exact fate is unknown.

Stevens added that the memorial and statue stand as a reminder of the man who saved thousands of Jews, as well as a reminder that it often takes extraordinary measures to prevent another tragedy like the Holocaust.

“It’s the only way people will remember and people will be told,” Stevens said. “He was a brave man who cared about people. It’s important that we honor him here.”

Koretz said he was thankful that the nonprofit organization will maintain the site.

“We thought the most important thing we could do [on International Holocaust Remembrance Day] was to honor Raoul Wallenberg,” Koretz said. “It’s estimated that he saved approximately 100,000 Jews through his courageous efforts.”

Amster estimated the annual cost of maintaining the memorial is $5,000, which he said is a small price compared to the benefit students will receive from learning about Wallenberg. He said his organization will offer an educational program on Wallenberg that will be available in public schools.

Community activist Stanley Treitel said the statue and memorial were created in 1998 during the revitalization of the Fairfax District, and added that the partnership with Parents, Teachers & Students in Action For Better Schools ensures its place in the community.

“With [Amster’s] help and the ongoing maintenance, it will be here for many more years,” Treitel said.

The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, located in Pan Pacific Park, also observed International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz with programs honoring survivors. Italian Consul General in Los Angeles Antonio Verde attended a reading of the names of Italian victims of the Holocaust, which has become an annual event at the museum. Verde said Italy was the first country to officially designate International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2000, five years before the United Nations designated the day of remembrance. Holocaust survivors associated with the museum read the names of approximately 8,000 Italian-Jews who were deported or killed during the Holocaust.

“It’s a way of letting the new generations know what happened in the past, so they don’t repeat the mistake,” Verde said. “This location is very symbolic, given the nature of the museum and its teachings on the horrors of the past.”

The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust also honored Auschwitz survivors Elisabeth Mann and Helen Freeman, who work with the museum on living history programs in which they present their stories to students.

“The survivors are now primarily in their 80s or 90s,” said Jill Brown, interim director of operations for the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. “It’s important for the rest us to be prepared to carry on their legacy and stories of survival into the future.”