Jan. 17 marked Raoul Wallenberg Day, in remembrance of, and in tribute to, the Swedish diplomat — Canada’s first honorary citizen and an honorary citizen of the United States, Australia and Israel — who demonstrated that one person with the compassion to care, and the courage to act, can confront evil, prevail and transform history.

From mid-May to the beginning of July 1944, some 440,000 Hungarian Jews were deported to Auschwitz — the fastest, cruellest and most efficient killing field in the Holocaust. Wallenberg arrived in Budapest as a member of the Swedish Legation in July 1944 and, in a remarkable demonstration of ingenuity and inspiration, bluff and bravado, rescued upwards of 100,000 Jews.