| Sergeant Raoul G. Wallenberg (August 4, 1912 – disappeared 17 January 17, 1945) in his Home Guard uniform. Photo released by his half sister, Nina Lagergren (March 3, 1921 – 5 April 5, 2019). A strong desire to defend the motherland was growing among those adult Swedish men who had not yet been called up during the Russia-Finland Winter War. There had been a lot of talk in the thriving rifle associations in Sweden that had doubled their membership after September 1, 1939. Couldn’t the old men and youths who were still at home also turn out, gun in hand, at a pinch? As fate would have it, these old and young men would become a significant part of Raoul Wallenberg’s daily life over the next few years. When the Finnish Winter War broke out, interest in establishing a formal organization grew. More and more voices were raised in support of creating a Home Guard in Sweden, which was voted into existence by the Swedish parliament in May 1940. 1 month later, almost a 100,000 men had registered, double what had been expected. But 2 problems looked as if they could stop the entire enterprise in its tracks: the lack of weapons and the lack of instructors. Raoul Wallenberg happened to belong to a unit of the Svea Life Guards whose main focus was the training of other troops. During his service that summer he was promoted to sergeant and assigned to instruct the 1st Home Guard enlistees, These courses – which would go under the name of “the War School” – lasted a week, with the trainees housed in empty worker residences just outside Stockholm. The atmosphere among those who had volunteered for service was quite different from those who had been drafted. As Sweden’s 1st chief of the National Home Guard recalled in his memoirs, “For many instructors it was a completely new experience to get to know a new troop where every man burned with the desire to absorb as much as possible.” Raoul Wallenberg liked what he saw, and the appreciation appears to have been mutual. Several times the Home Guard requested Sergeant Wallenberg as the instructor for its local training courses. Raoul was hooked. When he had completed his service with the Svea Life Guard at the end of September, he volunteered to stay and continue with the Home Guard training in his spare time. “There is a great risk of Sweden becoming involved in armed conflict,” a sombre Raoul explained at a meeting for the youth chapter of a rifle association. Many felt inspired and registered for the Home Guard courses. They had to begin with basic weapons training at a specially built firing range under Hötorget (“Haymarket City Square”) that a grocery firm had prepared for them. Foot marches and street battles became Raoul’s areas of expertise. As he saw it, the Home Guard enlistees had all that was required in terms of motivation and enthusiasm – they had volunteered, after all. What they lacked was physical conditioning. A major in the Home Guard related in a memorial article that in 1940 and 1941 Raoul arranged what were then fairly unusual “quick marches” at varying tempos. In the spring of 1941, Raoul was presented with the task of arranging exercises and foot marches for as many as a 1,000 men from various units. The “Speed March” of May 7, 1941, became his 1st trial by fire: an organizational challenge of daunting proportions. It was a rather chilly evening and a 1,000 Home Guard enlistees were gathered in Kungsträdgärden in Stockholm. Raoul had divided the men into separate groups according to how quickly they were expected to finish their foot march, just as if they were in the gym classes at the Nya Elementarskolan (“New Elementary School”). His instructions were meticulous: “Full gear required. Bag to be worn on the right side, cap to be worn two fingers over the right eyebrow, three fingers over the left ear.” At 0725 Hours, at the command of “Silence! At ease!” they took off on a route around central Stockholm. Marching at a high tempo was alternated with faster running. The best group went almost 12 kilometers (7 1/2 miles) that night. Afterwards, some of the no doubt breathless participants could be heard praising the exquisite precision of the schedule. The newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported the following day that, “No mishaps occurred during the proceedings and the troops were in such good condition that they even sang as they ran. So Sergeant Wallenberg had reason to be pleased with the evening. As indeed he was, to judge from his expression.” The “Speed March” was above all a logistical challenge, but Raoul also organized more explicitly military exercises, mostly in urban settings. That same spring he had 100 young men imagine that the enemy had landed at 1 of Stockholm’s piers and established a beachhead in a nearby school. The men also trained by simulating battles in tougher terrain outside Stockholm, crawling through muddy fens and throwing grenades. Raoul was extremely energetic and placed high demands on the men, and soon he was considered a more skilled and creative instructor than many of the career military. 1 of his foremen recalled in a book on Raoul Wallenberg that came out as early as 1946, that: “He took his work so seriously that he always adopted the most correct military form in conversations with his superiors even if these were his personal friends. His subordinates appreciated him but they did not have an easy life.” Or, as another friend from the Home Guard put it, “Raoul Wallenberg was not your average kind of person.” When Raoul was interviewed in Svenska Dagbladet in the middle of June 1941 he could not conceal how pleased he was with the results of his efforts. The newspaper caught up with him in a square in Stockholm 1 rainy Thursday evening, several thousands of Home Guard enlistees and spectators around him. They recited the war prayer “God and Motherland” and sang the Swedish National anthem together. “The Home Guard is becoming an elite force,” Sergeant Wallenberg explained to the reporter. In the summer of 1941 Raoul Wallenberg wrote to the local head of the Tome Guard requesting a promotion to lieutenant. He promised to continue working for the Home Guard without pay in his spare time whether on foot marches or on propaganda. Raoul’s request was dismissed, but this does not appear to have dismayed him greatly. He upheld his promise to continue working for the Home Guard without pay, doing so in his spare time even though a position as a director would eventually be offered to him. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0621.jpg |
| Image Size | 395.53 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1920 x 2778 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | January 1, 1940 |
| Location | |
| City | Stockholm |
| State or Province | Södermanland and Uppland |
| Country | Sweden |
| Archive | Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database