Existing comment:
Bust of Count Folke Bernadotte
Count Folke Bernadotte of Wisborg was born in 1895. He was the youngest of five children to Prince Oscar Bernadotte, The brother of Swedish King Gustaf. He was raised to believe in honesty, obedience, punctuality and an obligation to do good deeds. His lifelong motto was, "We have not come to this world to be happy, but to bring happiness to others." Bernadotte was appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Swedish Red Cross in 1943 eventually becoming Chairman in 1948. While the world leaders were meeting at the Yalta Conference in 1945, where they agreed on a joint offensive against Germany, Benadotte was on his way to Berlin to meet with Heinrich Himmler the German Minister of the Interior and Gestapo Chief. His task was to secure the release of Scandinavian prisoners and political detainees from German prisons and concentration camps. His efforts led to the rescue operation known as "The White Buses", which saved thousands of people from concentration camps, not only Scandinavians but also thousands of Jewish prisoners of many nationalities. In 1948 Stockholm hosted the first International conference of the Red Cross, by then he was chairman and in that capacity presided over the conference. Following the convention he flew to Palestine where he was the UN mediator for the Palestinian issue for the United Nations. Despite warnings of danger, on his way back to UN Headquarters Bernadotte's convoy was caught in an ambush and Folke Bernadotte was shot at point blank range and killed. |