A Story of Courage and Ethical Decision-Making
Quick answer: How did Raoul Wallenberg save Jews in Budapest?
Sent to Budapest in July 1944 by Sweden with the U.S. War Refugee Board, Raoul Wallenberg issued tens of thousands of Schutz-Passes declaring bearers under Swedish protection, set up over 30 safe houses sheltering about 10,000 people, and used bribes, bluffs, and threats, even pulling people off deportation trains.
Asked to define ethical decision-making, John went back to the Special Forces definition of integrity he was raised with: doing the right thing, even when nobody's looking. Values are belief systems, he adds; ethics is behavior, and it transcends time and place. For an example, he turns to Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat sent to Budapest in July 1944, with the U.S. War Refugee Board, after the Nazis occupied Hungary and began deporting its Jews. Wallenberg created the Schutz-Pass, a protective passport declaring the bearer under Swedish protection. Not officially recognized, it was often respected because of his relentless negotiating and bluffing. He and his colleagues issued tens of thousands. He established more than 30 safe houses, designated as Swedish territory, sheltering about 10,000 people. He used bribes and threats and pulled people off trains bound for Auschwitz. He even confronted Adolf Eichmann. In January 1945, Soviet forces arrested him, and he was never seen in public again.
Why it matters for leaders: True leadership means making the right call for the right reasons, no matter the cost, even when no one is watching.
Q: How does John define ethical decision-making?
A: From his Special Forces upbringing: doing the right thing even when nobody's looking; values are belief, ethics is behavior, and ethics transcends time and place.
Q: What happened to Wallenberg?
A: Arrested by Soviet forces in January 1945, he was never seen in public again; he's believed to have died in Moscow's Lubyanka prison in 1947.
Read the full article on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/story-courage-ethical-decision-making-john-fenzel-hzkhe
By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation