Aid and Rescue Committee
Encyclopedia
The Aid and Rescue Committee, or Va'adat Ha-Ezrah ve-ha-Hatzalah be-Budapesht (name in Hebrew: ועדת העזרה וההצלה בבודפשט; called the Vaada) was a small committee of Zionists
based in Budapest
in 1944-5, who were dedicated to helping Jews escape the Holocaust
during the German occupation of Hungary
.
The main personalities of the Vaada were Dr. Ottó Komoly
, president; Rudolf Kastner
, executive vice-president and de facto leader; Samuel Springmann, treasurer; and Joel Brand
, who was in charge of tijul, or the underground rescue of Jews. Other members were Hansi Brand (Joel Brand's wife); Moshe Krausz and Eugen Frankl (both Orthodox Jews
and Zionists); and Ernst Szilagyi from the left-wing Hashomer Hatzair
.
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
based in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
in 1944-5, who were dedicated to helping Jews escape the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
during the German occupation of Hungary
History of the Jews in Hungary
Hungarian Jews have existed since at least the 11th century. After struggling against discrimination throughout the Middle Ages, by the early 20th century the community grew to be 5% of Hungary's population , and were prominent in science, the arts and business...
.
The main personalities of the Vaada were Dr. Ottó Komoly
Ottó Komoly
Otto Komoly was a Hungarian Jewish engineer, officer, zionist, and humanitarian leader in Hungary. He is credited with saving thousands of children during the German occupation of Budapest in World War II....
, president; Rudolf Kastner
Rudolf Kastner
Rudolf Israel Kastner was a Jewish-Hungarian journalist and lawyer who became known for facilitating the departure of Jews out of Nazi-occupied Hungary during the Holocaust...
, executive vice-president and de facto leader; Samuel Springmann, treasurer; and Joel Brand
Joel Brand
Joel Brand was a Hungarian sailor and odd-job man who became known for his role during the Holocaust in trying to save the Hungarian-Jewish community from deportation to the Auschwitz concentration camp....
, who was in charge of tijul, or the underground rescue of Jews. Other members were Hansi Brand (Joel Brand's wife); Moshe Krausz and Eugen Frankl (both Orthodox Jews
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
and Zionists); and Ernst Szilagyi from the left-wing Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair is a Socialist–Zionist youth movement founded in 1913 in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, and was also the name of the group's political party in the Yishuv in the pre-1948 British Mandate of Palestine...
.
See also
- Kastner trainKastner trainThe Kastner train was a trainload of almost 1,684 Jews who, on June 30, 1944, escaped from Nazi-controlled Hungary, eventually arrived in Switzerland, while some 450,000 members of the Hungarian Jewish community were deported to the gas chambers at Auschwitz....
- History of the Jews in HungaryHistory of the Jews in HungaryHungarian Jews have existed since at least the 11th century. After struggling against discrimination throughout the Middle Ages, by the early 20th century the community grew to be 5% of Hungary's population , and were prominent in science, the arts and business...
- Adolf EichmannAdolf EichmannAdolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
- Kurt BecherKurt BecherKurt Andreas Ernst Becher was an SS Untersturmführer and later a Standartenführer who was Commissar of all German concentration camps, and Chief of the Economic Department of the SS Command in Hungary during the German occupation in 1944.- SS Background :Becher was born to a wealthy family...
- Lord Moyne
- Strasshof an der NordbahnStrasshof an der NordbahnStrasshof an der Nordbahn is a suburban town 25 km east of Vienna, Austria. The main attraction is the railroad museum . An historical locomotive built by LOFAG is displayed in the town.-History:...