Aid and Rescue Committee
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The Aid and Rescue Committee, or Va'adat Ha-Ezrah ve-ha-Hatzalah be-Budapesht (Vaada for short; name in Hebrew: ועדת העזרה וההצלה בבודפשט) was a small committee of Zionists based in Budapest in 1944-45, who helped Hungarian Jews escape the Holocaust during the German occupation of Hungary.[1] The Committee is also known as the Rescue and Relief Committee, and the Budapest Rescue Committee.
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.[2] Other members were Hansi Brand (Joel Brand's wife); Moshe Krausz and Eugen Frankl (both Orthodox Jews); and Ernst Szilagyi from the left-wing Hashomer Hatzair.[3]