The Hospital in the Rock under the Buda Castle, and the International Red Cross 1944-1945

The so called “Hospital under the Rock” in the Buda Castle district served during the siege of Budapest as an emergency hospital. In 1945 the hospital was closed, it opened its doors again only in 2007 as a museal institution. This article focuses on the role of the International Red Cross and that of Friedrich Born (1893-1963) in the history of the hospital. Born, as a functionary and representative of the International Red Cross begun his activity in Budapest two months after the German occupation of the country, in May of 1944. Thanks to Born's agility more than 15 000 people, Jews, fugitives, deserted soldiers, orphans escaped the darkest times. Bom arrived at the hospital on 30. December 1944. Though the hospital formally didn't stand under the protection of the Red Cross, Bom, thanks to his special abilities and connections succesfully managed the only “Civil" hospital of the capital during the siege of Budapest, and also under the beginning of the Soviet occupation. After the special mandate of Bom had been revoked on 19 September 1945, he retired to Switzerland.