Aid and Rescue Committee

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. 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. 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.