FRIEDRICH BORN (1903 – 1963)
FRIEDRICH BORN was the Swiss delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Budapest, Hungary between May 1944 and January 1945. During this short time with his help some 15,000 Schutzbriefe, protection documents were issued, and the deportation and death of many Hungarian Jews were prevented.
Friedrich Born arrived to Budapest in May 1944 as the Swiss delegate of the ICRC, inheriting this position from Jean de Baviert who also tried to struggle against the principles of ICRC. According to these principles if they wanted to act helping the POWs (with visiting and monitoring POW camps) and civilian interned ones, organizing relief assistance for civilians, they should not be confronted with the Nazis, therefore not making huge efforts to save the masses of the European Jews. And besides this, the Red Cross was completely confident in not even being able to do much for the saving of the Jewry. This is still considered the greatest failure, a moral failure of the ICRC in its history.
Budapest was one of the few exceptions from this point of view, and this can be thanked to Friedrich Born.
When arriving to Budapest as a delegate, he already had a huge net of contacts, thanks to his previous status as a trader, and coming to Hungary as a member of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Trade. Later on, working close to Carl Lutz and other neutral diplomatic legations, he offered work (and employment papers) and protection to some 3,000 Jews in his offices, and helped establishing several ICRC protected buildings (mainly orphanages).
According to most of the sources, he is credited with distributing 11-15,000 Schutzbriefe (protection documents) that prevented the deportation and death of many Hungarian Jews.
After WWII – like Carl Lutz and Giorgio Perlasca – he returned to his everyday life, keeping all his actions for himself only.
He died on January 14, 1963.
24 years after his death, he was honoured as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, and a tree was planted on the Avenue of the Righteous.
Memorials in Budapest remembering Friedrich Born:
- Memorial Plague at the HQ of the Red Cross (V. Arany János u. 31)
- War History Museum, Buda Castle (in the courtyard)
- Memorial Plague in the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Garden (Dohány u. 2)
FRIEDRICH BORN was the Swiss delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Budapest, Hungary between May 1944 and January 1945. During this short time with his help some 15,000 Schutzbriefe, protection documents were issued, and the deportation and death of many Hungarian Jews were prevented.
Friedrich Born arrived to Budapest in May 1944 as the Swiss delegate of the ICRC, inheriting this position from Jean de Baviert who also tried to struggle against the principles of ICRC. According to these principles if they wanted to act helping the POWs (with visiting and monitoring POW camps) and civilian interned ones, organizing relief assistance for civilians, they should not be confronted with the Nazis, therefore not making huge efforts to save the masses of the European Jews. And besides this, the Red Cross was completely confident in not even being able to do much for the saving of the Jewry. This is still considered the greatest failure, a moral failure of the ICRC in its history.
Budapest was one of the few exceptions from this point of view, and this can be thanked to Friedrich Born.
When arriving to Budapest as a delegate, he already had a huge net of contacts, thanks to his previous status as a trader, and coming to Hungary as a member of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Trade. Later on, working close to Carl Lutz and other neutral diplomatic legations, he offered work (and employment papers) and protection to some 3,000 Jews in his offices, and helped establishing several ICRC protected buildings (mainly orphanages).
According to most of the sources, he is credited with distributing 11-15,000 Schutzbriefe (protection documents) that prevented the deportation and death of many Hungarian Jews.
After WWII – like Carl Lutz and Giorgio Perlasca – he returned to his everyday life, keeping all his actions for himself only.
He died on January 14, 1963.
24 years after his death, he was honoured as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, and a tree was planted on the Avenue of the Righteous.
Memorials in Budapest remembering Friedrich Born:
- Memorial Plague at the HQ of the Red Cross (V. Arany János u. 31)
- War History Museum, Buda Castle (in the courtyard)
- Memorial Plague in the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Garden (Dohány u. 2)