The Short History of the Hospital in the Rock

Fülszöveg

'When the side of the Castle was bombed, the soldiers buried under the Castle wall were hit by a bomb, and those who were buried during the day, flew out by night' Dr. István Kovács director, head surgeon, 1944.
'It seemed to be eternity until I reached Lovas Street in the empty road lined with corpses, dead horses and burnt-out trams. A sizeable group of German POWs were being escorted downwards through Bécsi Gate. I reached the Hospital in the Rock. I had Dante on my mind: I felt like passing through the gate of Hell!'Dr. Mihály Bogárdi patient, 1945.
'I remember a city bus arriving full of casualties. There was a boy, aged 12, whose both legs were blown away by his own Molotov cocktail. Poor thing, he wanted to blow up a tank. Others had been shot in the lung, shoulder and stomach. Máthé wore a bullet around his neck, which he had removed from the brain of a patient.' Dr. Zsuzsanna Zsindely Lazáry nurse, 1956.
This present book is the first genuine description of the... Tovább

Fülszöveg

'When the side of the Castle was bombed, the soldiers buried under the Castle wall were hit by a bomb, and those who were buried during the day, flew out by night' Dr. István Kovács director, head surgeon, 1944.
'It seemed to be eternity until I reached Lovas Street in the empty road lined with corpses, dead horses and burnt-out trams. A sizeable group of German POWs were being escorted downwards through Bécsi Gate. I reached the Hospital in the Rock. I had Dante on my mind: I felt like passing through the gate of Hell!'Dr. Mihály Bogárdi patient, 1945.
'I remember a city bus arriving full of casualties. There was a boy, aged 12, whose both legs were blown away by his own Molotov cocktail. Poor thing, he wanted to blow up a tank. Others had been shot in the lung, shoulder and stomach. Máthé wore a bullet around his neck, which he had removed from the brain of a patient.' Dr. Zsuzsanna Zsindely Lazáry nurse, 1956.
This present book is the first genuine description of the legend-like, 'top secret' history of the Hospital in the Rock. As the author conjures up the history of this facility, one can notice the loving attention, which is more than just mere scholarly curiosity. Not only does he reveal events and transmit knowledge, but he also makes his reader part of the world he describes. This world is livened up by doctors', nurses' and patients' soul-gripping recollections, thoughts as well as illustrations, maps and photos. Countesses that nurse troops, the lifesaving work of the head physician - formerly affiliated with the Arrow Cross Movement, the fate of the head physician - curing freedom fighters and Soviet soldiers during the Revolution of 1956 - later forced to spy for the regime - all provide the reader with such a historical experience which can compete with any writer's imagination. Speaking of secret developments in the Cold War era, it is not at all a coincidence that this facility was opened some months before the Cuban Missile Crisis. As the youngest museum and the only secret nuclear bunker and hospital in Hungary open to the public, it serves as a memento of the brutalities of the 20th century.
Gyula Kedves, C.Sc., director, MoD Museum of Military History, 2011. Vissza