Paula Baracs

This is Paula Baracs, president of the Buda Women's Club. She tried to help me when after the Matura I coudn't able to study. She asked me to go and see her, and talk about what I should do. I went to see her and she spent a good deal of time with me, making me talk about myself. Then she sent me to Samu Stern, who was the president of the Jewish community. And he had a high position in one of the large banks, as well. He called me in to the bank, and phoned the Jewish charity hospital in my presence, more precisely its laboratory, and said, 'there is a young girl here who would be ideal for work in the lab'. He asked them to give me a job. The answer was: 'there's unfortunately no vacancy'. To which he began explaining that it was impossible that they should say no to him, to HIM, if he made a phone call. To which the head surgeon answered, 'all right then let her come'. And so I went to the charity hospital immediately after leaving Samu Stern. When I got there he said that the wife of one of the head surgeons was working in the lab. And added: 'I'm not satisfied with her work. So do come in three times a week, and she will come in three times, too. I will keep the one who does a better job. This is the only vacancy I have.' After a while, the head surgeon said: 'Make sure you can come in every day in the future, you are the one I'm keeping.' This is the way I became a doctor in the charity hospital.