Hannah Szenes was one of the 33 volunteers who ended up behind enemy lines. This is her story.
Hannah Szenes was born on the 17th of July, 1921, in Budapest, Hungary. The situation for Jews in Hungary wasn’t great, so she embraced the concept of Zionism and started learning Hebrew at an early age. At the same time, she joined Maccabea, a youth movement supporting Zionism in Hungary.
She emigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine. By 1941, she was in Kibbutz Sdot Yam. Later, she joined the Haganah, a paramilitary group that the Israel Defence Forces originated from.
In 1943, she enlisted in the army and after changing a few different groups, she ended up parachute training in Egypt.
Believing In A Mission
She was one of the 33 volunteers for active missions behind the enemy lines. Her role was to rescue Jews during World War 2, but at the same time, the army wanted these volunteers to establish contacts with resistance fighters around Europe.
Hoping she could reach Hungary, she parachuted into Yugoslavia in the spring of 1944. She spent a few months with local partisans. Eventually, she crossed the border on the 7th of June, 1944.
Hannah Szenes was caught soon after. She was imprisoned and tortured over a few months. Despite the torture, she refused to reveal any information about her mission. Even while her mother was arrested, she still refused to cooperate with the regime.
Trial And Execution
She had a trial in the fall of 1944. She kept to her position and defended her mission. She didn’t even try to request clemency. Given her stubbornness, she faced the death penalty.
Her execution occurred on the 7th of November, 1944. Unlike other prisoners who were executed, she decided to refuse the blindfold. Instead, she chose to stare at her executioners. She was only 23 years old when she was killed.
A Legacy That Lives Forever
Hannah Szenes had a passion for poetry and wrote poems even while imprisoned. In fact, one of her poems became famous for being found in her cell. She also kept diary entries until her last day.
Her work was written in both Hungarian and Hebrew. A Walk to Caesarea is one of her best-known pieces of work, yet it’s more commonly known as Eli, Eli. In 1950, her remains were brought to Israel. She’s now buried on Mount Herzl, in Jerusalem.