Hannah Szenes (Senesh) was one of 32 Jewish volunteer parachutists from Palestine that the British Army sent behind German lines for resistance and rescue efforts. On June 7, 1944, Szenes infiltrated German-occupied Hungary. The Germans captured her and, after several months of torture, they executed Szenes by firing squad. She was 23 years old.
Hannah Szenes in Budapest
Hannah Szenes, in the garden of her Budapest home before she moved to Palestine and became a parachutist for rescue missions. Budapest, Hungary, before 1939.
Item ViewHannah Szenes
Hannah Szenes on her first day in Palestine. Haifa, Palestine, September 19, 1939.
Between 1943 and 1945, a group of Jewish men and women from Palestine who had volunteered to join the British army parachuted into German-occupied Europe. Their mission was to organize resistance to the Germans and aid in the rescue of Allied personnel. Hannah Szenes was among these volunteers.
Szenes was captured in German-occupied Hungary and executed in Budapest on November 7, 1944, at the age of 23.
Item ViewHannah Szenes
Jewish parachutist Hannah Szenes at Kibbutz Sedot Yam, a communal agricultural settlement. Palestine, 1941.
Item ViewHannah Szenes
Jewish parachutist Hannah Szenes at Kibbutz Sedot Yam, a communal agricultural settlement. Palestine, 1942.
Item ViewJewish parachutist Hannah Szenes with her brother
Jewish parachutist Hannah Szenes with her brother, before leaving for a rescue mission. Palestine, March 1944.
Between 1943 and 1945, a group of Jewish men and women from Palestine who had volunteered to join the British army parachuted into German-occupied Europe. Their mission was to organize resistance to the Germans and aid in the rescue of Allied personnel. Hannah Szenes was among these volunteers.
Szenes was captured in German-occupied Hungary and executed in Budapest on November 7, 1944, at the age of 23.
Item View