Between 1943 and 1945, a group of Jewish men and women from Palestine parachuted into German-occupied Europe. The 32 parachutists had volunteered with the British army and were sent on rescue and resistance missions. The Germans captured 12 of the men and women. Seven were executed.
![Hannah Szenes, in the garden of her Budapest home before she moved to Palestine and became a parachutist for rescue missions. [LCID: 60123]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/4741a9f4-fb4f-4f88-8bb3-319e656cb02e.jpg "Hannah Szenes, in the garden of her Budapest home before she moved to Palestine and became a parachutist for rescue missions. [LCID: 60123]")
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 View![Group of Jewish parachutists under British command including Haviva Reik (center), who was sent into Slovakia. [LCID: 83746]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/806b2f93-46df-4cd6-b024-00687037a224.jpg "Group of Jewish parachutists under British command including Haviva Reik (center), who was sent into Slovakia. [LCID: 83746]")
Group of Jewish parachutists under British command including Haviva Reik (center), who was sent into Slovakia. Palestine, wartime.
Item View![Zvi Ben-Yaakov (left) and Haviva Reik (center), Jewish parachutists under British command. [LCID: 83750]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/c085401b-aba6-47af-a6ff-e926ca372422.jpg "Zvi Ben-Yaakov (left) and Haviva Reik (center), Jewish parachutists under British command. [LCID: 83750]")
Zvi Ben-Yaakov (left) and Haviva Reik (center), Jewish parachutists under British command. Their mission was to aid the Jews in Czechoslovakia, where they were caught by the Nazis and executed. Palestine, before September 1944.
Item View![Haviva Reik, a parachutist from Palestine, before her mission to aid Jews in Slovakia. [LCID: 77526]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/143d39f5-a979-4f21-97a2-90498ac07a4e.jpg "Haviva Reik, a parachutist from Palestine, before her mission to aid Jews in Slovakia. [LCID: 77526]")
Haviva Reik, a parachutist from Palestine, before her mission to aid Jews in Slovakia. She was caught and executed by the Nazis. Palestine, probably before September 1944.
Item View![Jewish parachutist Haviva Reik before her mission to aid Jews in Slovakia during the Slovak national uprising. [LCID: 38090]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/359e38d9-261d-4ea2-aa34-0c40031fabe6.jpg "Jewish parachutist Haviva Reik before her mission to aid Jews in Slovakia during the Slovak national uprising. [LCID: 38090]")
Photograph of Jewish parachutist Haviva Reik taken before her mission to aid Jews in Slovakia during the Slovak national uprising. Palestine, before September 1944.
Item View![Jewish parachutist Haviva Reik, before her emigration to Palestine. [LCID: 83754]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/360e8196-c1d8-4a6d-81f4-eab6a3d2f562.jpg "Jewish parachutist Haviva Reik, before her emigration to Palestine. [LCID: 83754]")
Haviva Reik before her emigration to Palestine. Banska Bystrica, Czechoslovakia, 1934.
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. Reik was one of these parachutists. She parachuted into Slovakia and was captured and killed in November 1944.
Item View![Jewish parachutist Hannah Szenes with her brother, before leaving for a rescue mission. [LCID: 60133]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/c93d13ec-86ec-452f-86b9-f97d14cb766f.jpg "Jewish parachutist Hannah Szenes with her brother, before leaving for a rescue mission. [LCID: 60133]")
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![Jewish parachutist Hannah Szenes at Kibbutz Sedot Yam, a communal agricultural settlement. [LCID: 83594]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/053aba68-661b-4e10-9d87-cfec40ed28cd.jpg "Jewish parachutist Hannah Szenes at Kibbutz Sedot Yam, a communal agricultural settlement. [LCID: 83594]")
Jewish parachutist Hannah Szenes at Kibbutz Sedot Yam, a communal agricultural settlement. Palestine, 1942.
Item View![Jewish parachutist Hannah Szenes at Kibbutz Sedot Yam, a communal agricultural settlement. [LCID: 83592]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/81cdc985-6cd9-411e-8830-f4fcd44d4c1d.jpg "Jewish parachutist Hannah Szenes at Kibbutz Sedot Yam, a communal agricultural settlement. [LCID: 83592]")
Jewish parachutist Hannah Szenes at Kibbutz Sedot Yam, a communal agricultural settlement. Palestine, 1941.
Item View![Jewish parachutist Hannah Szenes on her first day in Palestine. [LCID: 83591]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/large/a906a07f-ae94-4a26-89ae-3373ef72a3b3.jpg "Jewish parachutist Hannah Szenes on her first day in Palestine. [LCID: 83591]")
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.
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