Hannah's Legacy
Hannah Szenes (Senesh) was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1921. Her parents were an author and journalist, so naturally she grew up loving literature. She pursued this love by keeping a diary starting at age 13 up until her death. In school, Hannah was an excellent student. However she encountered anti-semitic oppression and led her to become involved in Zionist activies. Zionism is a movement by the Jewish people that supports Jews and goes against the discrimation of the Jews by upholding their Jewish identity.
Up until the war, Hannah moved from Hungary to Israel. There, she attended an agricultural school and settled at Kibbutz Sdot Yam. That's where she wrote most of her poetry. Being in the Zionist movement and experiencing the persecution against Jews, Hannah felt inspiration to help out others who face the anti-semitism.
Hannah joined the British Army in 1943 as part of the Haganah, a Jewish military unit. She volunteered to be trained as a paratrooper in a mission to join forces with resistance fighters in Budapest. After training in Egypt, Hannah was picked to be one of the thirty three people to be parachuted into Yugoslavia. She finally crossed the border into Hungary at the height of Jewish deportation.
Almost immediately, Hannah was caught by the Hungarian police. She was tortured and interrogated repeatedly by them, and still refused to give up information about her mission, especially the important radio codes. Not only that, the police also captured Hannah's mother to use as leverage against Hannah. However, it didn't work so they let her mother go. Hannah was tried to be executed by a firing squad. She refused to be blindfolded so she could face her executors, staying courageous right up until the moment she died. Hannah died at only twenty three years of age on November 7, 1944. Hannah's involvement greatly helped the Allied war effort because she kept the mission information a secret.
Up until the war, Hannah moved from Hungary to Israel. There, she attended an agricultural school and settled at Kibbutz Sdot Yam. That's where she wrote most of her poetry. Being in the Zionist movement and experiencing the persecution against Jews, Hannah felt inspiration to help out others who face the anti-semitism.
Hannah joined the British Army in 1943 as part of the Haganah, a Jewish military unit. She volunteered to be trained as a paratrooper in a mission to join forces with resistance fighters in Budapest. After training in Egypt, Hannah was picked to be one of the thirty three people to be parachuted into Yugoslavia. She finally crossed the border into Hungary at the height of Jewish deportation.
Almost immediately, Hannah was caught by the Hungarian police. She was tortured and interrogated repeatedly by them, and still refused to give up information about her mission, especially the important radio codes. Not only that, the police also captured Hannah's mother to use as leverage against Hannah. However, it didn't work so they let her mother go. Hannah was tried to be executed by a firing squad. She refused to be blindfolded so she could face her executors, staying courageous right up until the moment she died. Hannah died at only twenty three years of age on November 7, 1944. Hannah's involvement greatly helped the Allied war effort because she kept the mission information a secret.