Hannah Szenes
Hannah Szenes | |
---|---|
Native name | חנה סנש |
Born | 17 July 1921 Budapest, Hungary |
Died | 7 November 1944 Budapest, Hungary | (aged 23)
Cause of death | Execution by firing squad |
Buried | Mount Herzl Military Cemetery, Israel |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service | 1943–1944 |
Unit | Special Operations Executive (SOE) |
Battles/wars | Second World War |
Writing career | |
Genre | Lyric poetry |
Notable works |
|
Website | |
www |
Hannah Szenes (often
Szenes was arrested at the Hungarian border by Hungarian gendarmes. She was imprisoned and tortured, but refused to reveal details of her mission. She was eventually tried and executed by firing squad.[2] She is regarded as a national hero in Israel but has largely been forgotten in her birthplace of Hungary according to The Guardian.[3] In Israel her poetry is widely known and the Yad Hana kibbutz, as well as several streets, are named after her.
Early life
Szenes was born in Budapest on 17 July, 1921, to an
She enrolled in a
The realization that the situation of the
Immigration to Nahalal
Szenes graduated in 1939 and decided to emigrate to Mandatory Palestine in order to study in the Girls' Agricultural School at Nahalal. In 1941, she joined Kibbutz Sdot Yam[4] and then joined the Haganah, the paramilitary group that laid the foundation of the Israel Defense Forces.[5]
In 1943, she enlisted in the British Women's Auxiliary Air Force as an Aircraftwoman 2nd Class. Later the same year, she was recruited into the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and was sent to Egypt for parachute training.[6]
The parachutists’ mission
Between 1943 and 1944, the Jewish community in Palestine (Yishuv) decided to send Jewish parachutists behind enemy lines to assist both Allied forces and the Jews in occupied Europe. The mission was a cooperation between the Yishuv and British forces to create a Jewish commando unit within the British army. Szenes volunteered and was selected along with 32 others, out of 250 candidates, to be sent on active missions.[7]
Arrest and torture
On March 14, 1944, she and two colleagues were parachuted into
Szenes continued on and headed for the Hungarian border. At the border, she and her companions were arrested by Hungarian gendarmes, who found her British military transmitter, used to communicate with the SOE and other partisans. She was taken to a prison, stripped, tied to a chair, then whipped and clubbed for three days. She lost several teeth as a result of the beatings.[8]
The guards wanted to know the code for her transmitter so they could find out who the parachutists were and trap others. Transferred to a Budapest prison, Szenes was repeatedly interrogated and tortured, but only revealed her name and refused to provide the transmitter code, even when her mother was also arrested. They threatened to kill her mother if she did not cooperate, but she refused.[2]
Trial and execution
She was tried for
Her diary was published in Hebrew in 1946. Her remains were brought to Israel in 1950 and buried in the cemetery on Mount Herzl, Jerusalem.[11][12] Her tombstone was brought to Israel in November 2007 and placed in Sdot Yam.[13]
During the trial of
After the Cold War, a Hungarian military court officially exonerated her. Her kin in Israel were informed on November 5, 1993.
Poetry, songs and plays
Szenes was a poet and playwright, writing both in Hungarian and Hebrew. The best known of these is "A Walk to Caesarea", commonly known as Eli, Eli ("My God, My God"). The well-known melody was composed by David Zahavi. Many singers have sung it, including Ofra Haza, Regina Spektor, and Sophie Milman. It was used to close some versions of the film Schindler's List.
Images
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Szenes in Budapest, c. 1937
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Szenes with members of Kibbutz Sdot Yam. (4th from left)
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Szenes in a Hungarian army uniform as a Purim costume
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Szenes in 1940
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Szenes's gravestone on Mount Herzl
In popular culture
- The Legend of Hannah Senesh, a play about Szenes written by Aharon Megged, was produced and directed by Laurence Merrick at the Princess Theatre in Los Angeles in 1964. Szenes was played by Joan Huntington.
- Hanna's War, a film about Szenes's life directed by Menahem Golan, was released in 1988. Szenes was portrayed by Maruschka Detmers.
- Blessed is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh, directed by Roberta Grossman, is a documentary film that recounts the events of Szenes's life. It was released in 2008.[15]
- Darkness (one two three), a musical pilot project of the Association of Global Art, led by the musician and singer Pazit Nuni , in which Szenes's last poem was composed and sung (English and Hebrew, 2019).
- Romanian composer Serban Nichifor released the song cycle "Four Poems by Hannah Szenes" for soprano and piano (2023).[16]
See also
References
- ^ "דף הבית". palmach.org.il.
- ^ a b c d e Hecht, Ben. Perfidy, first published by Julian Messner, 1961; this edition Milah Press, 1997, pp. 118–133. Hecht cites Bar Adon, Dorothy and Pessach. The Seven who Fell. Sefer Press, 1947, and "The Return of Hanna Senesh" in Pioneer Woman, XXV, No. 5, May 1950.
- ^ Walker 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-58023-342-2.
- ISBN 978-0-88125-428-0.
- ISBN 978-1-891662-91-1.
- ^ Laqueur, Baumel & Baumel-Schwartz 2001, p. 467.
- ^ Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh (2008 film)
- ^ Laqueur, Baumel & Baumel-Schwartz 2001, p. 623.
- ^ Baumel-Schwartz & Baumel-Schwartz 2010, p. 30.
- ^ "עצמותיה של חנה סנש למנוחות בהר–הרצל" [Hannah Szenes' bones are laid to rest at Mount Herzl]. Dvar (in Hebrew). March 20, 1950.
- ^ Photo and Timeline of Szene's Life, Reinterment at Mount Herzl, Hannah Sennesh House Website.
- ^ Ashkenazi, Eli (November 25, 2007). "Tombstone of WWII poet and spy Hannah Szenes arrives in Israel". Haaretz. Archived from the original on October 6, 2009.
- ^ Hecht, Ben. Perfidy. 1961, p. 132
- Internet Movie Database. IMDb. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
- ^ "Free sheet music : Nichifor, Serban – Four Poems by Hannah Senesh – Homage to HANNAH SENESH (1921–1944), Holocaust Martyr (Soprano and Piano)".
Bibliography
- חנה סנש: חייה, שליחותה ומותה, in Hebrew. 1952.
- Diario, cartas, iniciación literaria, misión y muerte, memorias de la madre, 1966. in Spanish. 396 pages.
- Hannah Senesh, Her Life & Diary, Schocken Books, 1972.
- Masters, Anthony. The Summer That Bled; The Biography of Hannah Senesh. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1972. OCLC 677086
- Goldenberg, Linda. In Kindling Flame: The Story of Hannah Senesh, 1921–1944. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1985. OCLC 10302495
- Hay, Peter. Ordinary Heroes: Chana Szenes and the Dream of Zion. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1986. OCLC 13395114
- Whitman, Ruth. The Testing of Hannah Senesh Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1986. ISBN 0814318533
- Maxine Rose Schur, Hannah Szenes: A Song of Light, Philadelphia, 1986. ISBN 0827606281
- Betzer, Oded. The Paratrooper Who Didn't Return. World Zionist Organization, 1989.
- Ransom, Candice F. So Young to Die: the Story of Hannah Senesh. Scholastic, 1993. OCLC 28137831
- Senesh, Hannah, and Marge Piercy (foreword). Hannah Senesh: Her Life and Diary. Jewish Lights Publishing, 2004. OCLC 269444258
- Gozlan, Martine, Hannah Szenes, l'étoile foudroyée. Paris: Ed. de l'Archipel, 2014. OCLC 897806840In French.
- Shalom, Avner, Hannah Senesh, Poems within the Depth, שירים מן המעמקים, The Association of Global Art Publishing House, Budapest and Caesarea 2018 ISBN 9786150033730in English and Hebrew, appendix A and B in Spanish and Lithuanian
- Baumel-Schwartz, J.T.; Baumel-Schwartz, J. (2010). Perfect Heroes: The World War II Parachutists and the Making of Israeli Collective Memory. WWII history / Judaica / Cultural studies / Israel. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-23483-6.
- Laqueur, W.; Baumel, J.T.; Baumel-Schwartz, J.T. (2001). The Holocaust Encyclopedia. The Erwin and Riva Baker Memorial Collection. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-08432-0. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
- Senesh, H.; Piercy, M.; Grossman, R.; Senesh, E. (2007). Hannah Senesh: Her Life and Diary. Jewish Lights Publishing. ISBN 978-1-58023-342-2.
Web sources
- Walker, Shaun (July 16, 2021). "Hungary's forgotten wartime heroine remembered 100 years after her birth". the Guardian.
External links
- Video Lecture by Dr. Henry Abramson on Hannah Szenes
- Teacher's Study Guide Archived August 30, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- Hannah Senesh Legacy foundation
- Jewish Community Day School, Brooklyn, New York
- Blessed Is The Match, a documentary film about Hannah
- Blessed Is The Match at Women Make Movies
- Hannah Szenes Biography at J-Grit: The Internet Index of Tough Jews
- Hannah Szenes: Poet, Hero, Martyr: Video lecture on Hannah Szenesh by Dr. Henry Abramson
- Hannah Szenes on Jewish.hu's list of famous Hungarian Jews
- Chana Szenes – The Match That Burns Forever
- The Heroism of Hannah Senesh - Eli, Eli by Sophie Milman