Hannah Szenes

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Hannah Szenes (often anglicized as Hannah Senesh or Chanah Senesh; Hebrew: חנה סנש; Hungarian: Szenes Hanna; 17 July 1921 – 7 November 1944) was a Jewish poet, playwright, and resistance operative trained by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). In 1944, she was one of 37 Jewish volunteers from Mandatory Palestine parachuted into occupied Europe to support Allied efforts and help rescue Jews facing extermination. After crossing into Hungary from Yugoslavia, she was captured by Hungarian gendarmes, imprisoned, and tortured but refused to reveal mission details. She was later tried for treason by a court under the fascist Arrow Cross regime and executed in Budapest. Szenes is remembered in Israel as a national heroine, known for her poetry and for her actions during the Holocaust. Her most famous poem, A Walk to Caesarea ("Eli, Eli"), is frequently recited in commemorations.

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