Episode Details

Explore the courageous, yet tragically short, life of Hannah Szenes (1921–1944), the Hungarian-born Jewish poet, diarist, and paratrooper whose ultimate sacrifice became a profound symbol of resistance and hope during the Holocaust. Born into a privileged family, she emigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1939 to fulfill her Zionist ideals, but in 1944, volunteered to parachute behind enemy lines into Axis-occupied Hungary to aid the rescue of Jewish refugees and Allied pilots. . Captured almost immediately, she refused to divulge any information under torture and was executed by firing squad at the age of 23. Her legacy endures not only through her selfless heroism but also through her haunting, eloquent Hebrew poetry—including the beloved poem "Eli, Eli" (My God, My God)—which speaks to the beauty of the land of Israel and the spirit of a generation who fought to define a Jewish future.