2 minute read
A heroine worth remembering
Even if you recognize the words of Hannah Senesh, you may not know her heroic story
By Ida Margolis, GenShoah Chair
Did you recognize “Eli Eli,” the above poem? You likely heard it as a song in English or the original Hebrew. It is nearly always included in Yom HaShoah programs. This is only one of the many beautiful poems written by young poet Hannah Senesh.
Senesh was born in Budapest on July 17, 1921, to a distinguished Hungarian Jewish family. Her father, who died when she was a child, had been a wellknown writer. When Senesh encountered anti-Semitism during her high school years, she decided to learn more about her Jewish origins and discovered the Zionist movement. She joined a Zionist youth movement and learned Hebrew.
In 1939, after finishing her high school studies, Senesh went to Palestine to study agriculture. She joined a kibbutz and continued the writing that she had begun in Hungary.
In 1941, she joined the Haganah, and in 1943, she enlisted in the British Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. Later that year, she was recruited to join a clandestine military project, whose ultimate purpose was to offer aid to beleaguered European Jewry. She became a member of the Palmah and was trained as a paratrooper.
In mid-March 1944, she and several others were dropped into Yugoslavia in order to aid the anti-Nazi forces and enter Hungary. Within hours of entering Hungary, she was captured and sent to prison, where she was tortured for information she never gave.
Senesh would not be broken, even after she discovered her mother was arrested and was told that her mother would be killed if Senesh did not cooperate. Only 22, refusing to beg for clemency and refusing a blindfold, she faced her murderers.
Senesh was buried in the Jewish graveyard at Budapest. Her mother survived, immigrated to Palestine, told of her daughter’s courageous life and death, and brought her daughter’s diary, poetry and plays to the public.
In 1950, Senesh’s remains were brought to Israel, where they were buried in the “Parachutists’ section” in the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. In the same year, a kibbutz was founded and called Yad Hannah in her memory. Senesh is a figure of great renown in Israel, though largely unknown in most of the world, even though many people have heard her words and been moved by her beautiful poetry.
Fortunately, her poetry is easily available, books about her have been written, and recently, a very moving play about her was produced by the Folksbeine National Yiddish Theater. A wonderful film was made about Senesh, “Blessed is the Match,” which has been shown locally and on PBS.
Hannah Senesh is like the stars and special people she wrote about, “There are stars whose radiance is visible on Earth though they have long been extinct. There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world even though they are no longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark. They light the way for humankind.”
She is indeed a light for humankind, a heroine worth remembering.
