Hannah Senesh Archive.

Hannah Szenes or Hannah Senesh (Szenes Anikó), an Israeli parachuter and poet. Born in Budapest in 17 July 1921 to Béla Szenes, a well-known journalist and playwright from Hungary, and Katherina Szenes. When she was 18 years old she made an Aliyah and studied in Hana Meisel Shochat's agricultural school for girls at Nahalal. In 1941 she joined the Youth group which founded Kibbutz Sdot Yam and in 1943 volunteered for a parachuting group sent to land in Europe as part of the war against the Nazis. In March 1944 she and her comrades landed in north Yugoslavia, near the Hungarian border, in June she crossed the border to Hungary and was caught by Hungarian soldiers. She was sent to prison in Budapest, was charged in front of a military court of espionage and treason, and was executed in 7 November 1944. Hannah was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Budapest and in 1950 her bones were taken to Israel and re-buried in Mount Hetzel. The archive named after her includes: diaries, poems and studies notebooks, manuscripts, correspondences, documents and photographs which were in the possession of Hannah Szenes; Different documents of her father, the journalist and playwright Béla Szenes; Documents and letters of her brother, Giora Senesh, regarding the commemoration of his sister, his sportive and military activities; Letters and documents of her mother, Katherina Szenes, regarding her daughter's commemoration and the remembrance of the Holocaust in general; Different photographs of the Szenes Family; Correspondences, books, drafts and scripts regarding the commemoration of Hannah Szenes. The archives of Hannah Szenes and her relatives were kept by her family for many years. In 2020 they were deposited in the National Library of Israel, by the generous help of Ori and Mirit Eisen. Read more