Rishon Rishon

Hannah Szenes (Hana Senesh)

Hannah Szenes (the spelling is her native Hugarian, in Hebrew: Hana Senesh - חנה סנש) is one of the best loved Israeli poets. Her most well known poem is halikha l'qesarya (הליכה לקסריה) - Walking to Caesaria (a Roman ruin on the coast of Israel):

אלי, אלי
שלא יגמר לעולם
החול והים
רשרוש של המים
ברק השמיים
תפילת האדם

Eli, eli
Shelo' yigamer l`olam
Hahol v'hayam
Rishrush shel hamayim
Braq hashamayim
T'filat ha'adam

My God, my God
May it not end forever
The sand and the sea
The rush of the water
The lightning of the heavens
The prayer of Man

I understand that the move Schindler's List ends with this song. This site tells Hannah Szenes's story. Here is what she wrote about that walk to Caesaria:

In the morning, I roam through the ancient ruins; in the afternoon, I walk in the fields, or to be more precise, on the land designated to become our fields. When I see with what fury the foamy waves rush against the shore and how they become silent and peaceful upon crashing against the sand, I think that our enthusiasm and anger is not much different. As they roll, they are powerful and vigorous and when they touch the shore, they break, they calm down and they begin to play like small children on the golden sand.

This is how her life ended:

Soon after, Hannah is recruited by the British Intelligence Services. During the winter of 1943-44, she and her companions parachuted into Yugoslavia in order to make contact with the partisans. For their part, the leaders of the Palestinian community - the yishuv - call upon them to come to the aid of the Jews threatened by the Nazis. They will accomplish both tasks, joining the partisans, conveying information to the Allies and urging their fellow Jews to secure Palestine. According to her comrade, Yoel Palgui, Hannah proves to be the most enterprising and determined of all. She is ardent about the Jewish question and about Israel.

On May 13th, 1944, Hannah and her comrades cross the Hungarian border in small groups. The Hungarian police arrest some of them including Hannah. She is incarcerated in the same prison as Yoel to whom she recounts the circumstances of her arrest and interrogations. The following are excerpts of Yoel's testimony:

She suffered the most terrible forms of torture without yielding. A missing tooth was testimony of their cruelty. They had whipped the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet. They had tied her up, forcing her to remain immobile for hours. They had beaten her so violently that her body was completely covered with ecchymoses. Her torturers wanted to know the radio code. They had discovered the transmitter that she had hidden before being captured and they wanted the correspondence code in order to send false messages and direct the Allies' bombers to their anti-aircraft guns. Aware of the importance of the code, Hannah refused to reveal it. (...)

The worst was yet to come for Hannah in the prison in Budapest. She certainly did not long to find herself again in the city of her birth. They threw her into a cell where, to her great sorrow, she met her mother. At a loss of words, she embraced her tightly and could only murmur these words: " Mother, forgive me, but I could not renounce my obligations. "

The Germans knew what they were doing. They threatened to torture her mother and to execute her before Hannah's very eyes if she refused to reveal the code. But she did not yield. Only those who knew how much she loved her mother could begin to imagine her suffering. For my part, I was shaken by her account and could not hide my bewilderment. How could she remain so calm and so steadfast? Where did she find the courage to sacrifice her mother, whom she so loved, rather than reveal a secret, upon which, it is true, the lives of many depended? Who knows? Perhaps her determination indirectly contributed to saving her mother? Had she yielded, the Germans would surly have executed her, sending her mother to the gas chambers in Auschwitz.

Imshin (I can't believe this is the first time I'm linking to her, I really like her site) tells about her special relationship with Hannah Szenes. Go read it.

Posted by David Boxenhorn at January 27, 2005 03:09 PM