Photograph of Hannah Szenes in Kibbutz Sdot Yam; sent to her brother in occupied France, December 1941.
This photograph was mailed to Giyora Szenes, Hannah’s older brother. Giyora traveled to France to study just prior to the outbreak of WWII and stayed there. Hannah’s brief handwritten message to Giyora (in English) appears on the back of the photo: "I have not a better snap, so I send this, taken before the dining room of the Kibuts in XII [December] 1941. The warning finger would remind you be a good boy and take care for your-self! Yours, anny".
Provenance: Estate of Hannah Szenes.
6.5X9 cm. Good condition. Crease to corner and some stains on verso.
Hannah Szenes’s letters to her brother Giyora
Hannah (Anikó) Szenes (1921-1944), Jewish fighter and poet, one of the most renowned and beloved figures in the Yishuv in the later years of the British Mandate period and the early years of the Jewish state. Szenes was one of 26 Jewish parachutists who were flown behind enemy lines during the Second World War, parachuting into occupied Europe to fight on behalf of the Allied forces against Nazi Germany. In 1944, she was arrested and taken captive by Hungarian soldiers, severely tortured and eventually executed, having refused under interrogation to divulge the names of her comrades. Her courageous story has been preserved and retold over the years through countless books, films, and plays.
Giyora (György) Szenes (1920-1995), Hannah’s elder brother and a soldier in the Jewish Brigade. In 1938, he moved to Lyon, France to study the art of silk weaving. Toward the end of the Second World War, he crossed the border into Spain, and from there, in 1944, set sail for Palestine aboard the ship “Nyassa”. Upon arriving in Palestine, he managed to meet up with Hannah one last time before she embarked on her fatal mission to Europe. He adopted his Hebrew name, Giyora, on Hannah’s advice.
Throughout their years of separation, Hannah and Giyora consistently kept in touch by mail. After reading Hannah’s letters, Giyora would forward them to their mother, Katherina, who was living alone in Budapest. When Budapest was liberated by the Soviet Red Army, Katherina loaded all of Hannah’s letters into two suitcases, crossed the border into Romania, and boarded a ship for Palestine. The present photograph was included among the letters she brought with her to Palestine.
For a literary reference on the subject of Hannah Szenes’s letters, please refer to the Hebrew version of this entry.
