All Topics  
Palestinian Jewish Parachutists

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Palestinian Jewish Parachutists
 
 
  Topics Palestinian Jewish Parachutists Topic Home

Between 1943 and 1945, a group of Jewish men and women from Palestine who had volunteered to join the British army parachuted into German-occupied Europe.

Their mission was to organize resistance to the Germans and aid in the rescue of Allied personnel
Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers of World War II during the World War II. Within the ranks of the Allies powers, the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and the United States of America were known as "The Big Three"....
. Of the 250 original volunteers, 110 underwent training. Thirty-two eventually parachuted into Europe and five infiltrated the target countries by other routes.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Palestinian Jewish Parachutists'
Start a new discussion about 'Palestinian Jewish Parachutists'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Between 1943 and 1945, a group of Jewish men and women from Palestine who had volunteered to join the British army parachuted into German-occupied Europe.

Their mission was to organize resistance to the Germans and aid in the rescue of Allied personnel
Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers of World War II during the World War II. Within the ranks of the Allies powers, the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and the United States of America were known as "The Big Three"....
. Of the 250 original volunteers, 110 underwent training. Thirty-two eventually parachuted into Europe and five infiltrated the target countries by other routes. Most of those selected for training were emigres from Europe, with intimate knowledge of the countries to which they would be sent.

Three of the parachutists infiltrated Hungary, five participated in the Slovak National Uprising
Slovak National Uprising

The Slovak National Uprising or 1944 Uprising was an armed insurrection organized by the Slovakia Resistance during World War II movement during World War II....
 in October 1944, and six operated in northern Italy. Ten parachutists served with British liaison missions to the Yugoslav partisans. Nine parachutists operated in Romania
Romania

Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....
. Two others entered Bulgaria
Bulgaria

The state of Bulgaria , Scientific transliteration Balgarija, officially the Republic of Bulgaria has played a significant role in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe for over fourteen centuries....
, and one each operated in France and Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
.

The Germans captured 12 and executed 7 of the 37 parachutists sent into occupied Europe. Three of those executed were captured in Slovakia
Slovakia

Slovakia . It was amended in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president and again in February 2001 due to EU admission requirements....
. Two were captured in Hungary
Hungary

Hungary , officially in English the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia....
 and one in northern Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
. After 7 missions the parachutist who entered France
Vichy France

Vichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944. This government, which succeeded the French Third Republic, officially called itself the French State , in contrast with the previous designation, "French Republic." Marshal of France Philippe P?tain pro...
 was captured and killed.

Hannah Szenes
Hannah Szenes

Hannah Szenes was a Hungary Jew, one of 37 Jews living in Palestine, now Israel, who were trained by the British army to paratroop into Yugoslavia during the Second World War in order to help save the History of the Jews in Hungary, who were about to be deported to the German death camp at Auschwitz concentration camp....
, one of the best-known of the parachutists, was seized in German-occupied Hungary and executed in Budapest on November 7, 1944, at the age of 23. Szenes was a talented poet and her songs are still sung in Israel.

After the war, remains of the seven parachutists who lost their lives during the war, including Szenes, were interred in the National Military Cemetery overlooking Jerusalem
Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
 in Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
.

External links

  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum -