The awe-inspiring story of Hannah Senesh a female paratrooper in World War II whose courage
and sacrifice left an indelible mark on history. In the years before World War II thousands
of young Jewish men and women escaped Europe seeking safety in British Mandatory Palestine. By
1942 horrifying reports began to spread about industrialised killing centres in Poland and a
chilling campaign to exterminate Europe's entire Jewish population. When it became clear that
the Allies were unwilling to spare any forces from the war effort to save civilians the Jewish
community in Palestine came up with a daring plan. Working with British Military Intelligence
an elite unit of young Jewish paratroopers volunteered to return to eastern Europe. Once behind
enemy lines they would use their expertise in the local languages and terrain to rescue
thousands of downed Allied pilots and escaped POWs. At the same time these volunteer commandos
would help Jewish civilians escape deportation to death camps or take up arms in resistance
against the Nazis. Hannah Senesh was one of only three female paratroopers who risked
everything to infiltrate occupied Europe. In 1939 at just eighteen years old Hannah
emigrated from Hungary to British Mandatory Palestine where she dreamed of being a poet and a
schoolteacher. Instead she became a poet and a paratrooper. Five years after fleeing Europe
Hannah parachuted back into occupied territory as a freedom fighter with the most crucial role
in her team: the wireless operator tasked with sending and deciphering top secret British radio
codes. Though captured after crossing the border into Hungary she refused to give up her radio
codes or any information about her mission despite enduring months of torture. Her final act
of defiance - choosing to die before a firing squad rather than beg for clemency - cemented her
legendary status as the 'Jewish Joan of Arc' and her posthumously published poems translated
into more than twenty languages continue to inspire new generations of readers. More than
just a gripping historical account of Hannah's life and afterlife Crash of the Heavens offers
a powerful reminder of the human spirit's ability to shine even in the darkest of times.
