"I want to believe that what I did and will do is right. As for the rest... only time will tell."
Timeline
Anna was born in Budapest
July 17- Anna was born in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, the daughter of Katrina and Bella Szenes, a famous playwright, and the sister of Giora.
Bella Szenes passed away at age thirty three
May 26- Father Bella Szenes passed away. "My dearest father was snatched away before his time. We will never see him again…"
Anna begins her studies at Protestant Gymnasium for Girls.
Anna studies at Protestant Gymnasium for Girls
January, 1933 - Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany.
Anna is 13 years old and starts writing a diary.
Anna is 13 years old and starts writing a diary.
"In the afternoon we went to the synagogue..."
"We visited the opera house. We saw 'The Barber of Seville."
"In the afternoon we went to the synagogue..."
"We visited the opera house. We saw 'The Barber of Seville."
From Anna's diary
"…I like to skate and I'm also a member of the sports club…"
"In the play, 'The Tragedy of Man', I play the role of the angel Mikhail…"
My report card only had A's... Apart from French."
"My ideal guy: He must be good-looking, but not a dandy, play sports, but also be knowledgeable about other fields, be educated and smart, cheerful…"
"I wrote two poems... one for Mother and the other...again about life…"
"Mother sometimes plays Chopin's compositions [on the piano] and the music is so beautiful that I just want to burst into tears."
Hitler withdraws from the Treaty of Versailles and ends the military restrictions imposed on Germany after World War I. September, 1935 - Nuremberg Laws (Race Laws) are enacted in Germany.
"In the play, 'The Tragedy of Man', I play the role of the angel Mikhail…"
My report card only had A's... Apart from French."
"My ideal guy: He must be good-looking, but not a dandy, play sports, but also be knowledgeable about other fields, be educated and smart, cheerful…"
"I wrote two poems... one for Mother and the other...again about life…"
"Mother sometimes plays Chopin's compositions [on the piano] and the music is so beautiful that I just want to burst into tears."
Hitler withdraws from the Treaty of Versailles and ends the military restrictions imposed on Germany after World War I. September, 1935 - Nuremberg Laws (Race Laws) are enacted in Germany.
"Today was the premiere. I wrote the play and even directed it…"
"Once again, I'm seized by the ambition to be a writer. It feels so wonderful to write something good."
"Today was the premiere. I wrote the play and even directed it…"
"I serve as Treasurer of the Shorthand Circle and Secretary of the Bible Circle."
"Today I had an English lesson. I also like the language."
"I'm still reading War and Peace by Tolstoy."
"Today I got a private student and I have to teach her math."
"Today was the premiere. I wrote the play and even directed it…"
"I serve as Treasurer of the Shorthand Circle and Secretary of the Bible Circle."
"Today I had an English lesson. I also like the language."
"I'm still reading War and Peace by Tolstoy."
"Today I got a private student and I have to teach her math."
"In my term diploma, I got an "A" in everything but painting"
"In my mid-term diploma, I got an "A" in everything but art."
"I wore a long blue taffeta dress for the first time. Everyone said that it suited me."
"I'm afraid of getting addicted to writing and getting used to the thought that I'm talented, yet I can't stop writing either, and I don't want to."
"Another candidate was put forward, with the express intention of preventing my election, because I'm a Jew."
"I'm beginning to understand what it means to be a Jew in Christian society... but in no way would I be able to convert to Christianity."
"Religion, in my opinion, is of great value in life and is ridiculous is the opinion... that faith is a crutch for the weak only…"
"I wore a long blue taffeta dress for the first time. Everyone said that it suited me."
"I'm afraid of getting addicted to writing and getting used to the thought that I'm talented, yet I can't stop writing either, and I don't want to."
"Another candidate was put forward, with the express intention of preventing my election, because I'm a Jew."
"I'm beginning to understand what it means to be a Jew in Christian society... but in no way would I be able to convert to Christianity."
"Religion, in my opinion, is of great value in life and is ridiculous is the opinion... that faith is a crutch for the weak only…"
"One thought constantly preoccupies me: the Land of Israel."
March - Germany annexes Austria
May - in Hungary laws discriminating Jews are enacted.
September - The Munich Agreement, Czechoslovakia is annexed to Germany.
Giora Szenes moves to Lyon, France to study textile [design?]
"The events have caused us so much excitement... Will the Czech Republic declare enlistment in order to protect the Sudetes? And what will England and France say and whom will Italy join?"
"Purim is behind us. The dance was successful... I danced last night as well. There were some pretty pleasant guys there, but I didn't like any of them that much to continue with them."
"There's been a fundamental change in my worldview... I'm tired of this empty gang of converts. I would love to go to Israel already. I can't stand my old friends."
"One thought constantly preoccupies me: the Land of Israel."
November – "Kristallnacht" in Germany.
May - in Hungary laws discriminating Jews are enacted.
September - The Munich Agreement, Czechoslovakia is annexed to Germany.
Giora Szenes moves to Lyon, France to study textile [design?]
"The events have caused us so much excitement... Will the Czech Republic declare enlistment in order to protect the Sudetes? And what will England and France say and whom will Italy join?"
"Purim is behind us. The dance was successful... I danced last night as well. There were some pretty pleasant guys there, but I didn't like any of them that much to continue with them."
"There's been a fundamental change in my worldview... I'm tired of this empty gang of converts. I would love to go to Israel already. I can't stand my old friends."
"One thought constantly preoccupies me: the Land of Israel."
November – "Kristallnacht" in Germany.
Anna completes her studies in the gymnasium and learns Hebrew in preparation for her immigration to the Land of Israel
September 1 - The German army invades Poland. Britain and France declare war on Germany. World War II starts.
April - Anna visits her brother in Lyon in France.
June - Anna graduates from the Gymnasium and completes her matriculation exam.
Anna starts writing in Hebrew in her diary.
In a farewell letter to her Judaism teacher: "In truth, these were hours dedicated to the soul. They gave us the Jewish consciousness and taught us that we are Jews and that Judaism is a great legacy... we learned to ask for God."
In a farewell letter to the Jewish student movement "Makkabiah": "There is one place on earth where we aren't immigrants, we're not even refugees - rather, we're coming home... to the Land of Israel."
April - Anna visits her brother in Lyon in France.
June - Anna graduates from the Gymnasium and completes her matriculation exam.
Anna starts writing in Hebrew in her diary.
In a farewell letter to her Judaism teacher: "In truth, these were hours dedicated to the soul. They gave us the Jewish consciousness and taught us that we are Jews and that Judaism is a great legacy... we learned to ask for God."
In a farewell letter to the Jewish student movement "Makkabiah": "There is one place on earth where we aren't immigrants, we're not even refugees - rather, we're coming home... to the Land of Israel."
"I am in the Jezreel Valley, I have finally arrived home."
July - "I got it! I got the certificate!"
September 20 - Anna arrives to the Land of Israel. She begins her studies at the Girls' Agricultural School at Nahalal.
"I am in the Jezreel Valley, in Nahalal. I have finally arrived home."
September 20 - Anna arrives to the Land of Israel. She begins her studies at the Girls' Agricultural School at Nahalal.
"I am in the Jezreel Valley, in Nahalal. I have finally arrived home."
"I feel that I cannot live without writing."
May - France surrenders to the German army.
“From where will I find the patience to study and prepare for the exam while Europe is fighting its biggest battle in human history? The days ahead will determine the future of the world... And if the entire world is standing on the verge of an abyss, it is hard to deal with the little questions."
October - First poem in Hebrew: "In the bonfires of war... I pass my small lamp, to search, to search for a human being..."
"I have much faith in the future of the land, even within every fire and storm."
"And mother - I see her before me on sleepless nights, how she wakes up in the morning full of worries..."
Yom Kippur Eve: "My desire to confess, to answer to myself, to answer to God, means to measure my life and my actions against a higher ideal..." "I feel that I cannot live without writing."
“From where will I find the patience to study and prepare for the exam while Europe is fighting its biggest battle in human history? The days ahead will determine the future of the world... And if the entire world is standing on the verge of an abyss, it is hard to deal with the little questions."
October - First poem in Hebrew: "In the bonfires of war... I pass my small lamp, to search, to search for a human being..."
"I have much faith in the future of the land, even within every fire and storm."
"And mother - I see her before me on sleepless nights, how she wakes up in the morning full of worries..."
Yom Kippur Eve: "My desire to confess, to answer to myself, to answer to God, means to measure my life and my actions against a higher ideal..." "I feel that I cannot live without writing."
"Sometimes I feel like I'm some kind of emissary, who has a duty... Sometimes it seems as though all this is nonsense... Why me?"
"Sometimes I feel like I'm some kind of emissary, who has a duty... Sometimes it seems as though all this is nonsense... Why me?"
"I can't do anything, but I can't sit by passively either..."
March – In North Africa, the British army fights the German and Italian armies. Italian planes bomb Haifa and Tel Aviv. Thousands of young Jews from the Land of Israel enlist in the British Army.
April - The German army occupies Greece and Yugoslavia. The Land of Israel fears invasion from Syria and Lebanon.
Anna writes in Nahalal: "If we stop, you will have to carry the heavy burden..." [from her poem, 'To the Brothers'].
June – The British army occupies Syria and Lebanon and removes the threat from the north of the Land of Israel.
June 22 - the German army invades the Soviet Union. The extermination of the Jews begins.
Submarine war in the Atlantic Ocean.
"I received a telegram from Mother and realized how anxious she is and how worried she is about me."
September - Anna completes her studies in Nahalal. Considers joining a kibbutz.
December - Joins the Sdot Yam group in Kiryat Haim. December 7th - The Japanese army attacks Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The United States declares war on Japan. The Japanese army occupies parts of Southeast Asia.
"I can't do anything, but I can't sit by passively either..."
March – In North Africa, the British army fights the German and Italian armies. Italian planes bomb Haifa and Tel Aviv. Thousands of young Jews from the Land of Israel enlist in the British Army.
April - The German army occupies Greece and Yugoslavia. The Land of Israel fears invasion from Syria and Lebanon.
Anna writes in Nahalal: "If we stop, you will have to carry the heavy burden..." [from her poem, 'To the Brothers'].
June – The British army occupies Syria and Lebanon and removes the threat from the north of the Land of Israel.
June 22 - the German army invades the Soviet Union. The extermination of the Jews begins.
Submarine war in the Atlantic Ocean.
"I received a telegram from Mother and realized how anxious she is and how worried she is about me."
September - Anna completes her studies in Nahalal. Considers joining a kibbutz.
December - Joins the Sdot Yam group in Kiryat Haim. December 7th - The Japanese army attacks Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The United States declares war on Japan. The Japanese army occupies parts of Southeast Asia.
"I'm plagued by extreme doubt... I stand on my feet nine hours a day, washing laundry, and I ask myself if this is really my purpose?"
"I'm plagued by extreme doubt... I stand on my feet nine hours a day, washing laundry, and I ask myself if this is really my purpose?"
"I think quite a bit about recruiting. The entire country is being recruited for the war effort, a war that is approaching us..." June - the U.S. Navy defeats the Japanese
fleet at the Battle of Midway.
June – The German army approach Alexandria in Egypt. The British prepare to retreat from the Land of Israel.
The Jewish Yishuv fears a German invasion from Egypt.
July – In Auschwitz-Birkenau the Germans begin the annihilation of the Jews.
October – The Battle of El Alamein. The German army retreats. The threat is removed from the Land of Israel.
November – The German army approaches Moscow. The Battle of Stalingrad and the Siege of Leningrad.
November 24 – Official confirmation of the news regarding the extermination of the Jews of Europe. The Land of Israel declares three days of mourning.
November - Anna moves to Caesarea. Writes her poems: "A Walk to Caesarea" [Eli Eli] and "On the Way".
December – The Red Army wins the Battle of Stalingrad.
"I think quite a bit about recruiting. The entire country is being recruited for the war effort, a war that is approaching us..." June - the U.S. Navy defeats the Japanese
fleet at the Battle of Midway.
June – The German army approach Alexandria in Egypt. The British prepare to retreat from the Land of Israel.
The Jewish Yishuv fears a German invasion from Egypt.
July – In Auschwitz-Birkenau the Germans begin the annihilation of the Jews.
October – The Battle of El Alamein. The German army retreats. The threat is removed from the Land of Israel.
November – The German army approaches Moscow. The Battle of Stalingrad and the Siege of Leningrad.
November 24 – Official confirmation of the news regarding the extermination of the Jews of Europe. The Land of Israel declares three days of mourning.
November - Anna moves to Caesarea. Writes her poems: "A Walk to Caesarea" [Eli Eli] and "On the Way".
December – The Red Army wins the Battle of Stalingrad.
Anna joins the Paratroopers Delegation
January - "I've been chosen to be in charge of the produce and kitchen storeroom... I have no desire to do this job..." "I live here like a drop of oil in the water, sometimes afloat and sometimes submerged, but always in a world of my own, never merging with any other drop.
" "Some bodies light up without a ray of light falling on them from a foreign body. Can I also be like them?"
"I had this sudden idea that I had to go to Hungary. Help the youth movement organization and bring Mother, and although I'm aware of the absurdity [chuckle] of this idea, it still seems feasible to me."
February – The German army surrenders in Stalingrad.
"How long can you live without air? How long without food? And how many days without company and a book? I'm conducting this interesting experiment on myself."
Anna accepts the offer to join the paratroopers' delegation.
May - "I'm waiting for the day they'll call me."
July – The Red Army launches an attack westward.
The Allied army lands in Sicily and begins the occupation of Italy.
June – The kibbutz meeting confirms Anna's recruitment. She starts her military training for the mission in Europe.
"There was no coincidence in the turn of events in my life. It was all an internal necessity and at the same time stood up from an argument...in any other way I was unhappy."
January - Anna moves to Egypt to complete her military training and prepares to leave for Europe.
In a letter to her brother Giora: "...There are events in which human life becomes nothing, a worthless toy, or a demand to do something, even at the cost of life itself...
" "Some bodies light up without a ray of light falling on them from a foreign body. Can I also be like them?"
"I had this sudden idea that I had to go to Hungary. Help the youth movement organization and bring Mother, and although I'm aware of the absurdity [chuckle] of this idea, it still seems feasible to me."
February – The German army surrenders in Stalingrad.
"How long can you live without air? How long without food? And how many days without company and a book? I'm conducting this interesting experiment on myself."
Anna accepts the offer to join the paratroopers' delegation.
May - "I'm waiting for the day they'll call me."
July – The Red Army launches an attack westward.
The Allied army lands in Sicily and begins the occupation of Italy.
June – The kibbutz meeting confirms Anna's recruitment. She starts her military training for the mission in Europe.
"There was no coincidence in the turn of events in my life. It was all an internal necessity and at the same time stood up from an argument...in any other way I was unhappy."
January - Anna moves to Egypt to complete her military training and prepares to leave for Europe.
In a letter to her brother Giora: "...There are events in which human life becomes nothing, a worthless toy, or a demand to do something, even at the cost of life itself...
"There are events in which human life becomes nothing, a worthless toy, or a demand to do something, even at the cost of life itself..."
February 3, 1944 - Anna comes to a vacation in the Land of Israel. She meets her brother Giora, who arrives from Spain.
March 14 – Anna, Yonah Rosen, Abba Berdychev, and Ruben Daphne drop in northern Yugoslavia.
March 19 – The Germans take over Hungary. The Germans start sending the Jews to Auschwitz.
May -The United States Army start launching an attack in the Pacific Islands.
March 14 – Anna, Yonah Rosen, Abba Berdychev, and Ruben Daphne drop in northern Yugoslavia.
March 19 – The Germans take over Hungary. The Germans start sending the Jews to Auschwitz.
May -The United States Army start launching an attack in the Pacific Islands.
Anna is caught and executed
June – Allied forces land in Normandy in France. The Allies capture the south of Italy
June 8 – At the border crossing, Anna hands Ruben Daphne the song "Blessed is the Match"
June 10 - Anna is caught after the border crossing to Hungary.
June 17 - Anna meets her mother in prison.
August - The Red Army liberates Romania and Bulgaria and starts approaching Budapest.
October 28 - Anna's trial begins.
November 7 - Anna is executed. Katarina escapes a death march, returns to Budapest, and hides in a monastery until the end of the battles in the city.
June 8 – At the border crossing, Anna hands Ruben Daphne the song "Blessed is the Match"
June 10 - Anna is caught after the border crossing to Hungary.
June 17 - Anna meets her mother in prison.
August - The Red Army liberates Romania and Bulgaria and starts approaching Budapest.
October 28 - Anna's trial begins.
November 7 - Anna is executed. Katarina escapes a death march, returns to Budapest, and hides in a monastery until the end of the battles in the city.
Katerina Szenes arrives in the Land of Israel
January-April - Budapest and Hungary are occupied by the Red Army.
January 27 - Camp Auschwitz is liberated.
April - The Russian and American armies meet on German soil.
May 8 - The Red Army completes the occupation of Berlin.
9 May – Germany surrenders unconditionally.
July - Official announcement by the British Army of Anna's death.
August 6 - Atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan surrenders unconditionally.
October 30 - Katerina Szenes arrives in the Land of Israel.
January 27 - Camp Auschwitz is liberated.
April - The Russian and American armies meet on German soil.
May 8 - The Red Army completes the occupation of Berlin.
9 May – Germany surrenders unconditionally.
July - Official announcement by the British Army of Anna's death.
August 6 - Atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan surrenders unconditionally.
October 30 - Katerina Szenes arrives in the Land of Israel.
Anna becomes a national hero.
First edition of the book "Anna Szenes – Journals, Song, Testimonies".
Anna becomes a national hero.
Anna becomes a national hero.
Anna Szenes House
March 27-28 - Anna Szenes coffin arrives from Hungary and is buried at a state funeral at the paratroopers' plot in Mount Herzl.
Anna Szenes House is inaugurated in Kibbutz Sdot Yam.
Anna Szenes House is inaugurated in Kibbutz Sdot Yam.
Ma'agan Disaster
July 29 - Ma'agan Disaster. At a memorial ceremony noting ten years to the paratroopers' delegation, a light plane crashes into the crowd. In the disaster, 17 of the ceremony's participants perish, four of whom were paratroopers who returned from Europe.
Poetry
Anna’s mother tongue was Hungarian, but in Hebrew her poetry became clear and developed into her own unique voice. In her first Hebrew poem, “The Fires of War”, written in Nahalal in 1940, we notice the noticeable common denominator of most of her poems – the struggle to maintain humanity in the darkest days known by mankind and the knowledge of the Jewish people. The day after the horrifying news of the annihilation of European Jewry was confirmed, Anna wrote her famous poem “A Walk to Caesarea”, known as “Eli Eli…”. The lyrics of the song, which is a kind of prayer, accurately express Anna’s Jewish faith and humanistic view. In May 1944, one month before she was captured in Hungary, Anna wrote her last poem in Hebrew, “Blessed is the Match”. The lyrics are a perfect expression of the simplicity of the necessity to act, while aware that failure may result in her death.
[Prof. Uzi Shavit, “Anna Szenes, Her Life and Diary, The First Complete Edition, 1972 “, p. 59]
