[2] The Germans organized forces to put down the Jewish resistance, and Reik and the other parachutists escaped with about 40 local Jews into the mountains.

[3] Marta (Haviva) Reick was born in the Slovakian village of Nadabula (now a part of Rožňava), and grew up in Banská Bystrica in the Carpathian Mountains.

In 1939, she made aliyah—emigrated to what was then Mandatory Palestine—where she joined kibbutz Ma'anit and later enlisted in the Palmach, the elite strike force of the Haganah underground military organization.

[6] The mission, parachuting into Nazi-controlled territory, was highly secret and extremely dangerous; before the operation Reik told friends that she was not sure she would ever return.

[4] An uprising was in progress at the time in her native Slovakia against the Axis-installed Hlinkova Slovenská Ľudová Strana (Slovak People's Party of Hlinka; HSLS).

[7] On the night of 14 September 1944, Rafi Reiss [he], Zvi Ben-Yaakov [he], and Haim Hermesh [he], parachuted into Slovakia; the jump was dubbed "Operation Amsterdam".

"[8] The three male parachutists landed safely and made their way in a few days to Banská Bystrica—and were surprised to find Reik already there waiting for them, working with the local Jews.

[8] Four days after they had jumped,[8] Reik had joined a group of American and British officers who were landing in Slovakia in what was called Operation Leadburn.

[10] The group organized a soup kitchen and community centre for refugees, and facilitated the escape of Jewish children to Hungary and from there to Palestine.

On 23 October 1944, the Germans were advancing, and Reik's group decided to escape Banská Bystrica for the village of Pohronský Bukovec.

On 10 September 1952, Haviva Reik's remains were buried in Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, along with those of Szenes and Reiss.