Jewish Parachutists of Mandate Palestine

The Jewish Parachutists of Mandate Palestine were a group of 250 Jewish men and women from Mandate Palestine who volunteered for operations run by British organisations MI9 and the Special Operations Executive (SOE) which involved parachuting into German-occupied Europe between 1943 and 1945.

Their mission was to organize resistance to the Germans, aid in the rescue of Allied personnel and carry out assignments set by the Jewish Agency of Palestine.

Three of the parachutists infiltrated Hungary, five participated in the Slovak National Uprising in October 1944, and six operated in northern Italy.

Ten parachutists served with British liaison missions to the Yugoslav partisans.

Hannah Szenes, one of the best-known of the MI9 parachutists, was seized in German-occupied Hungary and executed in Budapest on 7 November 1944, at the age of 23.

Hannah Szenes in a Hungarian army uniform as a Purim costume