Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Each presentation at this round table examined Andrea Pető's research and writings from different perspectives.All were related to the two major foci of her research: gender and memory.Each article discussed her contribution to the history of the Holocaust in Hungary, to the memory of the fascist regime during the Communist period, and to the illiberal contemporary political reality.In addition to my own article, two other articles mentioned her article on the issue of Aniko (Hannah) Szenes' memorialization in Hungary: Lori R. Weintrob, "Voices of Courage: Women and Heroism in the Holocaust" and Sue Vice, "Multilayered Memorialization."I would like to share my thoughts on reading these two articles.Szenes is a hero in the Israeli ethos.She is a symbol of courage and dedication, and represents the efforts of the Yishuv in Palestine to rescue European Jews.This was reflected in her mission to rescue Hungarian Jewry in 1944 and her tragic death.Her personal biographythe fact that she was born in Hungary and emigrated to Palestinewas almost trivial to people like myself who were born in Palestine and grew up in the independent state of Israel.Born in Europe and emigrating to the land of Israel was the biography of our parents and most of the adults we knew.Szenes, a pioneer member of Kibbutz Sdot Yam, was one of the great number of personalities whom we grew up appreciating.Her heroic parachuting into Europe and entry into Hungary alongside her tragic capture, torture, and death turned the appreciation into admiration.Most Israelis that I grew up with shared similar backgrounds: born to European parents who lost their families during the Holocaust and emigrated to Palestine.In our naïve understanding, the Diaspora was doomed.Therefore, at school, the popular and sad poems and songs of Szenes recited at ceremonies memorializing the Holocaust were a kind of celebration to the Israeli heroines.
Author: Dalia Ofer
Institution: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4415957465
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