Out of the Sky: Heroism and Rebirth in Nazi Europe

Matti Friedman, a veteran Israeli journalist, follows 4 Jews from British Palestine who, in 1944, parachuted into Nazi-occupied Italy, Slovakia, and Hungary. For the British who trained them, the mission was to rescue downed flyers and gather intelligence.

For Zionists like Ben Gurion, their other mission was to convince the remaining Jews of occupied Europe to resist their tormentors or escape. The most famous of the parachutists was 23-year-old Hannah Senesh, who wrote the oft-quoted Hebrew poem “The Match,” her metaphor for lives — like her own — consumed bringing light and liberation to others. The parachutists inspired generations of those who established and those who continue to protect Israel.