'Out of the Sky': Review of Jewish parachutists' daring missions into Nazi-occupied Europe

In the spring of 1944, amidst the horrors of the Holocaust, 37 young Jewish individuals who had escaped Europe embarked on perilous missions, parachuting into Nazi-occupied territory. Of these, 12 were captured; five returned, three were executed, and four perished in concentration camps. Hannah Szenes, the most famous among them, was executed by a Hungarian firing squad in November 1944.

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Their actions changed nothing and yet somehow touched the fate of millions, including me.

Matti Friedman's "Out of the Sky" delves into the purpose, achievements, and heroic status of these parachutists. The book centers on four individuals, Szenes, Enzo Sereni, Haim Hermesh, and Haviva Reick, tracing their journeys from 1944 until the operation's conclusion that winter. Friedman notes the intriguing paradox: their actions seemingly changed little, yet they profoundly impacted millions, including himself. This gap between their legendary status and their tangible accomplishments is the central mystery he explores.

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The strange gap between the mythic stature of the heroes and their scant accomplishments – this is the mystery that drew me to their story and kept me submerged in their world for years.

To unravel this enigma, Friedman meticulously researched documents in a Tel Aviv archive and traveled to Italy, Hungary, Austria, Germany, and Slovakia. He uncovered the complex planning involving two parallel command structures: the British MI9 in Cairo and Zionist leaders in Tel Aviv. Both had distinct motives. The British saw the parachutists as assets for their war aims, while the parachutists viewed the missions as a means to an end, often referring to MI9 as merely a "plane ticket." Their true objective was saving Jewish lives.

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Understanding this country – an effort that has preoccupied me since I came here, like most of the parachutists themselves, as a teenager – requires figuring out who these people were and why they mattered so much.

Even within Zionist leadership, goals varied. Commander Eliyahu Golomb spoke of training survivors for combat, while another official emphasized finding and protecting refugees. David Ben-Gurion proposed preparing survivors for mass immigration post-war. This ambiguity left recruits confused about the mission's ultimate objectives, yet none withdrew.

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The British,” writes Friedman, “think they’re using Jewish parachutists, natives of occupied countries, for their war aims; the parachutists believe it’s they who are using the British, and they sometimes refer to the entire MI9 operation as nothing more than a ‘plane ticket.’ The real mission is to save Jews.”