Into the Inferno: The Memoir of a Jewish Paratrooper behind Nazi Lines
In May 1944, Palgi was one of three Jews from Palestine who parachuted into Nazi-held Yugoslavia and headed for Hungary--their mission to encourage Jewish resistance and organize rescue operations in an effort to thwart deportations to Auschwitz concentration camp. The three were betrayed immediately upon entering Hungary. One, a woman, was tried and executed. Palgi and the third Jewish fighter were captured and tortured. Palgi's companion died, but Palgi escaped and established contact with a small underground Zionist resistance cell. Although his initial hopes of catalyzing widespread rescue and resistance came to naught, he did manage to play a role in helping almost half of Budapest's Jews to remain alive. His memoir, previously published in Hebrew, Hungarian, and Italian, is an incredible account of this daring mission by its only survivor. Without a doubt, a vivid chronicle of bravery and compassion.George CohenCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved