In November of 2025, Douglas Century released Crash of the Heavens, a work of narrative non-fiction that follows the life and military mission of Jewish poet and paratrooper Hannah Senesh. After growing up in Hungary, Senesh emigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1939 at just eighteen years old. Horrified by the atrocities of the Holocaust, she was among a group of brave paratroopers who embarked on the only military mission to save Jews from Europe in World War ll. In 1944, she was captured and subjected to months of torture before being illegally executed after refusing to beg for a pardon. Her poem Eli Eli, from which Century took the title of his book, has been sung and recited by millions of people across the world.
Nu had the opportunity to sit down with Century, a bestselling author and investigative journalist, for a conversation about Crash of the Heavens.
What qualities in Hannah stick out to you as allowing her to achieve all that she did?
Hannah Senesh is a remarkable person and definitely worth admiration. She was very headstrong. Reuven Dafni, who survived the war and lived til his 80s, once said, “I don’t wanna spoil the image of our Joan of Arc, but I didn’t like her. I admired her, but she was difficult.” She was convinced she was right even when she was demonstrably wrong. But she was also very self-effacing in her diaries. She was a deep thinker, certainly about herself. As a writer, she was very self-critical.
She was also brilliant. Absolutely an idealist. She had bravery beyond what most people can imagine. And she had a sense of destiny. There were many qualities in her that just astounded me.
How did Hannah’s relationship with her mother impact her life?
After moving to Mandatory Palestine, she lost contact with her mother because of censorship. And she was just wracked with guilt in her diary. Then she gets this letter from her mother saying,“I’m well, but my hair’s turned grey.” And she decided she had to go back. I think she felt she had abandoned her mother. Having lost contact with her brother, she was very lonely. She was wracked with loneliness.
All of the paratroopers who went back had family members. Every single one. So they wanted to help the Jews, but also their own family members.
In the book, we see Hannah successfully instruct another woman on how to escape prison, but she never tries to escape herself. Why do you think she never tried to escape?
A lot of people have said she had a death wish and wanted to be a martyr, but I don’t think she wanted to be a martyr. I think she felt that because her father was so famous, she would be safe. Also, she was an RAF private and had dog tags, and thought they wouldn’t risk war crimes against a prisoner of war. So, after being accused of treason, she went to the trial and scolded the judges, saying, “you’re the ones who are traitors.”
If she had just humbled herself, she would have lived, but that wasn’t in her character, in the same way she turned down these marriage proposals. She was just not a person who compromised.
What do you hope readers take from Hannah’s moral clarity?
She doubted herself a ton, as all do. But she was certain about the idea of fighting for a cause, and the cause wasn’t to kill Nazis. A lot of them said, “we are emissaries; even if we are caught and killed, the Jews will know they weren’t abandoned.” How many people clung to hope, knowing that these people just wanted them to know they weren’t forgotten? If we could have just a percentage of that moral clarity, to know when to do the right thing, in the smallest way. Maybe there’s a little moral vision for our lives: when you know something is right, even when it’s difficult, making the right choice. If you really believe strongly in something, be an idealist.
In a style that reads more like a novel than a history book, Crash of the Heavens chronicles the life and death of Hannah Senesh. Hannah’s remarkable story, mind, and bravery—and the courage of those who worked beside her—make this a must-read.
Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
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