Documentary film Return to the Burning House introduces the life of a remarkable woman Haviva Reick. It presents a wealth of hitherto unknown archival material, memories of contemporaries and follows Haviva’s traces in Slovakia and Israel. Above all it is a story of an attractive person who is an inspiration until today.

She came from poor social context and became active in the Zionist movement. She was among the few women of the pre-war era to ride a motorcycle. She escaped the Nazis to Palestine where she built one of the kibbutzim. Yet she was also active in the movement to end the British occupation of Palestine. In spite of that she joined the British SOE units to help persecuted Jews. After she was dispatched to Slovakia during the Slovak National Uprising she was actively helping Jews as well as the British and US pilots. After the Uprising she was arrested and executed in Kremnička by the Nazis. To remain in Palestine meant a great hope to survive; to leave for Slovakia meant risking one’s life. Yet she did not have second thoughts.

Haviva’s story opens a wider theme on the activities of women in the Slovak National Uprising that still awaits more comprehensive research. We know that, as part of the SNU, women were active in the army as well as the guerrilla movement. Theirs was an irreplaceable role. Telephone operators, medics, but often also warriors, even snipers. In any case, they were risking their lives.