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Irena's Life Life Before the War
Irena Sendler was born in the small Polish town of Otwock, which is about 15 miles away from Warsaw. Her father had an extremely large influence on young Irena. He was a doctor, and his patients were often poor Jews, so she learned that they were good people and deserved help. She said during an interview that "I was brought up to believe that a person must be rescued when drowning, regardless of religion and nationality." During Germany's invading of Poland in 1939, Irena was a Senior Administrator to the Warsaw Social Welfare Department. This department ran canteens all around Warsaw, providing food, shelter and financial support for the elderly, the poor, and orphans. Life During the War As the Germans continued to take over Poland, Irena began supplying Jews with clothes, medicine, money, and food through the canteens she worked for. She likely decided to help the Jews due to her father's experience with them, his teachings, and the impact on her emotions when she helped the other poor people of Warsaw. Kindness was built into her. Although what she was doing could have very well led to her death had she been discovered, she continued assisting the Jews. By 1942, the Nazis had herded hundreds of thousands of Jews into a very small, dirty area known as the Warsaw Ghetto. (Click here to read about the Warsaw Ghetto.) Appalled by the treatment of Jews, Irena joined the Zegota (The Council of Aid for Jews) in order to get assistance in helping the Jewish people in the Ghetto. She got proper documents and was allowed in. Irena started out by giving out medicine, food, water, and other necessities. However, well over 5,000 people were dying each month in the Ghetto. In order to help preserve Jewish bloodlines, she decided to smuggle children out into the "Aryan" side of Warsaw. When encountering a child's parents', they would often ask if she could guarantee their safety. Grimly, she would respond by saying that she could only guarantee the child's death if he/she stayed. In an interview with BBC News, she had said "That was when [my allies and I] witnessed infernal scenes. Father agreed but mother didn't. Grandmother cuddled the child very tenderly and, weeping bitterly, said 'I wont give away my grandchild at any price'." Some families kept their children, but most were willing (yet reluctant) to give their children to Irena. Sendler would hide children in crates, caskets, trucks, body bags, and babies in smaller places, like toolboxes. Her cleverness allowed many of the children to survive. The children would be brought to a church with an entrance to the Ghetto and the "Aryan" side of Warsaw. The kids would be given false identities and be made Christians as well. Irena would write down their old and new identities and put them in jars, which she buried in the hopes of digging up one day to contact the children she saved. On October 20, 1943, the Nazis arrested her and put her in the Pawiak Prison, where the Germans broke her legs and then sentenced her to death. "I still carry the marks on my body of what those 'German Supermen' did to me then." Soon before her execution, members of the Zegota bribed a German officer to stall the death sentence, allowing her to escape. Sadly, she was unable to directly continue rescuing children due to her broken legs. She instructed other members of the Zegota from hideouts away from danger. She stayed hidden until the liberation of Poland by the Red Army. Life After the War Soon after Poland was no longer occupied by Germany, Irena dug up all of the jars she had with the children's identities and brought them to the Jewish Committee in Poland so they could bring the children to any of their surviving relatives, most of whom died in work camps/killing centers. Years after her heroic deeds, her name and picture were put into the newspaper, praising her for her work. The children she saved would often call her and thank her for risking her life to save them. Elzbieta Ficowska, one of the many children saved by Sendler, had this to say. "Irena represents the often forgotten truth, that no one should be indifferent. Irena became a symbol. A symbol of something very good. A symbol of undeniable authority. In today's world of eroding values in which role models crumble one after another, it's particularly the young who need people like Mrs. Sendler." After her nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize , Irena said "I have to share all credit with the 30-odd people who worked with me. Alone, I couldn't have done it. It was 20 brave people. None of them are alive today. One of my helpers was executed. I'm the only survivor." She also asked why their was so much fuss over her. Sendler didn't think she deserved any praise. "I could have done more. This regret will follow me to my death." Although she herself did not believe she was a hero, many people still recognize her as one of the bravest souls during WWII. Irena Sendler passed away on May 12, 2008 at age 98. |